#just accidentally experienced the fast forward button

[lixiesfreckless]

Breathless | h. j.

➸ synopsis: Was it dumb? Yes. But when has that ever stopped you and Jisung?

➸ starring: han jisung x female reader

➸ word count: 2.5k

➸ general content: best friend!jisung, accidental Friends With Benefits reference, both characters are dorks, jisung is kind of a menace(uncharacteristically good with women), smut

➸ warnings: sexual content, swearing, fingering, protected sex, very tame bondage

➸ rating: 18+ MA

➸ author’s note: watched FWB today and was gagged when the literal opening line of this fic was used in the movie in the exact same context. it came out in 2011! how does that even happen—anyways enjoy this old fic since it reminded me of it lolllll

♫ this fic has a soundtrack! Feel That - Junny

“What the hell are we doing,” he giggled into your mouth, peeling off your outer layer as he pushed you into the comforter. Your hands fumbled with the buttons on his flannel, desperately trying to get rid of the unnecessary fabric between you two.

“I don’t know, but I kinda like it.”

It had all happened so fast; one moment you and Jisung were lazily watching whatever talk show that the tv program was playing and the next, you couldn’t keep your hands off of each other.

This was probably the most reckless decision you two had decided to make since you became friends in middle school. Why on earth would best friends be trying to undress each other in the late hours of the night?

“Wait.” You pushed him away slightly and let go of his shirt. “Is Hyunjin coming home anytime soon?”

“No.” Jisung chuckled, lifting the edges of your band tee. “Him and Seungmin are on Jeju Island, they won't be back until next week.” You nodded, raising your arms for him to take off the shirt before pulling his neck towards you again, resuming your heated kiss.

The rest of his buttons came undone quickly, your hands desperate to feel his burning skin under their fingertips. He leaned back to take the fabric off, chucking it to a random corner of his room, before freezing at the feeling of your hands tracing his abs.

“When did you get built Ji?” You whispered, staring at the subtle definition in his skin. A light scoff left his lips before he rolled his eyes, leaning forward to cage you with his toned arms.

“I’ve always been this way baby.” He raised an eyebrow, eyes trailing all over your exposed skin.

“Are you trying to be sexy?”

“Is it working?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

You didn’t have to tell him twice, him attaching his lips to yours immediately and letting his hands roam your skin.

As much as you hated to admit it, you loved the way his fingers traced foreign trails up to your jawline. Touching you like this wasn’t something you had previously wished he did, but now you felt like you should have been doing this all along. His skin felt so warm on top of yours, your fingers pressing around the back of his neck to gain leverage into the kiss as he groaned in contentment.

Your bra came undone rather quickly, and you’re reminded that Jisung is somehow very experienced, a thought that made you visibly shudder under his fingertips.

“Wait,” you broke the kiss, and he took this opportunity to kiss your jawline, each press leaving you more and more desperate for his touch. “I don’t really know any of your likes or dislikes…in bed I mean.”

His lips hovered over your neck for a moment, as if he were trying to decide what he should and shouldn’t tell you.

“I like hair pulling and scratching,” he answered, lips pressing under your ear. “And don’t call me anything weird.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you nearly moaned, trying not to lose your mind over how his thumbs were dipping under the waistband of your jeans and massaging your hip bones just right.

“And you?”

You fell silent, face blooming red as you remembered what turned you on the most. And he noticed quickly, stopping his leisurely painting session on your neck at your reluctance.

“Hey, this is a two way street you know.” He pulled back to look you in the eyes, seemingly ignoring the beet red tone covering your cheeks. “I’d feel horrible if I overstepped-”

“...bondage.”

“W-what?”

“I have a bondage kink-”

“I know what you said,” he laughed, leaning off of you to rest on his heels. “I’m just shocked that sweet little y/n likes being tied up-”

“Shut up,” you mumbled, looking away from the topless brat.

“If you insist.”

His leather belt came off next, nearly making you scream in both excitement and horror from his newfound knowledge about you. But he simply set it aside, climbing back over you and dipping back into your neck.

You instinctively let out a sigh as his lips went back to caressing your skin, his hands now smoothing their way up your waist as well as his teeth dragged against your collarbone.

“Hickeys?” He asked, though positive that you wouldn’t deny him the pleasure of doing so.

“Please.”

The boy wasted no time in landing one right at the curve of your breast, lips working hard to redden the skin underneath them to get the color he wanted. Your hands rushed to his head, holding him tight against you with tufts of his ash colored hair between your fingers.

He let himself relish the sensation of you tugging on his roots for a brief moment, humming against your skin before he stopped sucking, reaching for the belt that he left beside you.

You could feel your skin tingle as he removed your hands from his hair, holding them in one hand as he wrapped them with his belt with the other, before expertly tying them with the leather band. He then raised your arms so they were above your head on the pillows, leaving your torso completely at his mercy.

“Can you keep those there for me baby?” His voice had a sultry kind of quality to it; one that you couldn’t find in yourself to resist as you nodded breathlessly.

He then went back to the task at hand, licking and biting and sucking everywhere on your upper torso, making sure to leave enough marks for you to not think that what was happening was just a fever dream. And he made sure to revisit your lips every so often, swallowing all of your little moans every time he thought you’d earned it.

Working his way down, he tugged the rest of your bra off, letting it drop to the floor and kissing around your left nipple while flicking his thumb over the right. You gasped, immediately pulling on the belt restraint around your wrists.

“Sensitive, are we?” He smirked, and you’d sworn that if it were anyone else, you’d choke the hell out of them.

But this isn’t just anyone. This is Han Jisung, and guessing from the surprises this night had already brought, he’d probably like that.

So you settled for a moaned yes in response, and what a good decision that was; not even a second after he had his lips wrapped tight around your nipple while letting his fingers play with the other. Your back arched prettily off the comforter, pushing your chest further into his grasp as he chuckled against your skin.

Thighs pressing together as to provide yourself some friction, a senseless string of pleads left your mouth, begging Jisung to please get on with it because it felt like your body would burst into flames if he kept going. But he didn’t stop, no; the hand that was pulling against your nipple dipped lower to find the button on your jeans, a small indication that he did intend on going further tonight.

Even though you were already over the moon with what had happened already.

Whether he was being intentionally slow or it was just difficult to undo your jeans with one hand, you did not know; but he finally worked the button free, quickly pulling the zipper down afterwards to allow room for his hand that would need to fit inside momentarily.

“Let’s see what we’re working with here,'' he mumbled, smoothing his hand from your abdomen to the top of your underwear, pausing slightly to check for any hesitance before pressing on.

“Oh, god…already?” Your face couldn’t possibly have gotten any redder as he ran a lone finger along your slit, catching the wetness that pooled there immediately. “We’re just getting started-”

“Then hurry up, Ji,” you whined, clenching your thighs to get some friction.

He smiled, suddenly aware of his weak spot for your begging before finally adding friction to the place where you wanted it most.

This wasn’t his first time pleasuring a woman– you were aware of that much –but it took him a minute to figure out what you liked and where you were the most sensitive, essentially playing with you until you made the right sounds. Once he started getting it right however, it finally dawned on you just how much trouble you were in, your chest heaving and toes curling at his ministrations.

It wasn’t long before he changed the game, bringing two fingers inside of you and curling them just so, and an obscenely loud moan left your mouth to his delight.

“Good?” He questioned, wanting to make sure that he wasn’t moving too fast for you as he leisurely pulled his fingers out.

“G-Good, don’t stop-” You were cut off by another moan, and decided to give up on speech altogether as you felt another bubble up in your chest.

He took it a step further, lightly leaving pecks across your bruised chest, and then a step further, purposefully pressing his palm against your clit every time he delved into your core.

Not only was it good, it was also unfair and even embarrassing, considering how quickly he was bringing you to your peak.

He had you twisting, clenching, whimpering and writhing under his grasp within three minutes, and even if he stopped it wouldn’t prevent the white wave of euphoria that was approaching.

“God, Jisung, I-”

You broke under him right then and there, shaking and gasping as your release overtook you in blissful waves of pleasure. Jisung helped you through it, pressing his fingers into you until your moans turned into whimpers and your shaking into trembling.

It took you forever to completely come down from your high, but Jisung used this time to get himself ready, leaning back on his heels and unzipping his own pants as you tried to catch your breath. You could almost feel him smiling at you before you opened your eyes, chest still heaving as he flashed that shit-eating grin in your direction.

“That good, huh?” he chuckled, pulling his pants and boxers down just enough so his length could spring free.

“Oh fuck me.”

“One step ahead of you.”

A cold shiver ran up your spine as you finally registered what he was doing, your core clenching on nothing despite it being only a minute since you came. In any other situation, you would have snapped back at him for being so snarky, but with the hollow feeling in your core being somewhat uncomfortable, you figured that keeping your mouth shut would have him filling you faster.

One condom later and you were seconds away from the anticipated moment, watching through lidded eyes as he carefully brought your wrists down to untie them. Your pants were next to come off, and his soon followed, but only halfway; you assumed that your impatience had finally caught up to him.

And you couldn’t even blame him—he looked painfully hard after the show you had put on for him.

He pumped himself only three times before leaning over you again, and then a strange look crossed his face as he froze.

“Wait, I’m okay to do this right?” He asked, looking between your eyes and where your hips met. “I just realized I never asked-”

“Han Jisung if you won’t I will,” you pleaded, urging him on, and he gave you a crooked smile before drawing in a deep breath.

He pushed inside of you slowly, ignoring every painful urge he had to quickly bottom out inside you and alleviate the burning need in his lower abdomen. A string of hushed curses left your mouth; this wasn’t your first time, but it might as well have been with how much the feeling of being stretched out was overwhelming you.

He made it to the end with a small whimper, dipping his head forward into your shoulder as he tried to steady himself.

“Can I move?”

“Knock yourself out,” You whispered, eyes squeezed shut from the sensation of adjusting to him fully.

He started out slow, each drag of his cock against your walls eliciting a low whine from you as he rolled his hips against yours. One hand pinned your hips to the bed, while the other held him up next to your head, giving him the option to lean down and capture the skin of your neck between his teeth whenever he pleased.

“You feel so good, fuck,” he groaned, grinding deeper into your core with every thrust. At his words, you could only pull his face down to meet yours, silencing him with a kiss in hopes that he would talk less. Otherwise, his pleasure-ridden voice alone would bring you to climax.

He happily kissed away all of your moans and whimpers, sucking on your bottom lip until you both were panting too much to keep a cohesive liplock.

His hips were starting to slam against yours now, that erotic sound of skin on skin slapping finally reverberating around the room and joining the chorus of your moans. Your toes curled, body barely able to process the pleasure building inside of you as moans helplessly tumbled out of your lips.

“Tell me what I h-have to do to get you there,” he choked out, worried that he might not get you to finish again in time.

“Fingers- ah, please-”

He knew exactly what you meant, moving the hand that was on your hip to your clit and gently rubbing it in the way that had you moaning his name before.

His breaths became heavy and his thrusts started to lose their rhythm; both things that you were sure were signs of his release drawing near, but you could barely focus on that when yours was practically hurtling toward you, threatening to spill you over the edge before he broke.

“Jisung, I c-can’t—” Words finally left you as you felt your whole body start to tense up, and Jisung let out a loud moan from the sudden tightening around his length.

“Come. Come all over me baby,” He whispered breathlessly, using the last bit of his stamina to thrust harder into you, until you couldn’t take it for another second.

You came undone for the second time that night, shaking and moaning beneath him as he pounded into you twice more, before he caved as well, just barely holding himself off of you as he emptied his load into the condom. Careful to not wait until he was too soft, he pulled his length out of you, subsequently falling onto the sheets next to you as he caught his breath.

“So I take it we’re not just friends?” He mused, a cheeky grin poking out from under the sheets. You slapped his back playfully, rolling away from him before he caught your hips with his hands, pulling you flush against his warm chest.

“Shut the fuck up.”

[jungshookz]

yoongi comes home late & y/n’s fast asleep

➺ starring; min yoongi x reader

➺ genre; the ever-so-elusive sugardaddy!yoongi who was supposed to have his own fic in 2018 but he never ended up getting one because i moved on!!! fluff!! smerhaps/smaybe/smalmost smut (slightly suggestive themes)!! also because this is sugardaddy!yoongi the drabble is slightly cliché/2012 wattpad-y but it is what it is 

➺ wordcount; 1.6k

➺ summary; a groggy yoongi comes home late from work and is pleasantly surprised by what he’s been greeted with. 

➺ what to expect; “this is cute. i’ve never seen you in pastel purple before.”

                                     »»————-　💜　————-««

the first thing that yoongi sees upon his arrival home is you fast asleep on the couch wearing nothing but a lavender silk robe and what he’s safely assuming to be a pretty pretty pair of matching bra and panties underneath (you’re sleeping on your stomach but the robe obviously rode up while you were asleep so the end of it is sitting scrunched up on your lower back)

and he knows this is supposed to be a sexy situation and all, but the fact that you’ve dozed off with one arm and one leg hanging off the couch just makes you look...

“cute.” yoongi murmurs to himself as he bites back a fond smile, bending down to take his shoes off quietly so that he doesn’t accidentally wake you up 

he had to leave after dinner because there was some emergency at work that apparently couldn’t wait until tomorrow and before he left he promised you that he’d be back as soon as he could... 

with that being said, it’s half past midnight which is definitely mucH later than he thought he’d be back

he takes his suit jacket off slowly as he makes his way over to you, gently folding it and resting it over the top of the couch

hm

if you’d fallen asleep on your back then it’d be easy for him to scoop you up... so he’s not sure how he’s going to approach this... 

yoongi clears his throat quietly as he unbuttons his sleeves before rolling each one up his forearms 

maybe if he moves really slowly, you won’t wake up?

the feeling of the couch dipping down slightly from under you is what rouses you awake 

your eyelids flutter as you regain consciousness and you feel your heart skip a beat in excitement when you recognize the scent of yoongi’s cologne lingering in the air 

you’re not sure how long you’ve been asleep for but it must’ve been a while because you can feel a slight indentation of your bracelet printed onto your right cheek anD there’s a faint patch of drool on the couch that you’re hoping yoongi won’t notice 

you didn’t mean to fall asleep but the couch is just so comfortable that you managed to convince yourself to take a little nap while waiting for yoongi to come back 

you were only supposed to be asleep for half an hour - you set an alarm on your phone and everything! - but you’re pretty sure the sun was still setting when you said that and now it’s pitch black outside 

admittedly, you were a little bummed out when yoongi told you he had to leave for a while but you understand that he has an important job and that he’s a fairly busy man 

on the bright side, him leaving left you with a good amount of time to a) wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen a little (even though yoongi’s told you multiple times that you don’t have to) b) catch up on some readings that are due for your classes, and c) change out of your grubby clothes and into the lingerie set you’d been hiding from him for a whole month (!!) 

(you’re pretty sure he’s probably seen the order being charged to his credit card but he hasn’t said anything about it.)

“hi, sleepy.” yoongi coos quietly, leaning down to press a kiss to to the back of your shoulder, “sorry i woke you up. have you been here all night?”

“yeah…” you hum, voice slightly raspy with sleep, “i was going to nap in the bedroom but i wanted to be here when you got back.”

“i’m sorry, baby…” yoongi shuffles closer, sliding his hand down the curve of your back before giving your bum a light squeeze, “if it makes you feel any better, i’m definitely a big fan of what you’re wearing.”

“really?” you roll yourself around before propping yourself up onto your elbows, not missing the way yoongi’s eyes flicker down to your chest for a brief second, “the robe’s a little wrinkly now, but…” you lift your leg up a little so that the slit of the robe parts around your thigh and yoongi glances down in interest    

“this is cute.” he comments, hooking a finger under one of the garters around your thigh before tugging at it gently, “i’ve never seen you in pastel purple before.” 

“yeah, i-” you find yourself blushing (though yoongi hasn’t even said anything to make your cheeks pink) as you reach down to pull one of your stockings up a little higher, “i thought maybe it’d be nice to try something different… i know you usually like black, but… well, i- i actually bought this set in black as a back-up, if you... if you want me to change...” you find your voice lowering when you notice yoongi leaning in and you don’t get much of a chance to say anything else before he’s pressing his lips against yours 

!

yoongi can’t help but chuckle when you reciprocate the kiss eagerly, practically shooting straight up from the couch before beginning to paw at his shirt 

you manage to loosen his tie slightly before he loops an arm around your waist to pull you closer to him

your stomach flutters at the prospect of finally getting to spend some alone time with yoongi

you’ve been swamped for the last month or so because of midterms and essays and presentations and countless readings so when yoongi asked you if you wanted to stay at his place over the weekend you basically jumped at the chance 

he’s usually the one who stays at your apartment so it’s nice to switch things up!

plus, yoongi has one of those fancy rainfall shower heads in his bathroom so that’s a definite bonus 

all of a sudden, the little voice in your head whispers for you to get up and onto yoongi’s lap- but because good things never last, he pulls away from the kiss far too soon for your liking and you resist the urge to get up and just tackle him to the ground 

he was gone for like!!! five hours!!! 

“i wanna-” you pause as you try to figure out how to word exactly what you’re feeling without sounding like a moron, “i wanna keep... like, kissing you... and stuff...”

well 

nice effort 

sometimes you wish you were more experienced so that you could be the sex kitten yoongi probably imagines you as but yoongi insists that it doesn’t matter to him 

it’s just embarrassing sometimes when you try to sound sexy but you end up sounding like a robot that’s just churning out sexy words 

you know he’s been with others before who are far more experienced with this part of the job so you can’t help but feel a little insecure when you get all bleep bloop I Want To Kiss You And Stuff bleep bloop 

“and stuff, hm?” yoongi teases, leaning in to give you a quick kiss before getting up from the couch and reaching over to grab his suit jacket, “i actually do want you to change- into your pyjamas. because you have an early class tomorrow and we can’t have you falling asleep in the middle of it. now, c’mon-”

“wha- hey, hold on-” you immediately get up from the couch when yoongi turns away and walks off, quickening your pace when he switches the main foyer lights off and disappears into the hallway, “yoongi-!”

“come on, i’ll let you choose another shirt you’re probably going to end up stealing from me-”

“woah, woaH-!” you finally catch up to him, your stockings gliding against the smooth marble of the floor as you slide around so that you’re standing in front of him, “what do you think you’re doing??”

“can i help you, miss?” yoongi grins when you slink your arms around his neck and press your body against his, “i’m going to get ready for bed, that’s what i’m doing. what do you think you’re doing?” 

“i don’t wanna go to sleep yet.” you whine pitifully as you slide a hand down so you can fiddle with one of the buttons on his shirt, “you’ve been gone all night…”

“oh, don’t pout like that.” yoongi coos, reaching up to cup your cheek before using his thumb to pluck at your pushed-out bottom lip, “you had me all day yesterday, you know. i had to bump one of my meetings to next week because of you.”

“yeah, but i wasn’t wearing this yesterday-” you pull back for a second to gesture to yourself exaggeratedly, “you’re a good businessman. we should compromise!”

“alright, alright-” yoongi laughs lightly and reaches forward so he can pull you back towards him, “name your price, boss.”

“let me join you in the shower.” you grin, taking your bottom lip in between your teeth, “and then i promise i’ll go to sleep right after.” 

“hm, i don’t know…” yoongi teases, undoing your robe before sliding his warm hands underneath it so he can cup your hips, “i feel like we’d end up doing a lot more than just shower together if i let you join me...”

“would that be so wrong?” you ask innocently as you look up at him with doe eyes, yoongi giving your hips a squeeze as he walks you backwards and towards the bedroom, “we’d save water by showering together!” 

“‘showers’ with you can last up to an hour. if anything, you’d be hiking up my water bill!”

“yeah, but you can afford it-” 

🎙️help me help you make your wishes come true (send me a request!)

✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here?

💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read?

🌟or something even shorter?

[bvidzsoo]

Poison (Part 3)

 Author: bvidzsoo

 Warnings: suggestive stuff, light swearing

 Pairing: Kim Mingyu x female reader

 Word count: 15, 054

 Summary:�� Three weeks have passed since the auction and things definitely changed. You didn’t want to admit it to yourself, but slowly, you started falling for Kim Mingyu. But things are never easy nor the safest, when you are dating a mafia leader.

 A/N:  Ayo lovelies, third part is here! We have a little bit of spice here and there in this chapter, but don’t get too used to it just yet! Someone is here to stir up some spirits, hehehe. Quick reminder, whenever I reblog the last part I posted, usually means the next one is coming real soon, so...there’s that. I don’t have much to say, except thank you for the support shown so far and please leave feedback! Enjoy now!

       The days and nights felt like a big whirlwind that I got caught in, my days more and more exciting as they went by. I never thought I had a boring life, I did go out and party from time to time, but I never experienced having someone with me almost twenty-four-seven. Not that I never had a partner, it’s just been a long time since. And they weren’t Kim Mingyu. An annoying giant, clinging to you whenever he could, while he whispered dirty things into your ear just to piss you off more. I swore to myself after the night of the auction that I wouldn’t get caught up even more with him, that I would never kiss him again. I even managed to convince myself that what I felt for him was just the spur of the moment and nothing serious, like when you make accidental eye contact with a handsome stranger and imagine a whole life with them; I pretended that’s what happened after the auction. Just a daydream that got too far but would never be repeated. And then all of my walls came crashing down when the next morning a huge bucket of white roses was placed in front of my front door. I walked curiously to the door when I heard my neighbor calling out for me, knocking softly against the door. My eye widened when I opened the door and they fell on the roses.

“Look at these beauties!” The lady exclaimed as she leaned down and picked the bucket up. My mouth was open as I didn’t know what to say, I could only look at her in disbelief, “You should put the into water, quickly, before they wither.”

Like all the defenses and lies I told myself last night have withered the second she pushed the roses into my arms. I knew who they were from and it made my heart beat quickly.

“Thank you.” I bowed my head a little as the lady giggled and walked towards her own apartment.

“Ah, to be young and in-love again…” She mumbled to herself and my cheeks suddenly felt hot. My eyebrows furrowed at the foreign feeling as I remained rooted in the doorway, gazing down at the beautiful flowers, a smile extending onto my lips. But my attention got caught by the door opposite mine getting unlocked and I panicked as I whirled around at lightning-speed to close the door before my best friend could spot me.

“Yah! Oh Y/N!” I bit my lower lip as I froze with my back towards the person who called out, “What are you doing?”

I quickly placed the roses on the little table by the door and turned around swiftly, closing the door enough so that Seungcheol wouldn’t see the beautiful bucket.

“Chatting with Mrs. Eom, why?” I answered him with a sweet smile, ignoring the rapid beat of my heart. Did he see the bucket of roses? I highly doubt that, he’s still wearing his pajamas, hair disheveled and toothbrush in his hand.

“I just heard voices…” Seungcheol muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“You just got up?” I asked concerned, eyes falling on the clock hung up in the hallway, reading 12:38 am.

“Yeah, had a rough night…” He muttered again, starting to brush his teeth lazily as he held onto his door, “Not everyone got an early night like you yesterday, Y/N. We had to take care of stuff—”

“Was the mission a success?” I chimed up with a small smile, but it quickly disappeared when Cheol started looking around and threw me a glare.

“Don’t say stuff like that, Y/N.” He scolded me and I rolled my eyes, stepping further inside my apartment.

“Fine, get changed, I’ll be over in ten minutes with my leftover breakfast, okay?” I raised my eyebrows as Cheol continued to brush his teeth with a frown.

“You always make me eat your leftover—”

“You never have food, stop complaining!” I snapped and shut the front door with a smirk when Seungcheol groaned loudly, the slam of his apartment door echoing around in the hallway. My eyes fell on the bucket of white roses again and I sucked in a deep breath, hating the way my heart started beating fast. I picked it up and went to find a vase for it.

And that wasn’t the only bucket I got from Mingyu. I kept getting buckets almost daily, sometimes he’d even bring them to the bookstore. He never entered, he just knocked on the window and left them in the door. Irene kept gushing about the sudden gestures but I shut her down with a glare and a few harsh words, telling her they didn’t mean anything. Because they meant a lot and I wasn’t ready to accept that yet. It felt like Mingyu suddenly learned what privacy meant, he wasn’t breathing down my neck anymore and it felt weird. I had him in my shadow for six months, suddenly having my own space was a weird feeling. It’s not like he abandoned me, but he didn’t approach me so openly anymore. When I went on a morning run, he’d be running on the other trail from which he had a clear view of me; when I would go to the convenience store late at night to buy something I forgot to get during the day, I would see him sitting in his Mercedes and looking inside the store, keeping his eyes on me and my movements. He did corner me at times when I wasn’t expecting him to, like when I was at the University’s library looking for a book for my research essay. When I was walking home after my shift, I would be pulled into a secluded alleyway, sometimes even at the entrance to the apartment building. And I couldn’t resist him, no matter how hard I tried. He finally won this game and I couldn’t even hate myself, because I predicted that I would fall. My heart wasn’t cold enough to ignore someone like him. And he knew that, that’s why he remained so persistent. But even then, I wasn’t ready for the world to know about us. I wasn’t even sure I was ready for whatever we were doing at the moment. We weren’t dating, but we certainly were something. Three weeks after the auction night, I craved him more than ever and I wanted to be with him almost always. But I had my own pride, I wouldn’t cave in so quickly yet. And I had other priorities, like, getting passing grades at University, working at the bookstore and maintaining my other relationships with people like: Irene, Vernon, Seungcheol. In just three weeks it felt like my whole life was constructed around Kim Mingyu and that scared me. Before, I was independent, I never thought of others and most certainly I didn’t have to direct so much of my energy and time onto another person. Even when I dated in the past, the relationship felt rigid and somewhat cold, which was my fault, to be honest. But something about Mingyu was different and it was him that didn’t let me shut him out like I usually would do, and it was foreign. I’d always bicker with him about the smallest things because I didn’t know how else to act around him, I was expecting him to leave me at any second. But he didn’t, he stood by my side for six months and he swore to never let me go in the three weeks that we’ve been sneaking around.

       Papers with my handwriting on it littered across the coffee table as I leaned my back against the sofa, sitting on the floor. It was getting late but I still had to study four more pages for tomorrow’s exam. It was a pain in the ass and I was already fed up with all the terminology I still didn’t understand, but I had no choice. I had all week to study, but due to a certain somebody, I barely had time to even breathe. Mingyu kept brining me out on dates, which, his words, ‘weren’t exactly dates’, and therefore I had no time to study in time. I hated leaving it for the last moment but right now I really had no choice. So, with a frustrated sigh, I leaned forward and grabbed my cup of coffee and took a big gulp, eyes running over the words I have written down in class. As I placed the cup back on the coffee table, the three locks on my front door were getting unlocked. I definitely told Seungcheol to leave me alone tonight, so he had no reason to be over at this hour. He was already sleeping, probably, Mingyu kept him busy lately and we barely hung out this week.

“I think I was clear when I told you I wanted to study, Seungcheol, why are you—”

“Seungcheol?” The deep voice made me jump, eyes go wide, “That’s not the right way to greet your boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend.” I snapped with an eyeroll, ignoring Mingyu, “And take off your shoes, it’s not you who cleans up the apartment.”

I heard Mingyu chuckle before he went back into the hallway to take his shoes off, “You could just ask me, you know, I’d clean up—”

“And break my stuff?” I scoffed and leaned my head back against the sofa, “No, thank you.”

“I wouldn’t break any of your stuff…” I looked up at Mingyu, to see him smirking down at me as he leaned against the doorframe.

“But?”

“I’d love to break you—”

“Get out!” I threw him a glare, which amused him, of course, and continued to take in his form. Mingyu continued smirking at me, pushed off the doorframe to sit on the sofa. He was dressed in a burgundy silk like suit, jacket undone and the black shirt’s top buttons undone to show off his neck and the pearly choker that decorated it. He wore various rings today and his black hair was curly. Yesterday it was still brushed back, but today it fell in waves against his forehead and I gulped as he finally sat on the sofa.

“Enjoying me much?” He spoke lowly and I scoffed, deciding to ignore his remark, knowing well my voice would sound too weak.

“What—” I cleared my throat as I looked back at the paper in my hands, “You’re a model now? Did you do a shoot for W Korea or something?”

My tone was mocking, and Mingyu knew it was to hide my flustered state, and it made him chuckle. He sighed loudly and dramatically fell back against my sofa, bringing his hands behind his head. He really liked sitting like that.

“I totally could become a model, right?” When we made eye contact his eyes were glinting with mischief and I rolled my eyes, deciding to remain quiet, “We had an important meeting today.”

“About?” I mused absentmindedly as I started reading the words written on my paper again.

“Don’t think about that now,” Mingyu dismissed my question as he leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder, “What are you studying for?”

“Economy exam, so, kindly leave me alone.” I turned my head just a little bit, our noses almost brushing against each other. The hairs stood on the back of my neck as Mingyu let out a long sigh, his breath fanning against my neck and jaw.

“Do you have to study now?” He grumbled into my ear and I nodded wordlessly, not trusting my voice, “Why didn’t you study earlier this week—”

“Because you kept taking me out every single day!” I snapped, pulling away from him with a glare, “If I fail this exam it’s your fault, so, leave me alone.”

I watched as he jutted his lower lip out, “Come on, sugar, don’t be mean to your boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend…” I mumbled to myself as I leaned back against the sofa and started reading again. Mingyu remained seated on the sofa as silence stretched around the room, the soft tapping of his fingers against his muscular thigh the only sound that echoed around. His knee was close enough to my shoulder that it was just barely brushing against it and I bit my lip as I focused hard on the words and ignored Mingyu’s tempting warmth. He knew how hard it was for me to stay still when he was so close to me; and I call him clingy; but sometimes I just want to have even the smallest physical contact with him. Not tonight, Y/N, you’re really close to failing economy class, I thought to myself as my eyebrows furrowed as I read over again the same line. Mingyu’s loud sigh almost made me ask him what was wrong, but I just bit my lower lip and flipped the paper, internally groaning at another page filled with words I had to learn tonight.

“Do you like my new hairstyle?” I heard Mingyu ask faintly as his rings clanked against each other as he started toying with his fingers.

I hummed and nodded before licking my lips, “I didn’t think you’d look so hot with curly hair.”

There was a beat of silence and I felt his eyes on me, my heart picked up its pace, “So, you think I’m hot?”

“Yes.” I mumbled, feeling a sudden dryness in my mouth as I gulped quickly, refusing the urge to look back up at him. He was incredibly hot dressed the way he was today, and it was hard to not look at him, but I could do it. I was an expert when it came to ignoring Kim Mingyu.

“You’re hot too, when you’re turned on.” I didn’t have to look to see he smirk on his lips; I scoffed and rolled my eyes before reading the page from the top to the bottom again. Memorizing the information was harder when he was sitting next to me. I heard him shift on the sofa and I prayed he just wanted to lay down and torment me from there with his words, but I stopped breathing when his warm palm brushed my hair behind my shoulder and his soft lips pressed against my neck.

“Mingyu…” I sighed in warning, eyebrows furrowing when he kept pressing feather like kisses down my neck.

“Yes?” He whispered against my skin, which was now covered in goosebumps.

“I have to study,” I snapped, trying hard to resist his kisses, “I can’t fail this exam—”

“And you won’t.” Mingyu muttered close to my ear as he pressed a kiss just behind my ear, “You’re smart, you don’t have to study much. You already know this—”

“That’s what you think—” I choked on air when he bit my ear lobe teasingly, “I’m—I’m really not that—smart—”

“Sugar,” He sighed deeply and I dared to look at him, his pupils were already dilated and he smirked when he saw my face, my expression probably similar to his, “I’ll be really pissed off, if you don’t put down that paper and come make out with me.”

It wasn’t a request, and I knew it, he really wasn’t going to let me study tonight. Once again. Gulping and glancing down at the paper in my hands, I knew I really had to study right now, but when I looked back up at Mingyu, I knew by how impatient he was I had one second before he’d be pulling me over him. With a roll of my eyes, I slammed the paper on the coffee table and opened my mouth to curse at him, but his hands were around my head and his lips pressed against mine. His soft lips were familiar by now and it brought a sense of calmness over me. My eyes closed as I raised up onto my knees and gripped his thighs, earning a sigh from him.

“I don’t see you all day and even when I do, you ignore me instead of making out with me—”

“Well, Mingyu, I have a grade that I have to maintain and it’s a lot more important than your neediness—”

“Don’t be disrespectful to your boyfriend—”

“You’re not my boyfriend—” I got cut off by his lips again as he gripped me by the arms to pull me on him. He tasted like smoke and something spicy that I couldn’t identify. I straddled his hips, legs on each side, as I leaned my body into his. I let my hands run all over his chest slowly, groaning when my fingers brushed against his choker. Mingyu smirked into the kiss, his lips meeting mine hungrily as he pulled me closer into him by my bottom, squeezing it hard. I yelped and raised a bit up, pulling away from the kiss.

“I told you to stop doing that—” My chest was raising and falling a bit quicker as my eyes fell on Mingyu’s glossy lips.

“Did you drink coffee?” He asked, his voice octaves lower and it sent shivers down my spine, “It’s almost 10 pm, sugar. How will you sleep?”

“I don’t plan on sleeping tonight.” Our eyes connected, and meanwhile I meant that as in: ‘I will be studying the whole night’, I understood why it could have sounded like: ‘We’ll be having sex all night, so no need to sleep’. And Mingyu definitely thought of the second version because before I could correct his dirty mind, my hips were pulled down by his firm grip and he was sucking against my collar bones. I let out quiet breaths as my fingers finally tangled themselves into his black, curly hair and Mingyu sucked on my skin harshly. The place felt on fire as a dull pain coated the area, but Mingyu was quick to smooth it over with his tongue, which didn’t help much with the ache.

“We agreed on no marks—”

“If you pull my hair like that, I can’t help it, sugar.” Mingyu bit his lower lip as he gazed into my eyes deeply and I licked my lips, leaning down, lips brushing against each other.

“I want to rip your clothes off and kiss all over your body while you wear that choker—” Mingyu growled and all of my senses seemed to be heightened as his touch suddenly felt like it was burning into my skin, “You’re so fucking hot.”

One of his hands left my hips to grip the back of my head as he brought our lips back together and kissed me hungrily, lips bruising by the force he was using. His strong, honey like cologne enveloped my senses as I got lost in the feeling his lips were giving me. My heart was thumping loudly, lungs running out of air quickly, and every inch of my skin was on fire as I gripped Mingyu’s cheeks with both hands desperately as if he’d disappear into thin air. I never knew you could feel so much at the same time, I never knew one person alone could make you feel so alive. When I was with Mingyu time seemed to stop, people around us seemed to disappear and it was just us. I don’t know when I started trusting him so much or why I felt protected, a different kind of protection that Seungcheol and Vernon made me feel, but it happened and I realized it one day while we were walking in the park and holding hands. In Mingyu’s arms, the protection felt better and stronger, it almost felt like love. I was never in love with someone before, but maybe I was slowly falling for him.

I felt him shift us as he slid down slightly on the sofa, legs spread wider, and I realized it was to move my hips against his. His firm grip guided my hips in slow circles and I moaned when I felt his member poking through his burgundy dress pants. It sent a rush through my body, all the way down to my toes, and I gripped Mingyu’s chin to tilt his head back. He didn’t fight it as our lips moved hungrier than before, mine were already aching, and I let my tongue slip into his mouth. I swallowed his choaked moan and pressed down my hips harder against his, desperate for more friction. Mingyu moaned again and held the back of my head, his other hand slipping underneath my shirt as his hand travelled up my stomach to my breast. I bit his lower lip when he gave it a squeeze, and finally out of breath, we pulled away just barely. I smirked at Mingyu, seeing him so lost and whiney only happened during our make outs, and it was always hot and empowering. He caught his breath and his eyes darkened when he saw my satisfied expression, he stilled my hips with his hands.

“Don’t get cocky now, sugar.” His voice was husky and I let a finger run over his pearly choker before I hooked a finger in it.

“How, when I’ve got you wrapped around my finger?” He knew I was right and he knew he couldn’t say anything to deny it. I pressed my lips against his jaw and peppered light kisses against his smooth skin, his warmth made me feel like I was in an oven. I nibbled on the skin of his neck and I felt him relax as he gripped my bottom again. Wanting revenge for marking me, I chuckled against his skin before sucking down harshly on the junction of his neck and shoulder, teeth sinking into it. Mingyu hissed and was quick to push me back and look at me with a glare.

“What? You did it too.” I raised my eyebrows at him, his lips were red and plumper than usually. His hair was disheveled thanks to me and he looked so much more attractive that I kissed him again, his tongue pushing into my mouth this time. I moaned into his mouth as he squeezed my bottom again, not minding his aggressivity this time. I reached for the buttons of his shirt and started popping them open slowly. I couldn’t get enough of him and I wanted to feel more. We never did more than make out, mainly because I didn’t want to, but right now I wanted to feel all of him. Mingyu didn’t mind me and continued kissing me hungrily—until a key was pressed into the key-hole and we both froze. I pulled back stiffly, gripping onto his shoulders tightly.

“Fuck.” I cursed quietly, wide eyes staring back at Mingyu, “You need to get out, right now!”

“How?” Mingyu’s eyebrows rose as I quickly scrambled off him and tried to smooth down my clothes, “Do you want me to teleport? Because I sure as hell can’t do that—”

“Shut up!” I snapped and panicked more when the front door opened, “Please do something! You look—”

“Y/N?” Seungcheol’s deep voice rang through my apartment and my heart went wild, my worst nightmare getting confirmed. Fuck, this is so bad. Mingyu was up on his feet instantly, some of his buttons now done, but he didn’t have enough time to hide before Seungcheol would be in the living room.

“Why is your front door unlocked?” Seungcheol called loudly from the hallway, he was taking off his shoes. Mingyu walked up to me and I quickly tried to smooth his hair down as I ran my fingers through it, trying to make it look like when he arrived.

“Uhm, I—” I cleared my throat when I realized it was really dry, “I went to the—convenience store! Got back a few minutes ago and—forgot it!”

I hated lying to Seungcheol, I actually never lied to him before, and it made me feel horrible. He deserved to know the truth but I wasn’t ready yet to face his judgmental look and scolding of a lifetime. He would probably hate me and never talk to me again. What I had with Mingyu was like a safe heaven, I wanted to have it for a little longer.

“You’re an idiot!” Seungcheol was in my kitchen, probably rummaging for snacks, “I told you to always lock your door!”

“Sorry!” I called back while Mingyu picked up a hair tie from the coffee table and threw it at me, motioning at my hair. It probably looked like a bird’s nest and I clumsily pulled it into a very messy bun, which probably looked horrible. I turned to tell Mingyu to move away from the sofa, but instead he pressed one last kiss, soft and short, against my lips before stepping around me and walking towards the window. I couldn’t help but smile at him before sitting down on the ground again and picking up a random paper.

“Why are you so quiet—” Seungcheol’s voice died out when he walked inside the living room, eyes fixated on Mingyu, “Kim Mingyu.”

“Choi Seungcheol.” Mingyu turned around, the two men glared at each other. I quickly took a sip of my coffee, to make the dryness in my throat go away. Seungcheol was shooting daggers at Mingyu, as if his eyes were laser, and my heart started beating faster and faster when they remained silent. Did Seungcheol know? Did he realize what was going on before he walked in? I bit my lower lip nervously as I looked up at the two men, who were still squaring up each other. Mingyu didn’t succeed in doing all of his buttons, but at least he buttoned his jacket, which concealed a bit of his exposed chest. His hands were in the pockets of his pants and he wore an amused smirk on his lips as he dared Cheol to speak with a simple look.

“What are you doing here?” Seungcheol asked accusingly, eyes narrowing when Mingyu’s smirk widened. For a second, when Mingyu gave me a glance, my heart stopped beating. Will he tell Seungcheol? Blow everything to shreds? Mingyu promised he wouldn’t, he’ll remain quiet, right?

“Had some business to speak with sugar, of course.” Mingyu answered once his eyes were back on Seungcheol, the lie rolling off smoothly his tongue. I let out a sigh of relief and Seungcheol threw me a scrutinizing look, to which I just shrugged. Watching my best friend, I realized he was wearing similar attire to Mingyu’s, except Cheol was wearing a black turtleneck underneath his jacket.

He tsked and bit down on his lip piercing, “What business? I made it clear to stop involving her in this!”

“It has nothing to do with our meeting today, Seungcheol,” Mingyu’s voice turned reassuring and I watched as my best friend’s shoulders relaxed. What was that meeting about?, “I was just debating if I have to assign bodyguards for Y/N or not—”

“And I told you, I don’t need bodyguards!” I snapped with a glare, playing along with his lie. Mingyu scoffed and threw me a look.

“As if I care about your opinion—”

“Why don’t you assign Vernon as my bodyguard then, hmm?” I raised my eyebrows and Mingyu’s jaw ticked, he threw me a warning glare.

“I live straight across, she doesn’t need a bodyguard, Mingyu.” Seungcheol snapped, just as riled up by my words like Mingyu was. What was so bad about having Vernon as my bodyguard? He’s literally one of the few friends I have. And he’s buff, I’ve seen it when he wore casual clothes once when we went to the gym together. That was also the first and last time I went to the gym.

“And when you’re not around?” Mingyu snapped, turning his fake reason into an argument. I sighed and leaned my head against the sofa.

“Can you both stop?” I asked with a groan, lifting my head when both men stared at me, “I have to study and you’re disturbing me. Leave, both of you.”

“I’m not leaving, I just arrived!” Seungcheol snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I rolled my eyes and searched for the next paper that I had to study.

“Sweet dreams, sugar.” My heart skipped a beat when Mingyu’s voice turned softer at the nickname and I bit my lower lip, peeking at Seungcheol to see him glaring at Mingyu before looking at me questioningly. I quickly cleared my expression and scowled towards the giant.

“Right,” My voice dripped with sarcasm, and for once, I really didn’t want to say hurtful words towards Mingyu, it felt wrong, “As if I could have any sweet dreams after seeing you.”

“Suit yourself.” Mingyu said with a nonchalant shrug before walking off, not casting even a glance back at me. My heart picked up again and I gulped, fearing I said something too harsh. We still bickered, but I stopped being so mean to him and I was afraid I upset him just now. Staring after Mingyu with furrowed eyebrows, I failed to notice the curious but confused glare Seungcheol was giving me. I gulped and made a mental note to text Mingyu after Cheol leaves to apologize and wish him sweet dreams.

“So,” Seungcheol grinned once Mingyu was out the apartment, leaving me anxious and stressed, “What are you studying?”

“Economy.” I answered blankly, reading through my notes. Seungcheol sat, where Mingyu was sitting a few minutes before, and laid down on my sofa, stretching his muscles.

“Ah, it’s so good to take a little rest.” He muttered to himself quietly and I hummed.

“Were you able to attend Uni classes this week?” I asked curiously as Seungcheol sighed.

“No, Mingyu had me running around to collect drugs and shit all week,” He sighed again before turning onto his side, “How was your week?”

I turned my body towards him when he poked my shoulder, “Long.”

Seungcheol giggled and I extended my arm to run my fingers through his hair in a comforting manner, “Our geometry professor is slowly killing me. He gave us three more assignments this week and we aren’t even done with the other five he gave us a month ago.”

Seungcheol grimaced and closed his eyes, “Fuck him, he’s such an ass. Who can do so many assignments? It’s not like you are robots.”

“I know…” I sighed and continued to look at Seungcheol until he opened an eye. His forehead had creased and I could see how tense he was even though he tried to relax.

“Hey,” I let my hand rest on top of his as I scooted closer, resting my chin on the edge of the sofa, close to his chest, “You can talk to me, Cheol, when things get hard. Especially now that I know everything. Stop burdening yourself so much.”

A soft smile spread onto his lips and I mirrored it, feeling my heart full of love for the person who stood by me in my most difficult moments, “I love you, you idiot.”

“I love you too, Cheol, massive asshead.” We both started giggling and he interlaced our fingers before his eyes fell on the coffee table.

“Do you need help studying?”

“Are you sure you are ready to compromise your much needed sleep?”

“Anything for the lady.”

“Where do I even start then…”

       I sighed into my scarf as I nuzzled further into it, shielding my face from the cold breeze. Spring came around but the weather was still the same gloomy and cold, like it was all winter. I gripped the straps of my backpack tightly as I leaned against the wall of the building, sipping from my warm coffee I bought from the wending machine placed in the main hall of the University. Classes were over and the economy exam written, to which I studied all night with the help of Seungcheol. I got three hours of sleep and caffeine was the only thing keeping my eyes open and brain running at this point. I really just wanted to go home and sleep until tomorrow, but I had plans with Vernon since last week for today. We decided to grab lunch together and meanwhile my stomach grumbled quietly, I still only wished to go to sleep in my warm bed, shielded from the cold breeze and loud people walking around me. My phone started ringing and I fished it out of my pocket, pushing off the wall of the building.

“Hello.” I greeted loudly as a loud group passed by me.

“Good morning,” Vernon greeted cheekily and I scoffed as I walked towards the front of the institute. I was in the garden beside the library as I had to return a few books.

“Morning was hours ago, Vernon.” I muttered with a grimace as I took another sip of my coffee.

“You sound like you just woke up.”

“I wish,” I sighed into the phone with a pout, kicking a smaller rock in front of me, “I just finished classes.”

“Oh? Already?” Vernon sounded taken aback and I heard shuffling on the line, “I thought you had afternoon classes today—”

“Did you, perhaps, forget that we agreed on a lunch date today?” I asked accusingly, stopping for a second out of surprise. But the sudden anger didn’t last for long when I realized if Vernon wasn’t ready, I could cancel and just go home and sleep.

“Sorry!” Vernon exclaimed, his voice sounded to be away from the phone, he must have put me on speaker, “I didn’t exactly forget! Just a little—”

“You forgot, Vernon.” I cut him off laughing, walking lazily by the side of the building, “It’s fine, actually.”

“How cold is it outside?” His voice was right next to the phone and I hummed as I looked around.

“Cold enough to start freezing after fifteen minutes of staying outside.” I concluded after a few seconds of thinking and Vernon shuffled again.

“Shit!” He called loudly and I chuckled as I finally got to the front of the University. Five guys walked towards me with smiles on their faces and I returned it when I recognized them from Seungcheol’s course.

“Hi, Y/N!” They greeted loudly.

“Hi, guys.” I waved a bit before continuing my walk, “You’re still there, Vernon?”

“Okay, listen—” He took a deep breath and I started grinning, knowing he was about to rush out a really long sentence in one breath, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes, because yeah, I totally forgot that we agreed on that lunch date and I’m really sorry, you can rat my ear off at the restaurant, but do you think you can go inside and wait there for me, because I’ll send you a text when I get there?!”

I laughed as I watched the little crowd gathered on the side walk curiously, “I can totally go inside and wait for you—”

My mouth fell open when a few girls moved away whispering to each other, offering me a clear view of what caused the little commotion. My heart dropped to my stomach and then it started beating faster and faster as I remained a gaping fish.

“Uhm, Y/N?” Vernon asked, confused by my sudden silence. My eyes made contact with the person’s who was laying against his metalized grey Land Cruiser, easily as tall as the car.

“Uhm, yeah—” I muttered back to Vernon as I watched a wide smirk appear on Mingyu’s lips. The guys and girls that were watching us started whispering louder and my cheeks became pink as I nuzzled further into my scarf, “I just—uh, remembered that I have to work today.”

I swallowed hard in regret for having to cancel the lunch with Vernon, but he wasn’t even ready, so I didn’t really waste his time. Mingyu’s gaze electrified my body, suddenly the fatigue I felt disappeared.

“Irene called earlier, I really forgot…” I trailed off as I slowly walked closer to Mingyu, leaving a decent distance between us. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his muscles bulged through his black leather jacket; he raised his eyebrows.

“Ah, shit,” Vernon sighed disappointed and there was shuffling before his voice was close again, “That’s fine—I was running late either way.”

“I’m really sorry,” I apologized again, unable to look away from Mingyu, “Can we re-schedule?”

“Of course, Friday?” Vernon was excited and I hummed as I took a quick sip of my coffee.

“Friday it is, but it has to be a breakfast date.”

“I’m cool with that, talk to you later.”

“Talk to you later.” I hung up with a smile and finally looked down, breaking eye contact with Mingyu, to put my phone back into my pocket. When I looked back up his eyebrows were furrowed and he pushed off his car, with two long steps he was directly in front of me.

“Who are you going on a date with?” He asked lowly, jaw clenching.

“Vernon, and it’s not that kind of date, so chill.” I answered him while rolling my eyes and Mingyu glared at me.

“I told you to stop seeing Vernon.”

“Yeah, and you thought I’d listen to you—a possessive, manipulative, bossy—”

“Boyfriend.”

“Not boyfriend.” I gave Mingyu a look, which he returned, before he dipped his head and pressed his lips against mine. My eyes closed and his honey-like cologne filled my nostrils as his soft, tasting like smoke, lips pressed back harder. Then I realized everyone could see us, Seungcheol was still at University, he could see us.

“Mingyu.” I snapped as I pulled back abruptly, eyes boring into his.

“I just wanted to give my sugar a proper greeting—”

“Not in public, you know.” I stepped back and took a sip of, the now lukewarm, coffee.

“I’m tired of sneaking around—” Mingyu snapped and I scoffed.

“Then leave me, easy as that.” I snapped back and Mingyu’s eyes narrowed at me as he lowered his head slightly, to be eye level with me.

“You still think there’s any chance that I’ll ever leave you alone?” A cocky smirk crossed his lips and I had to bite my lower lip from letting my own appear on my lips, “I’ve been obsessed with you since the first time I saw you—”

“I’m still not very keen of you, so—” I interrupted him with a shrug, watching as Mingyu’s eyes darkened just in the slightest.

“These past three weeks we’ve spent together tell me something different, Y/N.” I scoffed, knowing well he was right and I had nothing to say back, so I pushed him back by his shoulder and side stepped him.

“You make me stay out in the cold weather when your warm car is a few feet behind, how gentlemanly of you.”

Before I could open the door for myself, Mingyu gripped my arm and pulled me back slightly, opening the door for me. I rolled my eyes and made sure he saw it as I sat inside and he shut the door for me. I sighed out as the warmth seeped through my body slowly and threw my backpack in the backseat, looking out the window as I drank the last of my coffee. Mingyu entered the car and ignited the engine to life, even more people looking our way at the loud roar of the engine.

“Just drive away and stop showing off, please.” I whined and lowered my head as I quickly buckled up the seatbelt.

“Your wish is my command.” And off we took at a rather aggressive speed. Mingyu wasn’t a patient person and he certainly wasn’t when it came to driving. He sped around like a madman even if there was heavy traffic and made dangerous maneuvers.

“I told you to stop driving like this!” I snapped as I held onto the doorhandle, fearing for my life when Mingyu sped through the third yellow traffic light.

“And you’re still seeing Vernon.” He fired back nonchalantly, his hand coming to rest on my thigh.

“You seriously can’t be comparing something like my friendship with Vernon to you trying to kill us both!” I exclaimed and almost yelped out when pedestrians went to cross the street and Mingyu had to hit the brakes hard, “Please!”

“Fine, fine,” He sighed out, glancing at me, “I’ll drive more carefully.”

“Thank you.” I snapped as my heart continued to race and his palm gave a reassuring squeeze to my thigh.

“Are you taking me home?” I asked when I saw him driving closer to my neighborhood. I couldn’t be happier; I was still tired.

“No.” Mingyu answered shortly and I groaned.

“I’m really sleep, I studied all night with Seungcheol after you left. Just take me home before I fall asleep—”

“But you could still go on your lunch date with Vernon, right? You weren’t asking him to take you home.” Jealousy and venom dripped through Mingyu’s tone and I couldn’t help giggle, amused by his reaction.

“Exactly.” I answered him, placing my palm over his before he could say anything else. I interlaced our fingers and leaned my head against the headrest.

“I’m taking you away from the city.” Mingyu spoke up and I looked at him with raised eyebrows, “But I’m not telling you where to, it’s a surprise.”

“Ah,” I sniffed and pulled my lips in a grimace, “so this is where you finally kill me?”

Mingyu groaned and threw me a quick look, his fingers squeezing mine in warning, “Stop saying shit like that, it’s not hilarious.”

“Yeah, yeah…” I grumbled and bit my lower lip, thinking of how he never answered my text I sent last night while Seungcheol was in the bathroom showering, “Was I too harsh last night? You never answered my text…”

A small smile traced Mingyu’s lips and I looked down at our intertwined hands, “No, I figured you were with Seungcheol, so I didn’t want to cause even more anxiety by answering.”

A smile spread on my lips as I looked up at him, “I was more anxious that I hurt you…”

“You can’t hurt me anymore, sugar.” His pretty smile formed into a smirk and I rolled my eyes, turning my head away from me.

“We’ll speak in the afterlife, after the cops find my body lying in a ditch somewhere.” I muttered quietly to myself, thoughts of me mysteriously dying always swarming in the back of my head. I was exposed to a dangerous world and I wasn’t stupid, I knew what dangers lurked in the shadows. Mingyu wasn’t just anyone. He was a well-known leader in the world of illegal affairs and everyone feared his power and his team. He had many enemies and he also hated many people. I knew one day I could just disappear as a statement for Mingyu from a rival gang. And I was afraid, but maybe it was worth risking it for Mingyu. If I was already going to hell, might as well truly enjoy myself in the meantime.

       It took us a whole hour by the time we got to the place Mingyu had in mind. It was a nice cozy looking house, for which you had to take the highway and then halfway a dirt road that led deep inside the forest to get to it. I looked at Mingyu questioningly a few times as he turned on the car lights, the tall pine trees obscuring the bright sunlight, but he remained focused on driving with the occasional squeeze to our intertwined fingers. I wasn’t necessarily nervous about what we could possibly be doing at a place like this, I was more nervous about what Mingyu had planed for us. Were we here to test my loyalty? Were Joshua and Jeonghan here too, to interrogate me and see if any of my answers match with what they dug up about me? Or did Mingyu just want to spend more time with me in a secluded place? Many thoughts swarmed in my head until the moment we stopped and Mingyu told me to get out of the car. His eyes were glinting with excitement and it slightly eased my nerves, even though I wasn’t sure if he was just excited about something obscure or just about being here. With the loss of the sunlight here, the air was chilly and I shuddered in the cold as I walked up to Mingyu, who seemed to be perfectly fine in the cold weather dressed thinly.

“So…” I cleared my throat and glanced at the pretty, wooden house; it looked like a cabin, “What are we doing here?”

His eyes fell on me and a smirk spread on his lips as he draped an arm around my shoulders, “Scared, sugar?”

I bit my lower lip and matched my steps with his as he started walking towards the house, “Maybe.”

Mingyu chuckled amused as we walked up onto the porch, smirk fading into a small, rare, comforting smile, “We’re here because I want to teach you something, Y/N, relax.”

“Maybe I’ll relax when you tell me what you want to teach me.” I looked up at him as he knocked on the door and he turned his head toward me, pressing a kiss against my forehead.

“I’d ruin the surprise.”

“I hate surprises.” I muttered and sighed, turning towards the door when it opened.

“Oh!” The old man seemed surprised to see us standing in front of his front door, “Mr. Kim! We weren’t expecting you today!”

Mingyu just nodded his head and brushed past the old man, pulling me after him, rudely without even waiting to be invited inside, “I haven’t visited in long. How’s Momo doing?”

The old man tensed at Mingyu’s words and I narrowed my eyes when a teasing smirk made its way onto his lips, “She’s—she’s alright.”

“Is she home?” Mingyu continued, obviously enjoying how uncomfortable the old man looked.

“She’s not—Mr. Kim.” The old man gulped nervously and I caught his eyes glancing behind us for a second. Getting uncomfortable by the interaction between the two men, I cleared my throat.

“I’m Oh Y/N,” I stepped away from Mingyu and extended my hand towards the old man, “Nice to meet you, and sorry for barging in uninvited.”

Mingyu cleared his throat behind me and I watched the old man hesitate before he shook my hand lightly, “Nice to meet you, Miss Oh. I’m Hirai Takumi.”

“Oh, just address me comfortably, Mr. Hirai.” I bowed my head a little as I felt a hand on my shoulder, but the old man quickly shook his head.

“I insist, Miss Oh.” I opened my mouth to speak up again, but Mingyu gave me a look as he pushed me inside a small kitchen.

“Stop being so rude, we didn’t even take off our shoes!” I whisper-shouted at Mingyu as Mr. Hirai rushed past us inside the kitchen.

“We don’t have to be respectful while we are here.” Mingyu said with a shrug and loudly sat in the chair by the table. I threw him a hard glare as I watched the poor old man scramble around the kitchen. I felt uncomfortable, disrespectful and pity towards him. So, I took off my shoes swiftly and left them in the doorway before I walked up to the man and took the little cups from his hands.

“But Miss Oh—” He exclaimed and I threw him a small glare to silence him. He didn’t say anything else as he took the teapot and avoided Mingyu’s eyes as he walked to the table to place it down. Mingyu was glaring back at both the man and me as I placed a teacup in front of him and the other at the vacant seat.

“That’s for Miss Oh—”

“I’m not thirsty, Mr. Hirai, take a seat and drink instead of me.” I spoke with a small smile and the old man stood rooted as he watched Mingyu. When I turned my glare at Mingyu he sighed and with a nod the old man was sitting and pouring tea for Mingyu and himself. I also sat in the last empty chair at the table and watched the two men quietly.

“Where’s your wife?” Mingyu asked after he drank from the tea.

“She’s working—in town, Mr. Kim.” The old man hurriedly answered.

“I suppose that’s what Momo is doing also?” That devilish smirk spread onto Mingyu’s lips again and I glared at him as the old man looked down at the table.

“Ye—yes.” He whispered as an answer and visibly jumped when Mingyu dumped his gun on the table. Why the hell are we here? And what is going on between these two?

“Mr.—Mr. Kim, I—”

“Hoshi will come tomorrow to talk business with you, old man, however, right now, I’m here with my woman to teach her how to shoot.” Mingyu interrupted Mr. Hirai and stood up, pulling me up from the chair as well, “I suppose you still have those weapons?”

“Of course!” Mr. Hirai sprung to his feet and bowed his head, “They are in the barn, do you want me to walk you there?”

“No, I know my way around.” The smirk was back on Mingyu’s lips and I couldn’t watch the old man flinch anymore, so I grabbed Mingyu’s arm and pulled him away from the kitchen. He paused as I took on my shoes and when I went to open my mouth and scold him, he grabbed my nape and started walking me towards the back of the house. I hissed and threw him a glare when he didn’t let go, but Mingyu ignored me as he continued to walk me from behind. I didn’t miss the way his eyes ran up the stairs and fixated on a door for a second longer than it was necessary, but the door of the barn was in front of me and I gave it a push.

“Can you let go of me?” I finally snapped, annoyed by the way he was walking me around.

“No.” Mingyu simply hummed and lightly tugged on my nape, hauling me in the opposite direction that I was trying to walk in. I threw him a side-eyed glare but he wasn’t looking at me, eyes focused on a chest. He leaned down and opened it with one hand; my eyes widened when it fell on the various weapons hidden inside.

“What is this place?” I muttered to myself, heart starting to beat quickly when Mingyu smirked back at me, with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“My fun place.” His smirk spread wider and I stepped back when he finally let go of my nape. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and watched him rummage through the weapons with a frown and grimace.

“These are all old as fuck…” He muttered to himself as he picked up a large shotgun, “I told the old man to change them…”

My stomach rumbled loudly and I looked away when Mingyu threw me an amused look, I never got to eat and I was pretty much starving at the moment. I hoped Mingyu would just ignore it and not demand the old man to serve us with food as well, I realized how much he wanted us out of his house. Mr. Hirai was terrified of Mingyu and I was so curious as to why.

“Come, sugar.” Mingyu straightened back up, with a rifle and a smaller handgun in his hands and walked to the rotten door and pushed it open. I looked at him for a second longer before I followed him out, the back of the house led directly into the woods. There was a long table placed out at least twenty steps away from where we were standing and the pine trees around the area had all sorts of men made scars in their trunks. On the long table there were ten beer bottles and Mingyu turned toward me with a serious expression.

“This,” He raised the rifle to be eye level with us, “Is an AR-15 rifle, made in the US.”

I hummed and watched him curiously, “If you push this button, the magazine comes out. First, you check to see if you have bullets, okay?”

“Okay.” I muttered quietly, hugging myself tighter. I wasn’t foreign to weapons but I never felt comfortable around them. Mingyu was serious, eyebrows frowning, as he took his time explaining the weapon and how to use it.

“You slide back the loaded magazine and then pull the charging handle,” He pulled it back easily, it made a loud clicking sound; I gulped, “If you push this down, the safety is off, you push it back up, the safety is on, understood?”

I cleared my throat and made eye contact with Mingyu, he had a dangerous glint in his eyes, “Understood.”

“Cool, now,” He hoisted the gun up, the end coming to rest against left shoulder as he came to stand next to me, “Safety off and—”

He fired twice, the loud sound made me jump and slightly step behind him, and he clearly hit two beer bottles spot on, breaking them, “That’s how you do it, sugar. Your turn.”

“Mine?” I asked with a frown, glaring at the rifle, “I don’t want to shoot with that.”

“Sugar, this is not about what you want and what you don’t want.” Mingyu said impatiently with a sigh and I heard a click, he pushed the safety on, “You have to learn this.”

“No, I don’t.” I argued with him stubbornly, taking a step back when he extended his arm for me to take the weapon, “I don’t want to hold that.”

“Y/N,” With his free hand he gripped my nape again and tugged my closer, “There will be times when no one will be able to protect you but you, yourself. Alright? You have to be ready and knowing how to defend yourself with a weapon, is the first step in your journey, okay?”

“I know how to shoot with a gun, okay?” I snapped loudly, glaring at Mingyu when his eyebrows rose mockingly, “You’re not the first person who tries teaching me how to use a gun, okay?”

“This is a rifle.”

“Rifle or whatever!” I exclaimed and slapped his arm away, “My father and Seungcheol already taught me.”

“Then show me.” He said with a shrug and pressed the rifle against my chest harshly, leaving no room for argument. I glared at him and took the weapon with a sigh, the weight of it foreign in my arms.

“If you want to teach me how to defend myself, teach me hand-to-hand combat, not this bullshit.”

“This is not bullshit,” Mingyu rolled his eyes and stopped me when I went to position the rifle against my shoulder, “What did I just teach you?”

“Check the magazine first.” I muttered and quickly pushed the button he pointed at and held the magazine in my hand. Mingyu hummed contently so I slid it back in then went to pull the charging handle, which was a lot harder to do than Mingyu made it look like.

“And you will learn hand-to-hand combat too, when the right time comes.” I threw him a glance as I raised the rifle, positioning it against my right shoulder, just like Mingyu did before. He came to stand behind me and his body warmth invaded mine, making me shudder. He corrected my posture and his finger curled next to mine on the trigger.

“Safety off.” He whispered in my ear and pressed a kiss against it, making me gulp loudly. I pressed the safety down and Mingyu took a tiny step back to watch me. I closed my right eye and started firing towards the beer cans, my ears ringing from the loud gunshots that went off next to my ear. I shot until I emptied the magazine and when I lowered the rifle, with the safety on, I frowned seeing that I only shot three bottles.

“Sugar,” Mingyu chuckled and gripped my cold, rosy, cheeks, “I thought you said you knew how to shoot!”

“I do!” I snapped, eyebrows furrowing, “With a handgun, I never held a rifle before…”

“Did no one tell you to keep both eyes open? So that you see your target clearly? You watch too many movies…” He trailed off and shook his head, pressing a quick kiss against my lips before he strolled towards the long table.

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered to myself as I watched Mingyu place ten new bottles on the table, “Both eyes open, right?”

I raised the riffle again and placed it against my right shoulder, adjusting my grip on the trigger as I kept both eyes open, pointing it at the first bottle. Mingyu was still standing there and when he turned around, unintentionally, the rifle was pointed at him directly. The safety was still on, but he didn’t know that, and we stared into each other’s eyes, unmoving. Mingyu went stiff and I could see as his eyes darkened even from where I was standing, his shoulders moving back as he adjusted his leather jacket. He never expected me to point a gun at him, let alone a rifle, even though he’s done it twice to me now. And once he even pulled the trigger, even if it was an unloaded weapon, he pulled the trigger. His left hand sneaked in his pocket and instinctively my finger pushed the safety off and wrapped around the trigger, my body going rigid. Yes, I trusted him most of the time, but the little voices in my head telling me that he could kill me still anytime, were screaming at me that this was that time. You could never know when you had a mafia leader standing in front of you, with a hand hidden in its jacket’s pocket. I let out a quiet sigh when he pulled his hand out and held the pack of cigarettes, slowly starting to walk towards me. I subtly pushed the safety back on and cleared my throat when Mingyu stopped at the end of the rifle, chest pressing against it. His eyes still watched me like a hawk as he lit one cigarette and inhaled deeply from it. I watched, and felt through the rifle, as his lungs expanded then decreased. He blew the smoke out in one long breath and it floated into my face. I narrowed my eyes but didn’t flinch.

“What a fucking woman.” He muttered to himself with a chuckle before he stepped away, coming to stand behind me at a good distance to not bother me. I pushed the safety down and now with both eyes open, I focused on the bottles and started firing. Shards of glass flew around the table as I hit all ten this time, shattering them all in half. My heart thumped loudly and my ears rung as I lowered the rifle with shaky hands, pushing the safety back on. I turned my head to look at Mingyu, who was watching me pridefully with a big smirk on his lips.

“See what it does if you keep both eyes on the prey?” I chuckled and handed him the rifle back as he looked over it, “Well, seems like my training takes an end here.”

“So soon?” I raised my eyebrows as he took another puff of his cigarette, “You think this is enough?”

“Did you hit all ten bottles?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes, this is enough for you,” He chuckled and threw his finished cigarette on the green floor of the forest, making me frown, “You said you know how to use a handgun, I have nothing else to teach you.”

“And you had to take me here? For nothing?” I groaned as Mingyu walked up to me.

“This wasn’t nothing.” He rolled his eyes and I mirrored him.

“Yeah, it was.”

“Shut up, I got to spend time with you,” He muttered and leaned down to press another kiss against my lips, longer this time. He tasted of smoke again and I pulled back when I felt his tongue trying to push my lips apart.

“No, not here,” I muttered, running my hand through his still curly hair, “I’m freezing and starving and tired. You only get a kiss if I’m satisfied with my needs.”

“Fair enough, sugar,” He smirked and intertwined our fingers, “Let’s go then, but I’m not taking you home.”

“Didn’t I just tell you what I want?” I groaned as I closed the barn door behind us, Mingyu threw the rifle on the creaky floorboards uncaringly.

“You never said you wanted to do all of that at your apartment.” His smirk was cheeky and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Where else at can I do them then?” We walked inside the house and Mingyu didn’t bother to close the door as he pulled me down the hallway.

“My house, of course,” Mingyu chuckled and glanced back at me, “There Seungcheol can’t interrupt us at least.”

I bit my lip as I thought back to the first, and only, time I was at his mansion. I wanted to argue with him more, but his mansion was too nice and he knew I liked it. It was everyone’s dream place, I wasn’t about to turn down a dinner there cooked by Mingyu, who apparently has some nice culinary skills.

“But I’m sleeping at home, Seungcheol will notice that I didn’t return for the night.”

“Fine—” Mingyu stopped in the doorway when we spotted Mr. Hirai sitting on the staircase leading upstairs, “Go clean up, old man. Sleep tight tonight and make sure to bake those pastries for Hoshi tomorrow, you know he’s nicer to you when you give him those.”

“Yes, Mr. Kim.,” Mr. Hirai bowed as he stood, averting his gaze, “Have a pleasant afternoon, Mrs. Oh.”

“Thank you, you too!” I bowed my head before Mingyu could pull me after him and I watched as Mr. Hirai’s eyes turned sad as he closed the door after us. I let Mingyu walk me to his car and open the door for me.

“Who is this man and what’s your business with him?” I spoke up once Mingyu sat inside, turning towards him.

“No one that should concern you, you won’t see him ever again—” He started the car and I frowned at his words, “So forget about him.”

“You should treat him with respect, he’s your elder.”

“And he’s also a liar and thief.” He snapped with a scoff and I looked out the window.

“Just don’t speed around, please.” I dropped the topic, not wanting to piss him off while we were in the car. Mingyu just hummed and turned on the radio, all conversation ceasing between us as I closed my eyes and let my head rest against the headrest.

          My body jumped when I felt a hand gently cup my cheek, alerting me awake. I hummed and nuzzled into the warm touch as best as I could, sighing when a finger tenderly stroked my skin. Slowly, I realized the car wasn’t moving anymore and it was quiet inside too, the radio turned off.

“Wake up, sugar, we’re home.” Mingyu whispered and I sighed, his breath fanning my face.

“Home?” I asked, voice raspy, and slowly opened both eyes. The lights coming from the outside were dim and I watched as Mingyu smiled fondly at me, his finger still stroked my cheek.

“Yeah, home.” He whispered and my heart skipped a beat at the softness of his voice, a vulnerability I’ve never heard before coating his words. His defenses seemed to disappear as he looked at me quietly, his eyes running over my face. His forehead had faint wrinkles and his lips were pouty when he was serious, his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. His dark irises offered comfort and my heart started beating quickly, a feeling of content overtaking me.

“Did I sleep the whole ride back?” I broke the comfortable silence and Mingyu hummed, leaning closer. I watched him curiously as he pressed a long kiss to my forehead, his warm touch disappearing from my cheek when he pulled back. I wanted to grip his hand and place it back where it was, but Mingyu was out of the car before I could do that. Sighing, I took my backpack from the backseat, undid my seatbelt, and exited the Land Cruiser. Stepping outside, I realized we were standing in Mingyu’s garage, he did take me back to his mansion after all.

“How does takeaway sound?” His loud voice rang through the garage and I shivered at the coldness as I walked up to him; he was standing in front of the door that led inside the house.

“Anything that comes fast is good, I’m seriously starving.” I muttered, rubbing my empty stomach when it rumbled loudly, “I’ve never been this hungry before.”

Mingyu chuckled and intertwined our fingers as he pushed the door open and brought me inside with him. Instantly, the warm air warmed me up and my eyes fell on the pool that was inside, making a mental note to ask Mingyu to let me swim in it once. I loved spending a day or two doing nothing at the pool when it was summer.

“We have some leftover from yesterday, you can eat those before we order anything.” Mingyu spoke as he pulled me around the house, the ground floor I was already familiar with. We stopped in the hallway to take off our shoes and coats, I placed my backpack on the marble floor and put on the slippers Mingyu pushed my way.

“You’ve never been upstairs, right?” Mingyu looked at me with his eyebrows raised and I glanced behind him, eyes running up the marble staircase. I looked back at him and nodded my head no.

“Let me show you around then.” He extended his hand again and I took it, rubbing my eyes to make the sleepiness go away. We didn’t go straight upstairs, however, we walked past the marble staircase and towards the only room I haven’t seen from downstairs. He pushed the white door open and my eyes fell on different machines you see in the gym. The room was big and breezy, the air conditioning was still on as if someone had just been in the room.

“You even have your own gym, huh.” I muttered, turning my head to look at him, “I could come around and work out sometimes.”

“You go to the gym?” Mingyu asked surprised, closing the door again.

“I’ve been there once with Vernon and it was enough for a lifetime.” Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed and I threw him a look, silencing him even before he could say anything about Vernon. We walked towards the marble staircase and Mingyu teasingly bowed his head and made way for me to go up first, but we both came to a halt when someone cleared their throat. I turned my head towards the living room, where the voice came from, and quickly jumped away from Mingyu, ripping my hand away from his.

“Fancy seeing you here, Y/N,” Wonwoo’s deep voice echoed around as Mingyu glared at me for my reaction, “Also fancy seeing you two can’t greet.”

“I had no idea you were home. I didn’t see your car in the garage.” Mingyu said with a shrug and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. My eyebrows rose as I looked between the two males.

“Home?” I spoke up confused, looking at Wonwoo for answers.

“He didn’t tell you?” Wonwoo chuckled and started walking towards us, a book in his hands, “I live here too. This is our house—”

“It’s my house, but Wonwoo miraculously moved in one day without even asking me if I was alright with it, so…” Mingyu cut Wonwoo off with a scoff and I gaped at the two.

“But last time I was here—”

“I was running an errand, that’s why you didn’t see me inside.” Wonwoo answered with a smile as he stood at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the railing.

“But you picked me up—”

“Yeah,” He chuckled and started walking up the stairs, Mingyu and I made space for him, “How do you think I got here so fast? I had just arrived home when Mingyu called me.”

“I see.” I muttered and bit my lower lip as I watched Wonwoo casually strut to a room. He stopped after he opened the door and turned towards us to give us a wink before he disappeared inside and shut the door closed. Still biting my lower lip, I looked at Mingyu with a glare.

“And now why are you glaring at me?” He asked with a scoff as he continued his walk up the stairs, me hot on his tails.

“Because you never told me Wonwoo lived with you and that ultimately led to him seeing us holding hands!” I whisper-shouted, still glaring at Mingyu’s broad back.

“Wonwoo is way more observant than you think, we don’t have to tell him or show him that we are together, he already knows—”

“Because you told him!” I accused Mingyu as I followed him blindly towards a room.

“I didn’t!” He was quick to defend himself, throwing me a small glare as he opened the door, “I told you he’s observant.”

“As if I believe that, you always brag about shit, Mingyu—” I stopped talking when Mingyu grabbed my waist from behind and pushed me lightly further inside the big bedroom. It was Mingyu’s bedroom, his honey-like scent was everywhere with a tinge of light smoke floating in the air. My eyes took in the big room, a round bed sat in the middle of it, the sheets a light green. He had a big TV hung on the wall opposite the bed with a fireplace underneath it. There were some cushions laying on the marble floor here and there, the colors a mix of light green and white. He had a walk-in wardrobe that you could see inside from here and probably a private bathroom as well.  I was surprised to see so many plants inside the room and a big bookshelf filled with tons of books. A professional looking camera was placed on his nightstand, with a few polaroid’s laying messily around it.

“This is my room,” Mingyu muttered next to my ear as he rested his chin against my shoulder, “It’s a lot cooler than yours.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, nudging his side softly. Yeah, it was a lot bigger than mine, but I live in an apartment and he literally lives in a mansion.

“Is this the moment where you finally get me in your bed?” I asked teasingly, turning my head and making our noses brush against each other.

“As much as I’d love to—” Mingyu groaned and bit my lower lip playfully, “It’s not. You haven’t seen my office yet.”

“I have permission to step inside your office?” I asked him teasingly as we left his bedroom, walking towards a dark wood colored door, “Isn’t it like…forbidden for others?”

“This office? No.” Mingyu answered with an amused chuckle, pushing the door open, “The office at the headquarter is forbidden to certain people, however.”

“Can I still go inside?” I asked with a pout, making Mingyu smirk as he turned on the lights.

“We’ll see when we get there, sugar.” He let go of my hand and walked further inside, drawing the curtains closed and I pouted when the beautiful night view of the city was gone. His office was dark, unlike the rest of the house which was mostly covered in white marble, and it was also smaller. He had bookcases on both sides of the wall and a big mahogany desk sitting close to the big windows.

“Wonwoo likes to read, so these are practically his books.” Mingyu explained when he saw my eyes running over the bookcases once again.

“Did you put them here just for him?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“No,” Mingyu chuckled and leaned against his desk, “They were here before too, just a lot less filled with books.”

“You don’t like to read?” I hummed as I walked around the room, my fingers running over the material of the black, leather sofa.

“Not my favorite activity.” Mingyu muttered and I hummed as I pulled the curtain just a bit to be able to peek outside.

“What’s your favorite activity…besides stalking me.” I added with a pointed look towards Mingyu and he laughed quietly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Other than ruining others lives, you mean?” He mused quietly to himself, watching me as I walked up to him, coming to a stop in front of him, “Spending my time with you.”

I fought the smile that tried to break onto my lips and crossed my arms in front of my chest, trying to look at him accusingly, “Before me? I wasn’t always in your life.”

“I didn’t do much before,” He said with a shrug and extended his arms, to rest them against my waist, “I invest too much of my time into my work and I don’t have time for other activities that I could enjoy—”

“Come on!” I groaned and undid my arms, resting them on his shoulders, “You were a kid too once! You definitely didn’t sit around your house every day, doing nothing.”

Mingyu’s eyes darkened at the mention of his childhood and I raised my eyebrows questioningly, stepping between his legs when he pulled me into him. He watched me with narrowed eyes before pressing his lips against mine. I rolled my eyes but kissed him back, excusing him for dodging the subject for once. He hated talking about his childhood and whenever I brough it up he did something to change the subject. I knew it wasn’t my place to constantly push him, but I just wanted to get to know him better. Knowing someone’s childhood gave you an insight onto that person, a chance to get to know them better, to paint a general image of them. Mingyu was an enigma and I always wanted to know more about him, feeling like there always would be layers that I wouldn’t get to, because there wasn’t enough time for us.

“I like taking pictures.” He muttered against my lips as he pulled back from the kiss, his eyes still closed. I hummed and pressed a soft kiss against his left cheek, then his right cheek. Mingyu sighed quietly and I smiled, pecking his nose.

“You’re tired,” I muttered and he opened his eyes, pupils dilated, “Let’s order that takeout and call it a day…we are both tired, actually.”

“Are you sleeping over then?” Mingyu asked hopefully, eyes fixated on my lips. I licked them and unconsciously leaned further into him, letting his warmth envelope me.

“No, I’ll call a cab.” I whispered and shut him up with a kiss, easily slipping my tongue inside his mouth as he opened his to argue. He tasted like smoke and something sweet, and I yelped when I was hoisted up in the air, legs wrapping around Mingyu’s hips in fear that he’d drop me. He kissed me hungrily as he turned around and my ass came in contact with the hard surface of the wooden desk, as Mingyu gently placed me on top of it. My fingers tangled in his curly hair and I pulled on the roots when Mingyu harshly sucked on my tongue, making me tighten my legs around his hips.

“I can never get enough of you.” Mingyu mumbled against my lips and I smirked, playfully biting his jaw, “You’re so sweet.”

We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment and then our lips were moving against each other feverishly again, my fingers tangled in his locks at his nape, as Mingyu tried to push me down on the desk. I placed one hand on the desk and leaned down on that elbow, Mingyu’s hand running down from my neck, breasts, to the hem of my shirt. He slipped his warm hand underneath and I moaned at the feeling, heartrate picking up once again. My cheeks were flushed and my lungs screaming for air, but I could never get enough of his lips. He ignited a fire inside me that I never wanted to stop feeling. As Mingyu’s hand started traveling up on my skin, I buckled my hips instinctively and he groaned when I accidentally grinded down on his growing member. My back curved the slightest when he let his hand rest on my breast, feeling the perky bud, and my free hand travelled to the belt of his pants, fumbling around to undo it.

“Mingyu—Oh!” The shrieking voice made Mingyu and I jump and we bumped our foreheads together. I hissed and Mingyu stared into my eyes for a second with want and regret, before pulling back from me and helping me sit straight up on the desk. I huffed and ran a hand through my hair, angry that yet again someone interrupted us, but anxious that someone caught us making out. However, when my eyes fell on a familiar blonde head, they narrowed into slits. What’s the blonde woman from the auction doing here? Do Mingyu and her know each other?

“Kim Mingyu!” She shrieked again, seemingly unphased by what she saw a minute ago, and completely ignored my existence. I glanced at Mingyu questioningly as his infamous smirk was back on his lips, he seemed to be ignoring me too. I cleared my throat and got off the desk, standing up straight. The woman walked inside with swaying hips, her short and revealing dress clung to her body perfectly.

“I wasn’t expecting you tonight, Sana.” Mingyu’s tone got velvety and almost flirty. I narrowed my eyes at him as the woman, Sana, giggled with a high pitch and stopped incredibly close in front of Mingyu. My jaw clenched when Mingyu didn’t step back, instead he pressed a kiss against the corner of her mouth. I gulped down the anger that was bubbling up and cleared my throat again, gaining their attention for once. All warmness, vulnerability, and affection were gone from Mingyu’s eyes as he watched me with a neutral expression, his smirk never faltering. The woman raised one eyebrow and extended her hand giggling.

“Minatozaki Sana,” She said with her high-pitched voice, I realized that’s what her voice was like, “And you are…”

“Oh Y/N.” I took her hand and gripped it firmly, shaking it with a warning squeeze, but I made sure to keep my voice leveled and warm. I didn’t know if my anger was showing, or the discomfort I was feeling, but Mingyu seemed to grow amused at the exchange between Sana and I.

“Oh!” Sana exclaimed once again and I let go of her hand, not missing the subtle glare, “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?”

“Oh,” I faked my confusion, eyebrows softly furrowing, “We’ve met before? I don’t think so…I usually remember significant people.”

Sana gulped and a sweet smile ran over her lips as an airy chuckle left her mouth, eyes running over my body in a quick check out.

“Well…” She spoke up, placing a possessive hand on Mingyu’s shoulder, “My memory must be better than yours than…I’m here to talk business, Mingyu, who’s she again?”

I looked at Mingyu, biting the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from ripping her hand off my man. She clearly saw us making out, what was she putting on this act for? I watched Mingyu expectantly and impatiently, but he didn’t even look at me as he answered Sana.

“You’re here for business, right? Then who she is, is not important.” I took a deep breath, counting to five to stop myself from punching Mingyu and dragging this woman away from him by her fake blonde hair. Sana giggled and looked back me, her red lips pulling into another sweet smile, but her eyes narrowed malevolently. I glared at Mingyu, but when he avoided eye contact, I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone to talk business.” I snapped with a honey-like tone, threw Sana a warning glare, then strutted to the door and slammed it hard behind me once I was out the room. My jaw clenched as I took deep breaths, palms turning into fists as I stopped myself from waltzing back inside the office to drag the woman out and away from Mingyu. I cleared my throat and my eyes fell on Wonwoo’s closed door; would I be bothering him very much if I were to ask him to drive me home? I didn’t like bothering him, but I really needed to rant to someone right now, and he was the only one who, apparently, already knew about Mingyu and I. But feeling like I would be bothering him, I stormed downstairs and into the kitchen, opening Mingyu’s fridge aggressively. If I didn’t eat right now, I think I’ll pass out. I took out the leftover rice that sat at the back of the fridge and one big tomato. I sat at the marble counter and started eating, stuffing my mouth with nothing else but rice and tomato. My blood was boiling at the thought of that filthy woman staying alone with Mingyu in his office to talk business. If she acted like that when I was around, even though she doesn’t know I’m Mingyu’s girlfriend, then I don’t even want to imagine what she’s doing right now, when I’m not there. I sighed and paused eating, closing my eyes to clear my mind. I can’t be this jealous, I’m not a jealous person; I have to trust Mingyu. Would he really chase me for six months to leave me for the first woman that throws herself at him? I’m sure this happens very often, he’s a very handsome and powerful man, but it still leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth. What if him chasing me for six months was just his way of having a little fun? What if I am worth nothing in his eyes, like he said, I’m not important. But then all those tender moments we shared the past three weeks were fake? When he looks at me so vulnerably, that can’t be fake, right? I sighed and rose to my feet to start rummaging around the cupboards, see if I could find anything to cook dinner for Wonwoo, myself and…Mingyu. I’m sure Wonwoo hasn’t eaten anything as the fridge is pretty much empty and there’s no takeaway.

           In the end, I found some noodles hidden deep inside a cupboard, and as they weren’t expired yet, I decided to cook them. They didn’t have anything much around, so I just boiled the water for it and cut the bags containing the flavor open. I heard feet thudding lightly against the marble floors as they descended the stairs and I tensed, ready to see Sana’s annoying face. But I was met instead with a smiling Wonwoo.

“Ah, what smells so tasty?” I chuckled and sighed out, raising a stray noodle into the air.

“I found some not expired instant noodles in your cupboard, so…I guess that’s what we are having for dinner.” I said with a shrug and Wonwoo walked inside the kitchen, sitting at the counter, opposite me.

“That sounds great.” He muttered and placed his book on the counter, intertwining his hands and resting his chin on top of them, “I’m really hungry.”

“Yeah, I’ve been starving the whole day. I only had breakfast.” I answered him, eyes falling on the half eaten rice I found in the fridge, “When Mingyu said you had some leftovers, I didn’t think he meant just rice.”

“Yeah,” Wonwoo laughed, his deep laughter bringing a smile onto my lips, “I cooked his favorite dish, we ate it all.”

“He has a favorite dish?” I muttered with a sigh, letting my shoulders slouch as the noodles were almost cooked.

“I heard Sana is here—”

“Who wouldn’t hear her shrieking voice?!” I said with a scoff and Wonwoo nodded. As I looked at him, I just noticed he was wearing round glasses.

“She can be annoying, yeah.” Wonwoo said quietly, fingers tracing the cover of his book, “You don’t have to worry—”

“I’m not!” I snapped a bit too quickly, clearing my throat when Wonwoo shot me an understanding look, “There’s no—nothing to worry about, right?”

“There really isn’t.” He answered back reassuringly and I hummed, turning off the gas underneath the boiling noodles.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses…” I trailed off with a smile and Wonwoo chuckled, pushing them up on his nose.

“I have bad eyesight, I’m too lazy to wear contacts at home.” He explained as he opened his book to the page where he left off at.

“I understand…” I muttered quietly as Wonwoo went back to reading. Finding a strainer after five minutes of searching for it, I poured the hot water with the noodles into it, filtering the two apart. I dumped the noodles back into the pot I boiled them in and sprinkled the bag containing the sauce and flavor over it, mixing them well together. Wonwoo continued to read as I moved around the kitchen quietly, preparing three plates and chopsticks for us to eat with. Just as Wonwoo closed his book and took his glasses off, voices from upstairs filled the silence as they grew closer and closer. Wonwoo and I shared a look and I leaned against the cold counter; arms crossed in front of my chest.

“Stop! That was so funny!” Sana shrieked as they came in view, eyes widening when she saw me still there.

“You cooked dinner?” Mingyu’s eyebrows rose as his neutral expression slipped a bit.

“She did, so hurry up with your business, Mingyu.” Wonwoo spoke instead of me, his deep voice demanding and accusing. Sana’s eyes traveled between the three of us and a sick smirk crossed her lips, she clapped her hands together and made a sound of disbelief.

“You finally hired a maid, Mingyu!” The oxygen left my lungs and I felt as my cheeks slowly grew warm, teeth clenching so hard together, I was afraid I’d break them. Mingyu’s jaw ticked as well, but he did a good job of smoothing out his expression, even having the audacity to laugh. Wonwoo was on his feet, arms crossed in front of his chest, as he glared at Sana unimpressed.

“She’s—”

“I’m unsure how you run things in Japan, Sana, but I’m sure your mother, or sister, or brother, or father aren’t your maids… I mean, you cook too, don’t you?” I asked, while pushing my hair behind my shoulders, chuckling fakely, as I watched Sana’s smirk slowly slip from her lips, “I wish I could invite you to have dinner with us, but, Mingyu, my boyfriend, forgot to tell me he was having you over for business…”

Upon hearing me call Mingyu my boyfriend, Sana’s amused expression disappeared altogether and I could see Wonwoo smirk from my peripheral vision. Even Mingyu’s lips pulled up in a big, prideful, smirk and he placed a hand on Sana’s shoulder, rather harshly.

“You heard my girlfriend, I’ll see you soon for more business, Sana,” He turned the blonde woman around and walked her towards the front entrance, “Lovely seeing you tonight.”

“Ah,” We could hear Sana giggled, “Sweet dreams, Mingyu.”

I took a seat at the counter and pushed the pot of noodle in the middle; Wonwoo sat down too, but he didn’t stop smirking. I threw him a small glare as I put noodles in my plate and he too put some in his, as Mingyu’s loud footsteps approached us. I looked up at him when he stopped next to me with a glare and his smirk extended into a wide grin, his canines showing.

“I’m your boyfriend, huh?” His tone wasn’t mocking, it was pleased, and I glared at him.

“Sit down and eat while there’s still food.” I snapped and looked away from him, eyes falling on an amused Wonwoo.

“You’re not my boyfriend.” I snapped and made sure he heard me, especially after this whole thing with Sana.

“Really? Because you clearly—”

“Wonwoo,” I cut Mingyu’s words off, ignoring him when he scooted his chair closer to mine, “Would you mind driving me home?”

“Of course, not—”

“I’ll drive you home.” Mingyu said with a scoff, but I just ignored him. I don’t want to see him tonight anymore, or I might punch him in the face.

“Thank you, Wonwoo, I appreciate it a lot.” I offered the man a smile and he returned it, sneaking a glance towards Mingyu. I could feel Mingyu glaring at me as he dumped the remaining noodle on his plate, but I didn’t look at him.

“And Wonwoo—” Wonwoo looked at me with his eyebrows raised, chewing his food, “Please, don’t tell anyone about Mingyu and I.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.” He muttered reassuringly and I sighed quietly, slowly eating my food. Even my appetite was gone now. I felt Mingyu shift beside me and then he was pressing his lips against my cheek in a hasty kiss. I ignored it, but my heart skipped a beat. I needed a day, at least, to cool off and forget about Sana, and how Mingyu acted around her towards me.

“Thank you for cooking dinner.” Mingyu whispered into my ear and I hummed, staring down into my plate as I continued eating the food I cooked. Yeah, I definitely need to sleep as soon as I get home.

Part 4

[lovemybluebully]

Danger Room Level 1

Posted this at the beginning of the year on my DA account. Thought I’d throw it up on here. This was my first Wolverine tickle pic in 4 years! O_O

https://www.deviantart.com/lovemybluebully/art/Danger-Room-Level-1-865337680

Wrote a little story to go along with it.

Story is below the ‘Keep Reading’ line.

*/M Tickle Fic (Obviously lol) "Any other surprise challenges for me today, bub? Or is that all ya got?" Wolverine smirked confidently up at the team leader of the X-men, glancing over his shoulder at the pile of rubble consisting of destroyed weaponry and dismembered sentinels and robots of all sizes. Cyclops only sighed as he shook his head and looked down at the Canadian brawler from the control room of their training facility, having exhausted almost every combination of attacks that he could think to throw at him.

These scenarios of Wolverine slicing and dicing up every obstacle and foe were quite predictable and honestly getting a tad boring to watch over and over. Scott decided it was time to try something a little different. "No, this just isn't working. These upper level programs are just all foreseeable for you. Lets try something new. I say we scrap everything and start over from scratch. How about we start you at level 1?"

Logan's smirk disappeared as he frowned up at the other man. "Level 1? Yer kiddin' me, right? That's the program the Professor uses to train the kiddies."

"Trust me Logan it'll be perfect for you. Since you've always skipped over the bottom levels you'll have no idea what they contain so you won't be able to predict them so easily. Hell I don't even know myself exactly what is on each level, but lets give it a shot! Maybe we'll both learn something." Scott actually wasn't lying since he himself had been too competent for those beginner programs when he had joined the X-men. It was likely that Logan would just blow right through them, but he was curious and quite frankly desperate for a change of pace. "Fine. But this is gonna be just a waste o' time," Logan grumbled as he lazily stretched out his arms and cracked his neck. "Don't underestimate the Danger Room and dismiss this program so easily. It may be aimed towards the less experienced, but should still provide its own formidable experience. Remember to stay alert and don't let your guard down." Wolverine just scoffed and blew off his advice like he normally did. "Yeah whatever Slim. Lets get on with it."

"Ok great. Now just a moment here. I'm initiating level 1....," Scott uttered with some fast typing on the control board before pressing one final button, "Now." They waited for a few quiet moments, but nothing happened. Logan was about to quip some sarcastic remark when finally the Danger Room began to show some activity. A compartment on the wall opened and two gloved robotic hands being controlled by metal tentacles began to slowly make their way over to him. Logan snorted in disbelief and shook his head as he looked over the two appendages and noted that they were not holding any kinds of weapons; basically looking completely harmless.

"That's it? This is ridiculous. What's next, a pillow fight? Not that I expected this crap to be any kinda challenge whatsoever," Logan rolled his eyes as he raised his hands into the air and released his deadly claws; ready to dispatch the advancing robot hands with a quick swipe once they closed in. Not even a second later he quickly found his arms ensnared as two metal tentacles had crept in from behind to successfully restrain him much to Logan's shock. He growled as he tried to slice at the tentacles with his sharp claws, but they firmly held his arms away from each other just above his head. The distraction had been just enough that he barely had time to notice that the gloved hands had now reached him as one of them wasted not a moment to grab hold of the hem of his uniform's shirt and roughly jerk it upwards, exposing his bare stomach.

"Hey! What is...?!" He shouted in confusion; his words cut off as the other hand immediately shot forward and buried it's furiously wriggling digits right into his muscular belly.

Logan hadn't listened to Scott. He had let his guard down completely when he had seen this "threat" first enter the room. His overconfidence was now going to be his downfall for mocking the capabilities of the robot hand; the hand that was now ruthlessly tickling him. This tactic was a complete shock to him, and having not put up any of his mental defenses in preparation the laughter exploded out of him as soon as contact was made. "Ahahahaahaa! Wha-Whahahat's goin' ohohohon?! Stahahap thaaat!" He howled out at the mindless hand that relentlessly continued tickling all over his sensitive abdomen; the other hand holding his shirt securely out of the way. Scott too was in complete awe by just what method the program had decided to use, though he couldn't help but grin as he saw the situation that his normally cantankerous teammate was now in. It was already a known fact by the mansion's inhabitants that Logan was surprisingly ticklish as his female team members found it quite endearing and took great delight in ganging up on the burly mutant at times. Heightened senses did have their drawbacks. Still nothing that Scott himself would partake in, knowing that while Logan might put up with it from the ladies he was pretty sure he'd be skewered on the spot if he even made a hint at attempting such a thing. In a way he now felt that he had a sense of power in having Logan in this position. "See? That's what happens when you underestimate the situation, now get to work Logan. Tickling probably isn't a real world offensive that you're going to run into, but no harm in being extra prepared." Wolverine's claws remained out, but he couldn't move his arms enough to free himself. Unable to think straight he continued to fail in his efforts to come up with a strategy to get out of this aside from yelling up at the amused operator in the control room. "Cyyyykehehehee! Tuhuhurn thihis shihihihiiit ohahahahoff!!" Arms bulging he thrashed uselessly in the grip of the tentacles, trying to block the torturous hand from his body by lifting his knee to no avail. He'd been tickled worse than this before, but never had he been this helpless to defend himself. Meanwhile Scott mused over the scene before him. It in fact was a little stupid to be messing with one of the world's deadliest mutant's like this, and he was pretty sure there would be Hell to pay later. His hand hovered momentarily over the button to shut down the Danger Room, but then he pulled back. "No, I think you just need a little more time to figure this out. I have faith in you. I mean, this program is only used to train the 'kiddies', right?" Yup. He was pretty sure Logan was going to kill him after this. "Fuhuhuhuck yooooouuuu!!" Logan cackled as he desperately tried to regain some kind of focus though was only barely able to retract his claws back into his hands, knowing that they were of no use. "Aw c'mon Logan. You're not that ticklish, are you? Can't resist just one little hand tickling you?" Scott couldn't help but tease a bit, having on more than one occasion seen Logan nearly lose his mind from just having his stomach tickled by his teenage sidekick, Jubilee. No sooner had he said that when a third hand began to move in from out of Logan's sight before grabbing the squirming mutant right below his ribs as the fingers playfully dug in over and over again.

"Bwahahahahahahahahaa!! Noooo!! Gehehet 'em offa meeheeheehee!!" Roaring with laughter from the added torture Logan was regretting not taking the lowest level of the Danger Room more seriously. With his arms being held out of the way he couldn't even use them to help guard his body no matter how hard he pulled to free them. It wasn't much longer before his legs began to weaken as he attempted to sink to the floor to hopefully get him a split second of reprieve.

He was allowed to move to the ground, but the hands were unrelenting. With a firm tug the restraining tentacles around his forearms pulled him down onto his back as a few more hands now appeared seemingly out of nowhere to join in tickling under his arms and the other side of his ribcage.

"No!! No!! Stahahahap ihihihihit!! Lemme outtahahaha heeheeheeeere!!" The Wolverine howled as he kicked and squirmed like crazy; his armpits being one of his worst spots. Two other metal tentacles quickly slithered over and grabbed onto each leg to stretch him out and prevent him from curling up in defense. Tears crept out of the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard as so far he had made no progress in getting loose. "Very disappointing Logan. I thought for sure you'd have passed all these lower levels with ease. Well it seems we've uncovered your true weakness. Something that your healing factor won't protect you from. We'll probably have to repeat this level over and over until you get it right," Scott grinned wider, only half serious as he liked to push Logan's buttons at any given opportunity. He was hardly listening though; too focused on the incessant tickle torture. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse two additional hands made their way over and quickly tugged off his boots, revealing his twitching bare feet as Logan's eyes bulged in panic. "HEY!! Hey hey waahaahaait a m...minute!! No don't!! Not the-AAAHAHAHHAHAHA!!" Fingers wildly scratched at his tender soles, tickling from his wide heels to up under his curled up toes with not a thing he could do to stop them. He was laughing harder than he'd ever had as the tears began to roll down his cheeks. He absolutely could not handle having his feet tickled and once had accidentally kicked Rogue for trying. Luckily she is a tough woman though she used it as an excuse to really punish him with his ankles trapped in the crook of her super strong arm while Logan hysterically cried 'Uncle'. This was more than he could stand. Being spread out and tickled in all his most sensitive spots at once with no way to guard himself was where he drew the line. He loathed the thought of what he was about to do, but he couldn't hold back the frantic pleas that came pouring out. "NAAAHAHAHAHAHOOOO!! N-NO MORE!! STOPSTOP!! PLEEHEEHEEEEASE!! I CAN'T..HAHAHAHAHAA..CAAHAAHAAN'T T-TAKE THIHIHIIS SHIIIIIT!!" Scott was just enjoying the show as he chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. "Wow. Who knew? All one has to do to defeat Wolverine is to tickle him and he'll be begging for mercy. Better hope none of your enemies ever find out about this one."

And with that he finally pushed the button to shut down the currently running program in the Danger Room. He'd have been more than happy to let it keep going, but even he could feel some sympathy for his frenemy and knew once he started begging that he had had enough. Logan instantly panted in relief as the hands all stopped tickling him while he was gently released from the restraints, everything then retracting back into the chambers that they had emerged from. A giggle escaped him here and there as he still had a phantom feeling of the fingers all over on his body.

Scott slowly clapped his hands in jest from the control room as he grinned down at the seemingly lifeless body. "Not bad, Logan! I think you almost had it there, but I'm sure you'll do better next time! So what do you think? Ready for level 2?"

The middle claw that immediately popped out of Logan's fist crudely gave him his answer.

[hearteyesemergency]

TK Accidentally Takes Carlos Home While His Dad’s There

Request: TK forgets he’s living with his Dad, and takes Carlos home and they get caught?

A/N: This has been on my mind recently. Semi-established Tarlos for this fic. It got a lot longer than I expected, but I really wanted to show some of smitten/pining TK that we haven’t seen much of yet in this canon slow burn. And I really wanted to keep this canon Carlos who gives TK the space to breathe and heal.

Summary: Considering how close TK is to his Dad, it‘s astounding to anyone that he forgot they lived together. After a pretty successful dancing date, TK takes Carlos home with him, and scar’s Owen with the sight of them all over each other once barely inside the door. TK could die of embarrassment, and Carlos just really wants Owen to like him.

Warnings: Course language, Mild sexual themes.

TK stumbled backward into his home, not worried about the key that slipped from his fingertips and landed somewhere on the floor beneath their feet. All he cared about was Carlos’ lips on his, and how somehow they made him feel so incredibly wanted.

They weren’t even together, not officially anyway, they hadn’t had that chat yet, but Tyler didn’t know any word other than ‘loved’ to describe the way Carlos made him feel. TK had rarely felt worthy of anything as powerful as that, and yet here Carlos was, making him feel like he was drowning in it.

It grew this need in Tyler to have Carlos closer. Like, impossibly close, limbs tangled, body to body, even a thin shirt between them was too much. All TK wanted was to get the clothes gone, he just needed to feel Carlos.

He had gotten far too invested lately in the fleeting power trip that came with lost buttons on Carlos’ shirt when he tore it off the man. So far, Carlos had lost four button-ups and counting. TK had only managed the top half of this shirt when someone cleared their throat in the next room.

TK sprung back with a gasp. In the kitchen stood Owen, glass of milk in hand. He looked tired, wrapped in a sweater over his pyjamas and socks on his feet. Another half hour, and he’d probably have been in bed. Just Tyler’s luck that his Dad finds him with kiss swollen lips, trying to rip the shirt off a man who may as well have been their colleague.

“Hi boy’s,”

“Dad,”

“Uh, hi, Mr Strand,”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you can call me Owen,”

“To be honest, Sir, right now, I don’t think that I can,”

Owen shrugged understandingly.

TK couldn’t look at either of them, a blush settled on his cheeks. How the fuck he forgot that he lived with his father, he wasn’t sure.

“So, fun night?” Owen guessed,

“Uh, yeah... I mean, we just went dancing at the bar- TK only drank water,”

“I know,” Owen nodded, “I trust him, and you’re a good influence,”

Carlos sighed in relief through a smile, “thank you, Sir.”

Owen grinned back.

“Well, this has been sufficiently awkward,” TK finally piped up, “good night.”

TK took Carlos by the hand and lead him to the stairs. Now was not the time for his Dad and the guy he was seeing to bond. They were halfway up when he heard his Dad at the bottom.

“TK!”

He sighed, “Yeah, Dad,”

“Door open,”

He whirled around, “You’re joking, right?”

“No, I’m not joking. I’m literally in the bedroom next door. Door open.”

TK pulled a face.

As if your Dad interrupting a hot make out session with the guy you’re seeing wasn’t a turn off enough, him being in the next bedroom, in a house that had possibly the thinnest walls in Texas- THAT was an even bigger turn off.

TK couldn’t lock himself and Carlos behind his bedroom door fast enough after that. He took a moment to rest his head against the wood, composing himself as he left Carlos to make himself comfortable in the room.

At this point, he didn’t care if Carlos looked around, what he’d see was now officially the least embarrassing thing TK could face that night.

He had no reason to be concerned though, the police officer cared more about gently pulling Tyler out of his dramatics, and away from the door. He sat TK down on the bed before he flicked the lock back, and opened up the room once again.

“But-“

“I want your Dad to like me, TK. I don’t want him thinking I’m encouraging you to disobey his rules in his house,”

“Okay, first of all, he loves you. Second of all, I’m a grown man-“

“Who still lives with his Dad, which means we respect his rules. And your Dad loves me as a cop, he doesn’t know me as his sons boyfriend, or whatever this is,”

“...we could call it a boyfriend thing,” TK shrugged, though didn’t meet Carlos’ eyes,

“Yeah?”

TK nodded.

Though he still didn’t look, he felt Carlos come crouch down in front of him, taking the firefighters face in his hands. Reluctantly, TK turned to make eye contact with the man, and found a soft smile waiting just for him. Carlos caressed his cheek for a moment, before he kissed him.

Not like earlier, no, this kiss was soft and sweet, there was no lust in it at all. TK may have literally whimpered into it. Carlos had a way of making TK seem like he was breakable, not in a bad way, in a good way. Like he was precious, and invaluable. Like it would be the worst thing in the world if something were to hurt him.

TK let himself collapse forward against Carlos, foreheads together as he took in the man’s scent. It calmed him, not that he had been nervous or anything, he was just generally a little chaotic, and Carlos had a good affect on him in that respect. He was once again coming to love the super intimate moments in a relationship. The staring, the feeling, the silence, and it was all thanks to the man right in front of him.

“You really think your Dad’s cool if I stay the night?”

“Are you joking?” TK pulled back and looked at his boyfriend, “you’re going to wake up to a cooked three course breakfast,”

Carlos chuckled, “you sound sure,”

“I am sure, I can see it in his eyes- he really likes you,”

“I hope so,” Carlos caressed TK’s cheek,

“I know so... Now get up here and give me cuddles since you’re playing by my fathers boring game of innocence.”

Carlos rolled his eyes, though complied anyway. He borrowed a pair of sweats from TK’s dresser as they both changed out of their date attire, though didn’t bother with a shirt, he didn’t want to stretch anything out. TK watched as the man crawled into his bed for the very first time, and was certain that he could absolutely get used to this.

When Carlos was comfortable, TK sat up and faced him, so that he could look at him and admire the man that had taken things so slow with him to get to this point. He couldn’t help but run a hand through Carlos’ hair, it was usually the other man who was so gentle and understanding with him, somehow able to draw out TK’s most vulnerable side, and help him accept and grow with all his past traumas and flaws.

Carlos grinned up at him, and it was nice there like that. They fell into a soft conversation, talking about nothing and absolutely everything. TK sat against the policeman’s hip, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the bare skin. Their hands tangled or explored the others soft skin, never still. It was very possibly the most intimate situation TK had ever been in. Intimacy far beyond sex, something he was not in the slightest experienced with.

Carlos was certainly his most grown up relationship, and he put every other boyfriend TK had ever had to complete shame. TK understood why his Dad liked Carlos, everyone liked Carlos, but his Dad especially, because he didn’t have to worry as much with Carlos around. He had a strong head on his shoulders, and he wasn’t afraid to pull TK in line when he needed it, but was equally as understanding and there through the hard times as well.

“Good night.”

TK looked back over his shoulder to his father at the door, and smiled, “good night, Dad,”

“How do you like your eggs in the morning, Carlos?”

TK chuckled, and gave his boyfriend one of those ‘I told you so’ looks.

“I’ll cook,” Carlos countered, “my Mum used to make our breakfast every day... you have to try it,”

“I won’t say no to that,” the Cap agreed, “good night, boys.”

Owen switched the light off as he left, and TK couldn’t help but relish in how fucking domestic this was. It was like when you live in a different city, and you and the husband go home to visit the father who calls every other day because he misses you, and would do anything to have you home.

In the darkness, TK laid back down beside Carlos, leg thrown over the other man’s hip, arm around his waist as he nuzzled his face in Carlos’ shoulder.

“Is it weird that I don’t find any of this awkward?” Carlos wondered,

“My Dad has that affect on people.”

TK didn’t elaborate on the fact that he knew his father had never been this relaxed and instantly accepting with any other guy TK had dated. It was too much too soon to say out loud. For now, both Carlos and his Dad knew where his feelings stood, and that was enough.

Carlos made him feel light, and safe, and fuck he hoped this time it worked out.

If Carlos was bothered by how much TK would toss and turn during the night, he didn’t let it on. TK figured he knew the struggles with shift work body clock himself. Despite his inability to stay asleep, TK felt like the hours that he did get in had been the best he’d had in years. He also enjoyed the times when he was awake, when he could stare at how peaceful and perfect Carlos was.

TK couldn’t think of a single thing he had done to deserve the man beside him, but he knew damn well he wouldn’t give up their rollercoaster ride for anything. He’d rather spend one hard day with Carlos than infinite ‘easy’ days with anyone else.

It was around 4am when TK had last laid awake, staring at the back of Carlos, fingers gently trailing absentmindedly up and down the officers back.

“You think awfully loudly,” Carlos whispered, though it was enough to startle TK,

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” TK reclaimed his hands,

“Wanna tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Carlos rolled onto his back and looked across to TK,

“I was just thinking about how happy I am... and I really mean that.”

It was too dark either of them to really see each other, but they stared anyway. A moment later, Carlos grabbed a hold of TK, and drew him into his chest before rolling back to the other side. Now TK was practically cocooned in Carlos’ arms, snuggled in his chest and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Be cute in the morning, I’m trying to sleep,” Carlos’ voice was light,

“You and I both know I’m not this good with feelings in the light of day...“

“You don’t give yourself enough credit... you’ve come so far since I met you. I’m so proud of you.”

To TK, those words meant more than ‘I love you.’ Anyone can love another person, but to make someone proud, especially with the parts of yourself you hate the most... that was something else.

TK closed his eyes and sighed contently, “you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me... thank you. For everything,”

“Ride or die.”

TK couldn’t help but laugh at that, and he didn’t care how loud he was. He wondered who the fuck taught Carlos that, because Lord knew that he didn’t figure out that was a ‘thing’ on his own.

With one last kiss to Carlos’ neck, TK willed himself to go back to sleep, a much easier task when he could count to the beats of Carlos’ heart.

It was morning when he woke up, after eight, and he knew that his Dad would be out on his morning run. His back was to Carlos now, the man’s arm only loosely around TK’s waist. He could tell from the awkward placement that Carlos was still asleep, and if he wasn’t afraid to wake him by moving- probably far too late- he would’ve wrapped the police officer up in his own arms and returned the favour.

A small glimmer caught TK’s eye on the night stand, and he looked over to find three blue buttons sat neatly in a row. TK couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. Sometimes, he was sure he and his father were too close, way too close, though he still wouldn’t change it for the world, and he was so glad that his Dad liked Carlos, because TK was fairly certain one day they’d walk down to isle to Carlos waiting at the end. At least he hoped so.

[demi-quirk]

ideas list

some of these may never be written as full fics but i want to talk about them nonetheless so: list of ideas! (some titled, some not) pls send me asks about them i love them all so much. (pls dont write anything based on them though unless u ask for specific permission SAFJSDF)

(under the cut, bc it is long.)

dabi and shouto’s arrest-evading adventure: exactly what it sounds like idk what to tell you HKDSF crack treated seriously

rage, spite, and all might: ofa!bakugou, previously quirkless- originally a canon rewrite but i have some Ideas now (namely bkg getting into ua quirkless and getting ofa later on)

someone else in the mirror: bodyswap fic :D

the way i was raised: bakugou gets therapy (at the hands of todoroki and aizawa, post-that One Comment during the provisional license class arc)

from the ashes: pre-290 dabi-centric theoretical backstory exploration

goodnight, love: in which krbk are kidnapped, and only kirishima gets back to ua-- where no one remembers bakugou.

twin users: canondivergent from heroes rising, bakugou keeps ofa but deku doesnt lose it

the risk i took was calculated, but man, am i bad at math: exploration of what would have happened if deku had gotten hit with the quirk erasing bullets (after all, it’s several generations ahead of other quirks-- it wouldn’t quite erase it, right?

touya todoroki’s guide (has a longer name but i am not sharing it): dabi takes a college class (pre-stain). with natsuo, unintentionally, and gets paired with him for a partner project. trying his best. kind of crack treated seriously but not quite? 

the todoroki family’s guide (same as above): sequel to the above! in which the todorokis have a family tv show

side by side, against all odds: quirkless deku and bakugou hero duo! (platonic bkdk)

you will be made new again: dabi get hit with an age regressing quirk, and 12 year old touya todoroki deals with the consequences

what a quirk is worth: in which quirks are spiritual-based-- earned, gifted, received for a price, or inherited, but not easy to find-- and what that means for midoriya and the people he knows.

quirkloss: in which bakugou lost his quirk at kamino, and the consequences he faces as he continues in the hero course.

blood was our inheritance: villain todoroki siblings

what makes a vigilante: vigilante touya/dabi, multiple endings, shigadabi with dabihawks in some endings and shigadabihawks in one ending

brotherswap au: in which the main three villains are shouto, izuku, and tenya, while touya, tenko, and tensei fight to bring them home.

royalty au: royal todoroki siblings, following enji’s death. including the lov causing small amounts of chaos, a possible scheme within the izucrew, and maybe a cameo from bakugou and his dragon.

you want a garden (but you got a balcony): hero student!tenko and kind of canon!dabi. their meeting, friendship, and eventually something more, including tenko forcing dabi to take care of himself

fall in love twice (with me): fantasy au shigadabi. criminal duo. stopped by a group of spellcasters, caught separately and forced to forget the other. they meet again in their search to recover their memories, and go forward from there.

game over. continue?: in which tenko lived and died pre-quirk era, jokingly put in his will that he wanted “game over, continue” written on his grave with a coin slot, and dabi is the first to go along with it out of sheer boredom, accidentally dragging tenko back to life in the process.

rewinded lov trio: in which an attempt to get information from eraserhead’s apartment ends in dabi, toga, and shigaraki getting rewinded to their childhood selves with no way to press the fast-forward button. 

mermaid shigadabi: part-mermaid dabi, mermaid-prince shigaraki. dabi runs away after enji finds out, running into shigaraki and ending up as a royal guest.

lessons unlearned: in which pro hero deku forgets what it’s like to be a quirkless kid wanting desperately to be a hero, just needing that final push of reassurance, at the cost of breaking a quirkless kid’s heart-- not unlike what he experienced at their age.

ofa!touya: in which all might was injured a decade earlier, met touya in the hospital, gained custody, and believed ofa may help touya handle his quirk. (there are consequences.)

recipe for a hero: in which shigaraki, twice, and dabi are forced into a villain-to-hero rehabilitation program hosted by the hpsc.

[lamarkeu]

Episode Summary: We finally meet Seokmin’s family, our final Superman for Return of Superman Episode 1 (Today is a New Day)

Genre: Fluff

Masterlist for SVTTROS Series

Italics: Narrators Boo Seungkwan (BS) and Lee Minhyuk (LM)

Bold: Staff

Regular: What family member says/ what the Camera films during the Show

🎶 Listen To: Take Me To You by GOT7🎶

Y/N: The Return of Superman “Today is a New Day” Part 3

BS: You might have noticed a different voice in the booth. Minhyuk, unfortunately, is at home sick so we have a guest to help finish today’s episode. Some of you may know her as the host of Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-staurant as well as other KBS programs.

Y/N: Hello everyone, I’m Lee Y/N, nice to meet you. I hope we have a fun time watching the episode together. Let’s get started, shall we?

BS: This superman family lives in a spacious modern two-floor studio-style apartment. The big open windows bring natural light to emphasize the minimalistic design elements.

BS: Walking into the house we're immediately blown away by the neatly kept kitchen, breakfast bar, dining room table and spacious living room. The main hallway has two bedrooms.

Y/N: One is used as a storage room for clothes and other materials, while the other holds a neatly kept pink princess bed that looks brand new, a play kitchen as well as other toys.

BS: We’ve seen the majority of the house on this point but still haven’t met a single soul. Who on Earth could this superman family be?

Carefully carrying your daughter from your bathtub onto the bathroom floor of the master bathroom, she grabs a cute green spring dress sitting on the towel rack to put on herself.

Turning away for a second to grab the hairdryer and brush in the sink drawers.“Do you want to brush your hair this time?” you ask your daughter.

BS: That voice sounds oddly familiar, perhaps they’re friends of ours.

Y/N: I know right? Maybe they're outside of seventeen. I know Krystal Wang has been a popular tv host lately.

BS: That’s right. I’ve actually talked to Jackson Hyung about joining the show, and he seems interested. But I'm not 100% sure about that."

“Yes please, mommy!” Your daughter nods energetically handing her the brush. She begins brushing her hair while you turn the hairdryer on.

Once completely dried you turn it off and begin applying lotion onto her face.

You gently wipe the remainder of the lotion residue and leave a kiss on her button nose.

“Mommy, can I have another kiss?” She asks sweetly with her lips in a pout. Laughing at her expression before kissing the top of her head and finally revealing your face to the camera.

BS: Oh my gosh, Noona that’s you and Seol-hee. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were going to be on the show.

Y/N: Your favourite Hyung and I made a bet to see who’s making dinner tonight. I’m glad it worked out in my favour.

BS: This means our final dad for today’s episode is none other than Dokyeom-Hyungie!

“Can daddy also get a kiss?” you and your daughter turn to see your husband leaning against the doorway.

Seokmin struts into the room before picking your daughter up naturally into his arms.

The weight of your body shifts as you're tippy-toeing to leave a quick peck on his cheek. He jerks his head fast without thinking causing the two of you to accidentally touch lips.

Both of you are left in a blushing mess shyly looking away from each other as your daughter begins complaining about not getting any kisses from her dad.

Hello, my name is Lee Seol-hee, I am 4 years old. My mother is Y/N and my father is Lee Seokmin. Please take care of my family.” Your daughter bows respectfully to the camera.

A contented fatherly smile can be noted on your husband’s face as he watches. “I’m Lee Seol-hee’s father, musical actor and Seventeen’s main vocalist, Lee Dokyeom”

I’m her mother Lee Y/N, an experienced journalist, singer and host of varying KBS programs. Thank you for welcoming us into your family.

How did you two first meet?

“I got hired at my first journalist job and was asked to interview the EMK Company when they first put on the musical ‘Xcalibur.’ Seok was one of the final actors to be interviewed.”

Seokmin laughs thinking about how that day had planned out for him. “It was so embarrassing. I had just finished a Seventeen schedule, so I had to run from the studio straight to the theatre all sweaty and as soon as I saw her my eyes went wide in disbelief.”

“Disbelief?” You presented him a questionable look.

“Yeah, I couldn’t understand how on Earth God let one of his most beautiful angels come to and bless me with her presence.”

Quickly place your hands over your cheeks to cover the embarrassing redness from showing up on the camera. “Ah stop, you’re making me blush. There’s no way you thought that.”

“Did too,” he pouts while insisting, “that’s why I was so awkward and nervous during the interview. Even more so when I asked for your number and you said yes. Every day since then has almost been like a dream.” He receives his hand in yours caressing the back of your hand with his thumb lovingly.

When did you realize you wanted to get married?

“Oof, that’s a good question.” nodding enthusiastically before turning to your husband, “Did you want to go first?”

“Sure. I would say it was during one of our late-night pillow talks, and we started talking about the future. I had never had a relationship where we openly spoke about it.”

He stares at your eyes lovingly, his lips producing a smile as he spoke. “ With Y/N, we both discussed the idea of an apartment, kids and a dog. It was the first time someone ever reciprocated the same hopes and dreams I wanted.”

You gasp, surprised by his answer. “Are you some kind of mind reader? I was thinking the same thing.” You grasp his hand to hold before showing it off to the camera. “We really have the best teamwork.”

How did you react when Seol-Hee was born?

“Y/N and I had been trying for a baby for almost a year straight and almost gave up.” You squeeze his hand reassuringly before picking up from where he spoke.

You smile at him before speaking towards the camera. “We tried one more time, before deciding to take a break. In some twist of fate, I got pregnant.”

“The months leading up to her birth were stressful mostly because Seventeen was preparing for a comeback.” He explains, getting exhausted just by the memory of that day.

“It was during a performance Y/N had called my manager saying that her water broke.”

“When we finally got to hold her in our arms that day, it was almost as if all the worry and doubt had left my body and was replaced by the love that I had always longed to feel.” You look down at your daughter, who had managed to fall asleep on your lap during the interview.

What can the viewers look forward to with your family?

“Being in an idol group as well as musical theatre has definitely influenced my own family. There isn’t a time where either Y/N and I or even Seol-Hee aren’t singing, laughing or cracking the cheesy jokes.”

He utters a chuckle as he speaks. “We hope you enjoy the silliness of our quirky family.”

[splitcycle]

So this is a minor gripe about certain design choices made in UNICLR that makes it really difficult for me to enjoy online play. I had a lot of trouble picking up my mains Gordeau and Carmine because of several issues I have while performing certain specials.

Essentially, it boils down to this: Gordeau and Carmine both have a forward quarter-circle input and a DP. They serve vastly different purposes in each character's kit and for the longest time I was having an issue where I would do a perfect DP motion and get a quarter-circle instead. This made certain gordeau strings that were supposed to end in Grim Reaper end in a whiffed Mortal Slide, which left me getting punished for no reason and it made it so that sometimes when I wanted to vortex someone with a carmine fireball I'd yeet them away with his DP and it was *infuriating* and for some reason it doesn't matter what concerns I air about games, I always get told I'm making it up or to just Deal with it.

I had a friend who is very experienced with fighting games in general but new to UNICLR match with me and I just avoided both specials even though they're important for combo routes and let Them try to use those moves without mentioning it, and no less than three individual times in our first set, they told me, "I didn't mean to use that move, I didn't do that motion."

I explained that I've been having the same problem and the most useful information I'd gotten from anyone was that there was a problem with my stick. The stick that works perfectly for every other game I play.

They then informed me that they play on a pad that uses arrow keys instead of a stick.

So we start doing research and can't find anything about it for a while. My buddy finally finds out that the pc version of UNICLR is badly optimized for controllers and sticks despite the fact that the game was originally released on consoles. We try the proposed fix that is supposed to fix the weird input lag issue. No dice. Both of us have played the tutorials but UNICLR has tutorials like a cobbled-together powerpoint for a community college class the prof forgot they were teaching that semester.

A lot of the tutorial bits don't even involve inputs, they're just text boxes and then you pass the lesson after a loading screen.

We both went through the basic, intermediate, and advanced tutorials.

Fucking 80 lessons in the game just drops in a single text box that's like "Oh, by the way now that you've struggled with inputs for the last ten hours of gameplay with other people and having played a large chunk of tutorial where we've asked you to do combos without sample videos, input displays, and the wrong move coming out seemingly at random, now we feel like it's the right time to tell you that The game prioritizes quarter-circles over DPs!" This means that if you do a dp and press the button, then try to flick forward for the inbuilt followups to several character's moves, the game will read the 623+button->6B followup as 236B instead.

This is unintuitive as fuck, and it's really weird to adapt to, and my buddy and I found NO indication of this mechanic among the community, and nowhere else in-game. Even knowing about it I still accidentally barely hit 6 twice during a DP and do a 236 special instead. I have no idea why the devs thought that prioritizing the easier input over the more difficult input was the right call but it means you have to be way more precise than you normally would about a motion input. Most games you can do fast buffered DPs by doing a quartercircle and then clicking diagonal down, in the name of doing them in combos easier, or if you're trying for speed over precision during a string or to force out a reversal.

If your DP is even the tiniest bit sloppy in UNICLR you do a 236 instead. Why is their prioritization backwards from other games? Why would you ever do a sloppy DP motion when you want a fireball? Under what circumstance would you ever want the special most commonly used for reversals to be superseded by a generic special input most commonly used for ranged options when someone is right on top of you?

It's super weird and I really dislike it, from a design standpoint. The game is fun but this feels like something that should be mentioned earlier than 80 tutorials in.

[uxuifromzerotowow]

The 4 Golden Rules of UI Design by Nick Babich

The user interface (UI) is a critical part of any software product. When it’s done well, users don’t even notice it. When it’s done poorly, users can’t get past it to efficiently use a product. To increase the chances of success when creating user interfaces, most designers follow interface design principles. Interface design principles represent high-level concepts that are used to guide software design. In this article, I’ll share a few fundamental principles. These are based on Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics for UI Design, Ben Shneiderman’s The Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design, and Bruce Tognazzini’s Principles of Interaction Design. Most of the principles are applicable to any interactive systems — traditional GUI environments (such as desktop and mobile apps, websites) and non-GUI interfaces (such as voice-based interaction systems). 

The UI design principals are:

Place users in control of the interface

Make it comfortable to interact with a product

Reduce cognitive load

Make user interfaces consistent

1. Place users in control of the interface

Good UI s instill a sense of control in their users. Keeping users in control makes them comfortable; they will learn quickly and gain a fast sense of mastery.Make actions reversible – be forgivingThis rule means that the user should always be able to quickly backtrack whatever they are doing. This allows users to explore the product without the constant fear of failure — when a user knows that errors can be easily undone, this encourages exploration of unfamiliar options. On the contrary, if a user has to be extremely careful with every action they take, it leads to a slower exploration and nerve-racking experience that no one wants.Perhaps the most common GUIs where users have the ‘Undo/Redo’ option are text and graphics editors. While writing text or creating graphics, ‘Undo’ lets users make changes and go back step-by-step through changes that were made. ‘Redo’ lets users undo the undo, which means that once they go back a few steps, they are able to move forward through their changes again.‘Undo’ can be extremely helpful when users choose system function by mistake. In this case, the undo function serves as an ’emergency exit,’ allowing users to leave the unwanted state. One good example of such emergency exits is Gmail’s notification message with an undo option when users accidentally delete an email.

Create an easy-to-navigate interface

Navigation should always be clear and self-evident. Users should be able to enjoy exploring the interface of any software product. Even complex B2B products full of features shouldn’t intimidate users so that they are afraid to press a button. Good UI puts users in their comfort zone by providing some context of where they are, where they’ve been, and where they can go next:

Provide visual cues. Visual cues serve as reminders for users. Allow users to navigate easily through the interface by providing points of reference as they move through a product interface. Page titles, highlights for currently selected navigation options, and other visual aids give users an immediate view of where they are in the interface. A user should never be wondering, “Where am I?” or “How did I get to this screen?”

Predictability. Users should be provided with cues that help them predict the result of an action. A user should never be wondering, “What do I need to press in order to do my task?” or “What is this button for?”

Provide informative feedback – be acknowledging

Feedback is typically associated with points of action — for every user action, the system should show a meaningful, clear reaction. A system with feedback for every action helps users achieve their goals without friction.

UI design should consider the nature of interaction. For frequent actions, the response can be modest. For example, when users interact with an interactive object (such as a button), it’s essential to provide some indication that an action has been acknowledged. This might be something as simple as a button changing color when pressed (the change notifies the user of the interaction). The lack of such feedback forces users to double-check to see if their intended actions have been performed.

Show the visibility of system status

Users are much more forgiving when they have information about what is going on and are given periodic feedback about the status of the process. Visibility of system status is essential when users initiate an action that takes some time for a computer to complete. Users don’t like to be left seeing nothing on the device screen while the app is supposed to be doing something. The use of progress indicators is one of the subtle aspects of UI design that has a tremendous impact on the comfort and enjoyment of users.

Accommodate users with different skill levels

Users of different skill levels should be able to interact with a product at different levels. Don’t sacrifice expert users for an easy-to-use interface for novice or casual users. Instead, try to design for the needs of a diverse set of users, so it doesn’t matter if your user is an expert or a newbie.

Adding features like tutorials and explanations is extremely helpful for novice users (just make sure that experienced users are able to skip this part).

Once users are familiar with a product, they will look for shortcuts to speed up commonly-used actions. You should provide fast paths for experienced users by enabling them to use shortcuts.

2. Make it comfortable for a user to interact with a product

Eliminate all elements that are not helping your users

Interfaces shouldn’t contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed. Irrelevant information introduces noise in UI —it competes with the relevant information and diminishes its relative visibility. Simplify interfaces by removing unnecessary elements or content that does not directly support user tasks. Strive to design UI in a way that all information presented on the screen will be valuable and relevant. Examine every element and evaluate it based on the value it delivers to users.

A good example of an app that follows the ‘less is more’ approach by avoiding overloading the interface with content or features is iA Writer.

The interface of iA Writer app is a clean typing sheet with no distractions. It allows users to focus on what they’re writing and hides everything else.

Don’t ask users for data they’ve already entered

Don’t force users to have to repeat data they’ve previously entered. Users are easily annoyed by tedious data-entry sequences, especially when they have provided all the required information before. Good UI performs a maximum of work while requiring a minimum amount of information from users.

Avoid jargon and system-oriented terms

When designing a product, it’s important to use language that is easy to read and understand. The system should speak the user’s language, with words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than jargon or system-oriented terms.

Apply Fitts’s Law to interactive elements

Fitts Law states that the time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target. This means that it’s better to design large targets for important functions (big buttons are easier to interact with).

It’s also important to remember that the time required to acquire multiple targets is the sum of the time to acquire each. Thus, when working on UI design, to increase the efficiency of an interaction, try to not only reduce distances and increase target sizes, but also reduce the total number of targets that users must interact with to complete a given task.

Design accessible interfaces

When we design products it’s important to remember that a well-designed product is accessible to users of all abilities, including those with low vision, blindness, hearing impairments, cognitive impairments, or motor impairments. Good UI is accessible UI because improving your product’s accessibility enhances the usability for all groups of users.

Color is one of the elements of an interface that has a strong impact on accessibility.  People perceive color differently — some users can see a full range of colors, but many people can only make out a limited range of colors. Approximately 10 percent of men and one percent of women have some form of color blindness. When designing interfaces, it’s better to avoid using color as the only way to convey information. Anytime you want color to convey information in the interface, you should use other cues to convey the information to those who cannot see the colors.

Use real-world metaphors

Using metaphors in UI design allows users to create a connection between the real world and digital experiences. Real-world metaphors empower users by allowing them to transfer existing knowledge about how things should look and work. Metaphors are often used to make the unfamiliar familiar. Take the recycle bin on your desktop, which holds deleted files, as an example – it’s not a real trash bin, but it’s visually represented in a way that helps you understand the concept more easily.

Engineer for errors

Errors are inadvertent in the user journey. Bad error handling paired with useless error messages can fill users with frustration and lead them to abandon your app. A well-crafted error message, on the other hand, can turn a moment of frustration into a moment of conversion. An effective error message is a combination of explicit error notification together with hints for solving the problem.

Even better than writing good error messages is having UI design that prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Try to either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation dialog before they commit to the action. For example, Gmail prompts you when you forget to insert an attachment. 

Protect a user’s work

Ensure that users never lose their work. Users should not lose their work as a result of an error on their side (i.e. accidentally refresh a web page with a form that has user input), a system error, problems with an internet connection, or any other reason other than those that are completely unavoidable, like an unexpected power loss.

3. Reduce cognitive load

Cognitive load is the amount of mental processing power required to use a product. It’s better to avoid making users think/work too hard to use your product.

Chunking for sequences of information or actions

In 1956, psychologist George Miller introduced the world to the theory of chunking. In his works, Miller says the human working memory can handle seven-plus-or-minus two “chunks” of information while we’re processing information.

This rule can be used when organizing and grouping items together. For example, if your UI forces users to enter telephone numbers without normal spacing it can result in a lot of incorrectly-captured phone numbers. People cannot typically scan clusters of ten or more digits to discover errors. That’s exactly why phone numbers are broken up into smaller pieces.

Reduce the number of actions required to complete a task

When designing a user interface, strive to reduce the total number of actions required from a user to achieve the goal. It’s worth remembering the three-click rule, which suggests the user of a product should be able to find any information with no more than three mouse clicks.

Recognition over recall

One of the Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics advises promoting recognition over recall in UI design. Recognizing something is much easier than recalling it because recognition involves more cues in our brain (cues spread activation to related information in memory, and those cues help us remember information).

Designers can promote recognition in user interfaces by making information and functionality visible and easily accessible. Visual aids, such as tooltips and context-sensitive details, also help support users in recognizing information.

Promote visual clarity

Good visual organization improves usability and legibility, allowing users to quickly find the information they are looking for and use the interface more efficiently.

When designing layouts:

Avoid presenting too much information at one time on the screen. This results in visual clutter.

Remember the principle ‘form follows function.’ Make things look like they work.

Apply the general principles of content organization such as grouping similar items together, numbering items, and using headings and prompt text.

4. Make user interfaces consistent

Consistency is an essential property of good UI—consistent design is intuitive design. Consistency is one of the strongest contributors to usability and learnability. The main idea of consistency is the idea of transferable knowledge — let users transfer their knowledge and skills from one part of an app’s UI to another, and from one app to another app.

Visual consistency (style)

Users should never question the integrity of a product. The same colors, fonts, and icons should be present throughout the product. Don’t change visual styles within your product for no apparent reason. For example, a Submit button on one page of your site should look the same on any other page.

Avoid using different styles for elements on different pages of the site. Users should not have to wonder whether a transformed button like this example means the same thing.

Functional consistency (behavior)

Consistency of behavior means the object should work in the same way throughout the interface. The behavior of interface controls, such as buttons and menu items, should not change within a product. Users don’t want surprises or changes in familiar behavior — they become easily frustrated when things don’t work. This can inhibit learning and stop users from feeling confident about consistency in the interface. Do not confuse your user —  keep actions consistent by following “The principle of least surprise,”  to have the interface behave the way users expect it to.

Consistent with user expectations

People have certain expectations about the apps/websites they use. Designing your product in a way that contradicts a user’s expectations is one of the worst things you can do to a user. It doesn’t matter what logical argument you provide for how something should work or look. If users expect it to work/look a different way, you will face a hard time changing those expectations. If your approach offers no clear advantage, go with what your users expect.

Follow platform conventions. Your product should be consistent with standards dictated by platform guidelines. Guidelines ensure that your users can understand individual interface elements in your design.

Don’t reinvent patterns. For most design problems, proper solutions already exist. These solutions are called patterns. Popular patterns become conventions and the majority of users are familiar with them. Not taking this solution into account and continuing to design your own solution can lead to challenges for users. In most cases, breaking design conventions results in a frustrating user experience — you’ll face usability problems not necessarily because your solution will be wrong, but because users won’t be familiar with it.

Don’t try to reinvent terminology. Avoid using new terms when there are words available that users already know. Users spend most of their time in other apps and on other sites, so they have certain expectations about naming. Using different words might confuse them.

Conclusion

The goal for UI designers today is to produce user-friendly interfaces: interfaces that encourage exploration without fear of negative consequences. Without any doubt interfaces of the future will be more intuitive, enticing, predictable, and forgiving, but most principles of UI design listed in this article will surely be applicable to them, too.

Source https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/ui-design/4-golden-rules-ui-design/

[superredcorp]

RED DAUGHTER FANFIC - What if she survived?

The three Danvers sisters had stayed up half of the night talking. Well, it was mainly Kara talking, with Alex asking questions and trying to squeeze out every last detail of information about what happened.

Linda was oddly quiet but in both their enthusiasm, they didn't really take much notice of it and simply read it as attentive listening.

When Kara asked if it was okay for the both of them if they held a sister bonding day the next day, they agreed. Linda didn't even need to pretend to be excited about that because she did look forward to spending a day with Alex, getting to know the real one, the one who's name had been the only thing she remembered a few months ago. Before Lex Luthor took advantage of her.

The next morning, Kara left quite early, not without saying goodbye to her sisters with little pecks on their cheeks though. Alex had slept over at Kara's appartement, so she could start off the day with Linda.

Meanwhile, Kara was flying over to France, Paris to be exact, and trying to find the perfect café to pick up breakfast.

When she was content with her findings, she made her way back to National City where she landed nearby Lena's place and walked the rest, so there wouldn't be anyone seeing her flying as Kara in broad daylight.

Ringing the bell, she got flustered. This was the first time she had breakfast with her girlfriend. Rao. Her girlfriend.

She had been giddy when Alex had found her first girlfriend in Maggie and did all her firsts with her but experiencing this for herself... giddy wasn't enough to express what she felt.

But the nervousness just flew away when she came face to face with Lena's bright smile, welcoming her in.

She felt pure happiness and true peace.

All the anxiety and tension from the last weeks seemed to just fade away into oblivion.

(Time jump to a few hours later)

Linda and Alex were talking in the DEO when Linda's eyes landed on her twin sister and Lena walking in, hand in hand. They stopped a few feet away to laugh about something, then Kara leaned forward, wrapped her arms around Lena's neck and kissed her.

Linda felt a sharp pain in her chest area. She didn't know what was going on or why she was suddenly feeling like this. But she knew she felt it before - when she walked in on them almost kiss the day before. The only thing that she knew was she felt the intense wish to be in Kara's place.

And she assumed that there might be a plausible reason. She had read about it in a very few selected books Lex had given her. But she had no idea if she was right as she had barely any normal life experience.

"Alex?", she asked, quietly.

"Hm?"

"What does it feel like?"

"What does what feel like?", Alex was confused.

"Being in love. What does being in love feel like?", Linda replied.

Alex's eyes squinted in wonder at the question before following her sister's gaze. She seemed to realise something but before she could say anything, Kara turned around and smiled brightly upon seeing her sisters. Dragging a chuckling Lena behind her, she hopped towards them. "Hey, you guys!"

Alex decided to move the further investigation of Linda's comment to later and broke into a smile. "Hi. How was breakfast?"

Lena and Kara blushed.

"Okay, your faces speak for themselves. I suppose not only your taste buds were pleasured today."

"Alex!", Kara squeaked, the pink of her cheeks darkening to a deep red.

"Well, you're not wrong.", Lena commented, who seemingly got over being flustered fast and instead flung her arms around Kara. As she spoke, she purposefully used a very husky, sexy tone of voice. "It was really hot how you-"

"Okay, wow, stop, I don't need details! Good for you two but keep it to yourselves. Please, for everyone's sake.", Alex interrupted her with raised arms, mortified and obviously regretting the innuendo before, thus making the newly found couple laugh.

"So what's new?", Kara asked after they had calmed down.

"I called mom and she's coming for a visit tomorrow. In fact, she's gonna stay a few days, at my place.", Alex told her.

"Oh, nice! Then she'll meet Linda! Or well, you know, formally at least."

Alex smirked in a sisterly-mischievous way. "And you can give her an update on your relationship status."

Kara stuck out her tongue which Alex returned.

Lena chuckled. "You know, for a superheroine you're acting pretty childish."

"But that's one of the things you like about me, right?", Kara asked while batting her eyes.

"Sure.", Lena laughed and Kara grinned widely, leaning over for a quick peck on the lips. But Lena moved one of her hands to Kara's neck, keeping her close for a longer kiss.

"God, you guys are so cute, it's disgusting.", Alex groaned.

The two broke apart, trying to stiffle their laughter.

"Hey, I showed Lin most of the DEO but I thought, maybe you should show her that one specific thing.", Alex suddenly said.

Kara frowned in confusion. "What thing?"

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! Sure! Yes! Lin, come on, I have to show you something.", Kara said, getting excited. She turned to Lena, kissing her cheek. "I'll be back soon. Make yourself at home."

"What is it that you should show me?", Linda asked, curiously.

"Oh, you'll see... Here it is. Come on in."

They stepped inside a room and Kara went over to a desk, pressing a button.

A blue light emerged from the other side of the room and soon enough, a woman appeared.

"Hello, Kara.", Alura greeted her daughter. Her smile turned to irritarion when she noticed there were two versions of her daughter in the room.

"Mom.", Kara said happily. And seeing her other's expression quickly followed with "This is Linda. She's my twin."

Alura blinked a few times, slightly taken aback. "I think I'd know it if you had a twin."

"She exists because I seem to have accidentally touched the Horun-El back then. So technically speaking she's my doppelganger but we prefer the term twin sister because we've already adopted her into the family.", Kara summarised.

Alura stayed quiet for a few seconds, then just smiled. "Well, I'm certainly not complaining about a second daughter. It's nice to meet you, Linda."

Linda looked to Kara for guidance who replied with a nod.

The doppelganger turned back to Alura and gave a shy smile. "It's nice to meet you, too...", she hesitated, then added quietly and emotionally - never having believed to be able to use the word - "...mom."

[gear-project]

My response to the Closed Beta Survey:

People were asking me for more specifics on how I felt about the survey, so I guess I ought to outline in a larger broader sense what I think so far of Guilty Gear StrIVe.

Graphics: 

Outside of individual characters/animations, the stage graphics needed some better rendering for certain objects.  Things like grass and smaller objects looked “plastic” or “lego-like” in some areas, so that could be tweaked.

Lighting seemed okay, effects from various attacks also looked very good, and better than I was expecting at the time.  Clash/Offset graphics need improvement so that they appear more obvious to players (I still miss Danger Time however... that added an extra spice to the game that GG has missed since the original Instant Kill screen in the first game, perhaps it can be optional in certain modes?).

The beta was especially slow in terms of load times between matches though, and even the matching function for netplay was sluggish as well.

I would like to see actual dramatic clash intros instead of “talking head sequences” for rivalries in the future... the first trailer suggested that was possible, so I hope they can actually achieve this once more like Accent Core once had for Sol and Ky especially.

Animation-wise, nothing really outstanding to note other than the fact I still find Ky’s battle stance to be somewhat strange for him, given the screen-facing perspective... I just find it particularly odd to have his battle stance changed so much since the older games.  While Millia’s stance did change, it was more subtle, for example.

The Tension gauge didn’t seem to provide enough information to me, and was rather overly simplified, and I would like better notifications when my risc guard gauge is high.  Character select still looks dull, though I did like the post-match rating system.  I think players would benefit not just from ratings when they win, but tips and advice when they lose as well.

The lobby still needs a lot of work, but I did like the concept of only having access to certain “floors of the tower” depending on how strong you are as a player.  It makes things feel more like a dungeon exploration than just a netplay lobby.  Gatekeepers truly do exist... so such gameplay should reflect that.

I would like to see something closer to what Granblue Fantasy Versus has, times of day, weather, minigames to do while waiting between matches, or even just a place to mess around with stuff.

Sounds:

Everything sounded okay, albeit random.  Normally I have sound effects much louder than music, as certain sounds serve as important “tells” during a fight.  Voicework tends to come second to that, but I did note that in certain underground stage areas, character voices gained acoustics, which was an interesting change.

I also liked how the voices gained a dramatic echo like the Guilty Gear X era once had, particularly for Overdrive Attacks, which I hope they keep.

Controls:

I’m going to say this up front, but I never liked the concept of throw wiffs for Guilty Gear... while it might be more useful for games like BlazBlue, GG was more fast-paced, and generally geared more towards spacing and neutral attacks, giving throws an opportunity to neutralize an attack at close range.

This made throws safer, but also kept players in check who were always about close-range mixups.  Option selects were also important in older games too.

Add to this, and I dislike the idea of them being attached to the Dust button.  This makes it difficult to do things like run up and perform a Dust attack, or airdash in with a Dust without accidentally inputting a throw input.

Unless they came up with a way to better control throws as opposed to pressing Dust and a Direction (or give it a better input window), I’m not sure I like things how they are.

Another issue I have is the Roman Cancel Button... under most circumstances, the default Roman Cancel macro is P+K+S... this was always the default button in most games, but you couldn’t opt for other macros, like S+K+H, or P+K+H.  This is important for characters who negative edge inputs, like Johnny or Zato, as they might need a different macro input so they can better “hold certain buttons” without having to rely on the default Roman Cancel input.  This applies to other things like Slashback, Blitz, or Faultless Defense as well.  Limiting input macros just leads to more problems if you ask me.

Gatling Combo cancels seem “okay” for now... and I understand why they put limits on Punch and Kick buttons, simply because those kinds of moves have higher priority and are safer in most situations.  I think it makes sense to limit benefits when priority is on taking less risk in a fight.

In other words, using stronger attacks is more of a gamble, and therefore should get more natural benefits.  Bigger risk, better rewards.  This goes for guarding as well.  While blocking itself isn’t taking much risk (or rather, raising RISC), players who use technique like Instant Blocking or FD blocking should get benefits from using it.

I don’t know if Blitzshield will return, but I wouldn’t mind if it did, especially if it functioned the same as Slashbacks in older games, especially on block or wakeup.

Gameplay/Nuances:

Not enough special moves/tools for characters to my liking... though some felt overpowered.  Ky’s 6H acting like a Dust Launcher felt way too powerful for someone like him... though I can understand why such exists if it’s a slow attack.

Other characters felt “sluggish” at certain areas, like Chipp Zanuff and his combo routes (which would normally feel easy to chain together).  Even Alpha Blade felt a bit slow.

Airdash Speed/Height also felt slow and limited.  Also I don’t like the idea that forward Airdashes have the “Air Hike” glyph (DMC), but Air Backdashes do not as much.  If they’re going to have air dash “tells”, it should work for any form of airdash.  That’s especially needed for crossups and IAD situations.

Also it felt like Backdashes weren’t very safe, not to mention the damage output being too high.

I missed moves like Ky’s Grinders or Sol’s Riot Stamp... or even classic moves like Tyrant Rave Alpha, Sidewinder, or Crescent Slash.

Lots of characters felt lobotomized and overly simple to my liking, compared to their more developed older versions.  Even EX characters felt more developed in the older games.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Roman Cancels having a “hitbox” or “launch hit” when they go active, but I guess it takes getting used to.  It’s not a bad tool, but I’m not sure how effective such would be as a Dead Angle on defense.

I was also told that blocking reversal moves (DPs) in the air causes a large blowback... I find that interesting, but I don’t know if there’s pushback when blocking said moves on the ground.

It’s fine if you can FD moves to deal with reversals safely, but common blocking without Instant Blocks should at least have some knockback to put some value in reversal moves.

Other Stuff:

I liked the concept of getting to use normal attacks immediately after certain key special moves (like Sol’s Vortex), or the simplicity of the juggles.  Though I hope they improve things like Dust Air Combos... right now Dust only causes launch on counterhit, there are no more ground Dust combos like Xrd had.

It also felt like the window for an air combo was very small as you could only do 3 hits at most after a Dust Homing Jump.  I would like to see more uses of Jump Dust for characters, or even momentum-based combos.

Things like Impossible Dust (homing jump cancel) or even Jump Install would also be nice.

I would like to see more character-customization, like having different types of weapons/outfits, abilities, or stats, in an adventure-style game (like Granblue currently uses, but bigger in scale perhaps).

I would also like to see different modes of gameplay, like an Isuka Mode, or a 3-on-3 battle setup for team battles (not necessarily tag style, but KOF style teams as well).

I would also like to see GG Generations return... classic modes for every style of play:

GG1 Mode, GGX Mode, GGXXAC Mode, Xrd Mode, and maybe even a GG2 mode that makes special moves resource-heavy (like Granblue currently employs).  Having separate modes of play would satisfy everyone... EX fighting styles as well, to further expand character play.  Gold Bosses and Darkside enemies need to return as well.

I would also hope they explore the prospect of a GG animated film or movie, though that’s still wishful thinking.  Having English novels would also help move things along.

Roster-wise, I just want everyone to return at their best, along with really cool new faces.

Closing Notes:

Experiencing the beta first-hand, I can definitely say it has Guilty Gear aspects at its core, but I felt wanting more.  I know they can pull it off, and I gave them everything I could possibly want in the game.

There’s a possibility they might update the beta later on... so I hope I’ll get to participate in that as well.

[cherylthebestsoccermom]

I’ve had some creepy shit going on in my house. It’s a really old three story house built around the 1890s in Eastern Massachusetts. It used to be shoe factory worker housing, so the first and second floors are apartments, with the third floor being 2 rooms we use as bedrooms now. My family has lived here for a long time, my brothers and I are the 4th generation to live in this house. For as long as I can remember theres always been weird stuff that happens around the house. Wether its some weird noises coming from the empty apartment on the first floor, or hearing doors opening and shutting from different places in the house. It all sounds pretty cliché but its something my whole family has experienced over the past 20 or so years when my parents bought the house from my dad’s aunt and uncle. Over the years they rented out the downstair to friends to earn some extra money. One of those friends, who is still a close family friend now, has said they heard some pacing back and forth in front of their bedroom door in the middle of the night. It happened to often that it became somewhat normal for them to hear. 

Fast forward 15 or so years later, my family and I live upstairs and my uncle is living downstairs. My family had left on a small road trip to our aunts house, leaving my uncle the only one in the house for a few days. A few minutes after we left the house, my uncle heard opening and closing noises upstairs. He checked to see if our car was there, thinking we might have come back to grab something we forgot. But we never came back to the house. He figured he’d walk upstairs to make sure it wasn’t someone that broke into the house. As soon as he walked up the stairs and into my kitchen, he found all of our kitchen cabinets wide open.

Weird things like this have been happening for years, and we’ve all just kind of accepted it as our house being “unique”. But a weird thing happened the other night that seemed out of character for whatever is in the house. My boyfriend and I were downstairs watching Avatar: The Last Air Bender on netflix, when my dad called us up to grab dinner if we wanted anything. When we got upstairs and walked into the kitchen, my dad was a bit freaked out, telling me that he saw what looked like a black head height shape, like a cat jumped from a counter in the laundry room and into the other half of the room. The only problem was that there was to counter on that side of our laundry room, only a blank wall. A minute or so afterwards, my mom pressed the cancel button on the stove to turn it off, and as soon as she did the lock on the oven reset. Normally, when you accidentally reset the clock it goes back to 12:00, but this time it went to the weirdly specific number 4:43. By the time my boyfriend and I got upstairs the clock had continued moving and it had read 4:46. I didn’t really believe her but as soon as the four of us started talking about it, the clock again reset itself to 4:43. And this time we all saw it. No one touched the stove, no breeze was blowing through the room to move anything that could have hit a button, nothing. After that one event, the clock stopped reseting itself and just kept ticking forward until my brother and I fixed it to the normal time later that night. 

If anyone could help shed some light on what that means, or if theres anything significant about it, I’d love to hear what you have to say. 

[intergalactic-nebula]

Till Kingdom Come

Chapter Fifteen

Rey slowly opened the door two hours before dawn to see Luke standing there with BeeBee who was wagging his tail as happily as ever. "BeeBee!" Rey gasped loudly as she fell to her knees and hugged his neck tightly, BeeBee putting a paw on her shoulder and letting out a gruff of approval. "Oh, Luke, thank you so much! Kylo told me that he brought him back to the mansion and that he was safe, but I was still so worried, and--and thank you!" Rey spoke without breathing from how fast she was speaking and when she finally finished, she gasped loudly for air before smiling and burying her face in BeeBee's ginger fur.

"I thought I'd sneak him over here, he obviously doesn't like being in your room all alone, and--hello, Satine." Luke's voice grew quiet as Satine came up and stood behind Rey, Satine smiling softly as she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway.

"Oh, Luke, you haven't changed at all since I saw you last. Still as young and vibrant as usual."

"You look well, Satine." Luke smiled and Rey looked over her shoulder at the blonde woman.

"Can he sleep in my bed? I'll wash the sheets tomorrow morning, I promise, and I'll even use that thingy that sucks things up that you showed me when I accidentally spilled rice on the floor!" Rey's eyes looked brighter than ever and Satine sighed before nodding and stepping aside.

"Go on, go on, you should get back to sleep anyways. You have that whole day in the park to yourself tomorrow." Satine chuckled and Rey quickly stood up and took off back inside the apartment, BeeBee barking and running after her.

"I can see that she heavily reminds you of--"

"Why did you come instead of Ben?" Satine cut him off and Luke's face faltered slightly, and Satine's eyes widened in horror.

"His choice of words he spoke earlier tonight suggested rebellion against Vader, so...Ben isn't allowed to eat for three days."

"My God...you're not lying, are you?" Satine gasped quietly and Luke slowly shook his head with a saddened look in his eyes.

"And...Vader wants her back now."

"Now?!" Satine quietly retched, trying not to make Rey suspicious, and she quickly composed herself although her hands were twitching. "That is out of the question, she is finally comfortable somewhere and she 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 it here! She finally got to sleep three hours ago after I had to sit with her for several and tell her stories about my past adventures to distract her from the panic that never leaves her system! She was out there for 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, Luke, and the trauma she experienced in the wastelands is the worst I've ever seen, and I'm over eight hundred years old! She cannot go back to him, she couldn't bear it another second in that house of Hell, and--"

"Ben?" She heard Rey whisper quietly as a mouse from her room and both she and Luke tensed up. There was no way he teleported to her, he had barely fed during that day and didn't have the strength, and there was no way he could project himself to her mentally, as that too required great strength. "I can't hear you...?" Rey whispered again and Satine suddenly felt dread enter her system, the blonde taking off and running into Rey's room to see Rey sitting face to face with the darkest corner in the room. "You want me to...what...?"

"REY!" Satine shouted before running over and yanking her out of the corner into her arms tightly, Rey letting out a cry of sheer fear and squeezing her eyes shut.

"It's B-Ben--"

"That's not Ben, darling, that's 𝘯𝘰𝘵 Ben," Satine spoke breathlessly and Luke quickly appeared in the room to turn on the overhead light.

"There's no one here--"

"He was in her head, not here, and it wasn't Ben. You know who it was." Satine glared angrily at him and Luke's face fell. Vader was trying to coax her back by disguising his mental projection as Ben. How did he not feel that? How did he possibly not feel that?

"I'm taking her far away,"

"Satine, no, you can't do that--"

"I'm taking her far away!" Satine snapped and Rey sobbed loudly into Satine's chest. It wasn't Ben. It wasn't Ben. Ben wasn't there. Why did that upset her so much? Why was that voice inside of her wailing and howling in mournful desperation? Was it...the thing that Satine told her? Were they really...?

"Satine, you'll be 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥! Please don't do this, I'll just convince him to let her spend a couple more days--"

"Look at her!" Satine snapped again and Luke's eyes fell on Rey's trembling form. She was clutching tightly at Satine's pale blue nightgown, her hair covering the sides of her face as she sobbed violently into the woman's chest. This is what terror looked like. It had been...so long since he had seen terror. "Look at her, Luke! Tell me she's alright to go back! Take one 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 look at Rey and tell me she is fit to stay with 𝘏𝘐𝘔!" Satine snarled out the last word and Luke looked extremely conflicted as he sat down at the edge of the bed and leaned forward while putting his head in his hands.

"You don't know what he'll do, Satine, you don't live with him--"

"You could've left with Mara centuries ago," Satine bit out bitterly and Luke winced visibly as he completely hid his face from her. "But you didn't. You stayed with him."

"I had no choice...none of us are free..." Luke muttered quietly and Rey desperately tried to catch her breath and stop crying. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't know if she had the strength to do it.

"I-I'll go back--"

"Rey?!"

"I-I'll go back to him, I'm not going to let him hurt you. N-not you, never you..." Rey choked out as she hugged Satine tightly and Satine let out a mournful whine before hugging her back even tighter.

"O-oh, Rey, darling, please don't..." Satine pleaded but Rey just closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing.

"...Rey?" 𝘉𝘦𝘯. That was Ben's voice, but it sounded so far away. It sounded echoey, as if they were more than several feet away from each other in a cave.

"Ben...?" Rey slowly opened her eyes to see herself standing in his room, his eyes wide as they never left her. He was sitting on the floor with his jacket off and his dress shirt unbuttoned quite a few buttons, as well as his sleeves rolled up to his forearm. "How are you--"

"I can't see your surroundings," He breathed out and Rey's face contorted in confusion. "Only you." He finished with a look of wonder on his face.

"You're in your room--"

"And so are you." He spoke breathlessly as he darted up and rushed over to her, Rey standing perfectly still in both terror and delight as he got closer. He smiled brightly as he cradled her face in his hands as he pressed his forehead against hers, and Rey let out a low whine as she gently nudged their noses together. This felt right. He didn't scare her in this moment. He felt like--

"The sun," Kylo whispered and Rey whimpered softly as she desperately grabbed at his shirt. "It feels like the sun." He breathed shakily and they both closed their eyes.

When she reopened them, she found herself back in Satine's apartment, and she felt the tears come rushing back.

Back at the mansion, Kylo let out a scream as he sent a chair into the wall simply by just moving his hand.

𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆.

[benhardyisdaddy]

Love Of My Life - Part 10

MASTERLIST 

(hello!!!! hope you all like this part, ilysm <3) 

Word Count: 1,935

“How amazing was that!?” you ask Roger as you walk towards his car.

He was smiling like crazy to you the whole time you spoke. Your genuine excitement made me so happy and to see you smile again was heartwarming. The spark in your eyes were bright and undying, or at least he thought so. Suddenly, you look back at the building and your heart sank.

“John would have loved that.” you half whisper, staring forward.

Roger stops walking and his face falls he he watches you. He frowns and takes a few steps forward to you. You look as if you’re deep in your own thoughts as he reaches a hand forward and places it on your arm.

“Y/n,” he says gently. “It’s okay.”

You look over to him with tears pooling in your eyes. His heart broke.

“I know… I know you wanted to do this with John. I know I’m not the best choice, but I truly did have fun.” he says, trying to make his voice sound as cheerful as he could.

You look to him fast and your eyes go wide. You shake your head no fast as you walk even closer to him.

“Rog,” you whisper. “No, no, no. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to experience this with me. Thank you so much.”

You wrap your arms around his torso and hug him. He freezes for a split second before pulling you even closer into him. He places his chin on top of your head and then quickly kisses it. You back away smiling and continue walking to the car with Roger’s hand, once more, in yours.

***

“I think we should order room service.”

The two of you are lazily walking back to your hotel room as your stomachs growl loudly.

“Ugh, please! Eat something and then take a huge nap.” you say, fighting back a yawn.

Roger smiles as he clicks the elevators button and a loud ding lets you know it’s on it’s way down. The two of you stand there in silence and sneak glances at one another. You rock back and forth on your feet when finally the elevator doors open up wide, inviting you in. You walk in first and are followed by Roger. He clicks your floor number when all of a sudden, someone shouts out for you to hold the door. Roger rushes forward and leans his arm out, stopping it from closing. You look out into the lobby and watch as a huge family comes rushing towards you. 

There’s at least ten of them and your heart races. This elevator isn't that big and you weren’t sure if it would hold you all. You had a horrible fear of tight spaces and before you could say anything to Roger, he was walking beside you as they all make their way into the tiny compartment. You and Roger get shoved to the very back right corner as you two turn to face one another. A person behind you accidentally pushes you forward, causing your chest to bump into Roger’s. You look up to him to apologize when you realize just how close you really are to him.  

Your faces are merely a few inches apart as you look up to him. He stares into your eyes, his breath getting caught in his throat. You’re pressed against him, embarrassed with anxiety. The tiny elevator starts getting hot and you start getting panicky. You look down and take in a deep breath, closing your eyes. Roger watches you closely and leans his head down a bit, to whisper in your ear.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks.

Your body shivers when his warm breath grazes over your ear. You shake the feeling away and look back up to him. You shake your head fast and you feel yourself starting to tremble.

“Claustrophobic,” you whisper out, but loud enough over all of the voices talking. “Almost hard to breathe.”

You take in a sharp breath and tense your jaw. You know that Roger can feel the rapid beating of your heart, with his chest pressed against yours.

“Hey, look at me.” he says fast.

You look back up to him and stare, your eyes wide with fear.

“It’s okay. It’s almost over. Just one more floor, okay?”

You nod fast and begin almost gasping for air. It was excruciatingly hot in here and everyone was being so loud. Your ears feel like they’re ringing. You wish so badly John was here. He always knew how to calm you down, because no one else could. You feel a hand rub up your arm as you look back to Roger. His hands come up to cup both sides of your face, making you look at him.

“Look at me,” he whispers sternly. “It’s okay. Take deep, slow breaths. It’s almost over, okay? Just keep looking at me.”

You listen to him and stare into his eyes deeply, trying to calm yourself down. The moment your eyes locked with his baby blues, your heart started slowing down. You get hypnotized as you gaze in them, your mind suddenly unaware of the tight surrounding around you. It felt as if it were just you and Roger in that elevator, unaware of the ten people squeezed next to you. He stares back at you, his eyes glancing between yours rapidly. He takes in every feature of your rosy cheeks, amplified from the heat. Roger’s thumb gently rubs against your cheek mindlessly. You lean into his touch as he slowly dips his head down to you. You raise yours a bit, lining your mouths up merely a few inches apart. You can feel his warm breath on yours. 

You glance down at his lips as he does the same to you. Roger goes to lean in fully until a loud ding makes the two of you jump and look away. You don’t know what had gotten into you. You were ashamed and embarrassed, feeling as if you were about to cheat on John. Something you would never do. The doors to the elevator suddenly open up, allowing the large family to swarm off. You finally take a step back and feel cool air wash over your heated body. Roger is watching you as you take in a breath and fix your hair. You quickly walk off the elevator and straight to your room. You grab the key from your purse and open up the door. You wait for Roger and walk inside, looking around. You feel like you need a shower. You feel Roger’s eyes on you, but you choose to ignore it. You had too much going on right now, you couldn’t worry about this. You told yourself you would never love another man like you loved John and you plan on sticking to that.

You walk over to your luggage and toss it on your bed. You go to unzip it when you spot something lying on your bedside table. It was an envelope. Your heart raced as you drop your bag and rush over to it. You pick it up and realize the handwriting on the front. You look to Roger and watch as he pours himself a drink.

“Roger!” you say fast, causing him to spin around.

You hold the envelope up for him to see and smile widely. His face brightens up as he walks over to you fast. You toss your luggage off of your bed and quickly slide onto it, patting the spot next to you. Roger hesitates for a second before he finally crawls next to you, drink still in hand. You stare at the envelope and can’t stop smiling. You feel tears already burning at your eyes, but you ignore them. You gently tear open the top of the envelope and slide out a folded piece of paper. You take in a deep breath as you unfold it painfully slowly, nervous to read it. Roger watches you as he sips his drink, nervous as well.

To My Best Friend And Wife,

Hello, my love. I assume if you’re receiving this letter that you finished the amazing hot air balloon adventure. How was it? I assume it’s breathtaking as you stare down at all of the mountains and hills, making everything below look like tiny ants. I wish so badly I could have experienced that with you, but I’m so happy you finally were able to go. I know this all must be so hard for you, so I am so sorry. I just need for you to be happy. That’s all I want. That’s what you deserve. Pure happiness. So I hope that this experience gave you almost some comfort in your time of sorrow. Sorrow that I’ve put on you and if I could apologize a million times, I would. I’m just so happy you didn’t have to go alone. I take it Roger went with you. To him, thank you. Thank you for looking out for my girl. I’d say I owe you one, but you know how difficult that would be right now. (Sorry, bad joke.)

This is not the last letter you will receive. I promise. In fact, you should be looking for one tomorrow, in regards to your next destination. I apologize in advance, but it’s a little further than just two cities over. You might not have any idea what I’m talking about, but trust me, you will love it. (Not as much as I love you, but you understand.) Please rest up and get prepared. Roger, thank you again. Truly the greatest friend a man could have. And to my sweet y/n, remember what I said before. Open your heart. Don’t close it off. When loves finds you, don’t push it away. Grab it, hold it and embrace it. Once again, you deserve all the happiness in your life. I love you more than anything in this world.

Yours Forever,

John

P.S. You’re the love of my life

Once again, tears flooded down your face. You glance over at Roger and it’s the same for him. These letters hit a certain spot for the both of you. The way John writes his heart out onto paper is the most beautiful thing ever. To have him talk to you once more was the greatest feeling ever. You look back over to Rog, the two of you smiling at one another. You lean your head against his shoulder for a moment, before standing up from the bed.

“You up for another adventure?” you ask.

He smiles and sits up straight.

“Always.”

You smile back and finally retrieve your pajamas from your luggage. You take your much needed shower, followed by Roger. The two of you look over the room service menu and decide on your dinner. When the food arrives, you both lay on your bed and watch TV as you munch. You place your dishes on your bedside table and lay down, continuing to watch the movie on TV. Roger does the same, not thinking anything of it. Your eyes drift closed as sleep overtakes you. You, without realizing, turn over and place your head on Roger’s chest. You cuddle up to him and fall back to a deep sleep. Roger freezes as he debates whether or not he should slip away to his own bed, but he doesn't want to wake you. He decides to stay and eventually falls asleep himself, a big smile plastered to his face. You’re nuzzled up to Roger while John’s letter is clutched close to your chest.

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[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (November 13th, 2018)

UPDATE: 11/13/2018 – PC 1.47.49.1020 / Mac 1.47.49.1220

Get ready Simmers; while my introduction here may be brief, you’ll find this update to be quite hefty. We’ve got a TON of fun, free, new additions for all owners of The Sims 4, along with plenty of tweaks, fixes, and updates for your game. Read on…

NEW AND IMPROVED FEATURES

Terrain Tools

Terrain tools. Say it again. Terrain. Tools. Again! TERRAIN TOOLS!

They’re here! You can now build hills or dig ditches on your lot to your heart’s content. Your creative capabilities just received a massive boost, so get building! In Build Mode, simply navigate to where Terrain Paints previously existed, and click the shovel to get started. Need additional guidance? A new Build Mode lesson on Terrain Manipulation is available in-game to help explain the new tools step by step.

Foundation Updates

Previously, every building on a lot had to share the same foundation height. With today’s update, buildings that aren’t connected to each other can now have different foundation heights, or some may have no foundation at all!

We’ve also updated how you adjust the height your building’s foundation. Simply select any room and grab the new widget that appears in the center. By dragging it up or down you’ll find that it’s not only easier to use, but it’ll allow you to create buildings that soar to previously unattainable heights, or structures that are sunk down into the ground.

Additional Basement Levels

Were two basement levels two too few? You’re in luck; we’ve added two more! You can now build basements underneath your lot four levels deep.

Additional Half Wall Heights

We’ve added two more Half Wall heights. There’s the “Tall Half Wall – Medium Wall” and the “Tall Half Wall – Tall Wall”. Say that three times fast. What it really means, is that if you’re creating a building that uses Medium or Tall walls, these new Half-Walls will be perfect if you want walls that stop just short of the ceiling.

Getting philosophical for a moment… can these truly be called “Half Walls”? Maybe we should have called them “Partial Walls”.

First Person Camera

Ever wondered how your Sims view the world? Now you can play The Sims through their own eyes! It’s something you truly have to see to believe. The controls listed here provide everything you need to get started.

Shift + Tab

Left Arrow / Right Arrow

Left Mouse Button

Right Mouse Button

Shift Key (Hold)

Mouse Look

Ctrl Key

Mouse Wheel

Enter/Exit First Person Camera mode.

Change which Sim you’re currently controlling while in First Person Camera. (For those with The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs, you can even look through the eyes of your pets!)

Interact with the world.

Select the other side of doorways, walls, and floors. Allows traversal between rooms or across different floors.

Control the mouse cursor while in First Person Camera.

Move your view around, separate from where your Sim is currently looking.

Snap the camera back to where your Sim is looking.

Adjust the Field of View settings (useful if you experience motion sickness.)

New Career – Style Influencer

Terrain tools, a first person camera, and a new career?! You’re one lucky Simmer! Starting today you can live your fashionable Sim’s best possible life in the new Style Influencer career. You’ll start off small by observing fads and reporting on the latest trends, but it won’t be long before you’re defining new looks that are worn by Sims all around town, or giving makeovers to help other Sims look on fleek.

In addition, two brand new objects will help you progress through this career…

Sketchpad

The sketchpad is perfect for the artist on the go. Not only can you draw quick sketches when inspiration strikes, but it acts as a pocket canvas for painters. It’s the simplest way to go out into the world and create beautiful masterpieces that can be printed and hung on your wall.

Sims with level 2 Painting Skill can use the sketchpad to create a wide variety of new art. You’ll find it under the Illustrative Painting interaction on the sketchpad.

Style-Board

The style-board is your Sims’ collage of inspirational material. A collection of sketches, photos, patterns, and material comes to life as your Sim is influenced by the world around them. As your Sim refines their own personal style, the style-board can be updated to reflect the current looks you’re working to create.

New Clothing and Objects

We couldn’t simply release a Style Influencer career without offering some sleek new clothing and accessories to dress your Sims in. You’ll find the following new pieces available in Create a Sim*:

2 jackets; one for women, one for men

2 jeans; one adorned with rhinestones, and one that’s acid washed

2 necklaces; one gold chain, and one bedazzled collar

1 gold chain bracelet

1 pair of fingerless gloves

1 fiddler hat

1 pair of women’s heels

*Some of these pieces require progressing in the Style Influencer career before they unlock.

And while we’re being so fashion forward, we also went ahead and added a brand new dresser to store these clothes in, and a new wall mirror to admire your trendy outfits in.

Positivity Challenge

Millie Bobby Brown has arrived in The Sims world to challenge your Sims to complete the Positivity Challenge! This limited time event is active right now, but won’t be around forever… You have until December 4th, 2018 to participate. Simply use your Sim’s phone to call the Event Coordinator (surprise, it’s Millie Bobby Brown), and she’ll provide everything you need to start making your Sim’s neighborhood a better place for everyone.

By issuing a positivity challenge, you’ll unlock a brand new aspiration for your Sim. Various rewards are up for grabs with each tier of the aspiration you complete, culminating in a powerful new Kindness Ambassador trait bestowed by Millie Bobby Brown herself.

Now get out there and perform some good deeds!

Name Your Own Career

Has your Sim ever experienced the awkward situation of having to say they’re unemployed, when in reality they’re leading a financially successful lifestyle? Perhaps they run their own retail store? Or maybe they’re the proprietor of a grueling painting factory, selling mass-produced artwork for maximum profit (let’s be honest, we’ve all been there before.) Now you can name and describe their job title, so that each and every Sims’ money-making scheme will get the recognition it deserves. Simply use your Sim’s phone to Register with the Ministry of Labor, and type in whatever suits you.

First Time User Experience

We’ve added something that we call a “First Time User Experience” to the game. If you want to sound in the know, you can pronounce this as fuh-too-ey in casual conversations with your friends. Really, it’s a fancy way of saying that we created a completely new tutorial for new players. If you’re reading these patch notes, this feature probably isn’t for you. That said, if you’d like to experience the dulcet tones of actress and comedian Jessica Williams explaining how to play The Sims 4, then we invite you to give it a try.

Gallery Profile Updates

We’ve made some changes to the layout of user profiles on the gallery. Each player’s profile now has four large images that cycle through the content that they’ve uploaded. Content from other players that you’ve favorited no longer appears in your own profile feed. Finding content from other players that you’ve favorited can be done by going to your profile page, clicking on “View Catalog”, and then changing the “View Content By:” filter to “My Favorites”.

Whim Updates

There’s a new “Show Whims” option in the Gameplay Options menu that allows you to enable or disable whims… at your whim.

Simology Panel Updates

To help manage all of the information stored within the Simology panel, individual sections of this panel are now collapsible and expandable. This allows you to curate the information on display to only show what’s currently important to you.

Relationship Panel Updates

The Relationship panel has a new filter that allows you to see just your Coworkers. FIXES AND UPDATES

The Sims 4

The default sort for the Gallery was changed back to Newest, due to popular demand.

Placing wallpaper or floor tiles in Build Mode will no longer cause the frame rate to drop.

Fixed frame rate drops that would occur when converting a wall into a fence, if that wall was attached to a roof.

Using the basement tool will no longer interfere with placing floor tiles on the surface of a lot.

If a rounded deck piece has been rotated, attempting to delete the deck piece will no longer trigger an error, and bulldozing a lot with them will no longer cause the game to hang.

A number of exceptions which were occurring in Build Mode have been cleaned up.

Sims will be more discerning over who they decide is worth mourning when an NPC Sim passes away.

Gardening plants will need to be watered and weeded on a regular schedule once again.

Directing a Sim to water plants in a garden will no longer cause the Sim to fixate on watering the same plants over and over again, but instead will share the H2O with every plant that’s in need.

Birds of Paradise plants that are acquired from rare seed packets will now successfully blossom.

It seems our Sims went through a phase of being introverted; please excuse them. They’ve resumed socializing in Cafes, Bars, and Lounge venues.

The game will no longer occasionally accidentally think that a Sim is in the middle of aging up, which had previously prevented players from traveling or saving during this time.

Toddlers using the “Bedtime Story…” interaction while sitting on a bed will no longer cause routing issues or clipping with the selected adult Sim.

You may now hire a caterer during a social event by clicking on a Refrigerator or Stove, even if you chose not to hire a caterer while setting up the event.

Glass windows will once again be rendered properly on low graphics settings.

Playing with custom content should no longer cause icons in the Create a Sim catalog to occasionally appear sideways.

Your Sims’ neighbor’s toddlers were occasionally being imbued with a desire to go fishing. This was causing the toddler’s caregiver to appear, and let themselves into your home uninvited. Don’t ask how the two are connected, just know that toddlers won’t want to go fishing anymore, which in turn keeps these uninvited strangers out of your home.

Two Sims WooHooing on a bed that another Sim has claimed will no longer cause that other Sim to no longer claim the bed for sleeping.

The Tea Magic Personal Brewer was brewing worse and worse quality tea over time, until it could only produce poor tea. Not only did we fix that, but we discovered and fixed an underlying issue that was preventing Sims from ever brewing excellent quality tea. Enjoy your delicious tea!

Toddler’s portraits will no longer be grayed out and said to be “At Daycare” after an adult returns home.

Children can once again use their cell phone to take a photo of other Sims of different ages, and Sims of other ages can once again include children in their cell phone photos.

Screenshots for Mac users will no longer be upside down.

Removed the odd green tint in the outdoor lighting of two lots in Willow Creek.

The Match Hair option in Create a Sim will now correctly match eyebrows to the Sim’s hair color for children and toddlers.

Tuna Casseroles no longer have two Party serving sizes, and Vegetable Casseroles can now be cooked in a Family serving size.

The career hours of other Sims in your relationship panel will no longer disappear after your Sim travels.

Eating Semi-Firm Beet Noodles will no longer make vegetarian Sims sad.

The dining table that can be crafted by Sims with the Woodworking Skill will now provide a Nicely Decorated moodlet.

Shadows cast by windows will now render properly on graphics settings lower than Very High.

The “Jog to Clear Mind” interaction will now successfully complete the “Go for a Jog” whim.

The “Include Custom Content” filter in the Gallery now has a proper tooltip explaining its functionality.

Sims can now order Medicine or Voodoo Dolls on computers that exist on lots other than their own home lot.

Plant Sims will no longer have their hairstyle change when their Water Need raises or drops.

Wall Cutaway view will continue to function properly when adding a Sim to your active household while visiting an NPC household’s home lot.

Twins that are born from this point forward will now share the same birthday.

All whims related to grilling can now be successfully completed.

Lowered the number of social media followers gained when a Sim with level 10 Charisma skill uploads a viral video.

Children who need help from another Sim to spray a monster under their bed could previously only select from Adult aged Sims. They can now select from Sims of other ages as well.

Foundations on buildings were previously lit upside down. Now they’re lit right-side up!

Fixed a hang that could occur when favoriting a piece of content in the Gallery, and then favoriting that same piece of content a second time in the News Feed.

The Winter Holiday Venue Wall Speaker now has all four color variants available for players who do not also own The Sims 4 Get to Work.

Stairs without drop walls will cast shadows once again.

Submitting a Book Copy to the Literary Digest will no longer cause two versions of the interaction to be queued up, one of which caused the Sim to route fail.

Fixed some clipping issues with the Men’s Caribbean Suit.

Updated the Caribbean t-shirt so that choker necklaces remain visible while wearing it.

Updated the Sim Idol Rug to have a diamond pattern.

Large diagonal double doors will no longer overlap each other while held on the mouse cursor in Build Mode.

Improved the shadows cast by a variety of objects.

The Simology panel will now retain whatever height it was manually resized to when switching between Sims.

Shiny wooden floor tiles will now appear to be shiny both indoors and outdoors.

Bringing another Sim to tears using a violin will now cause that Sim to actually become sad.

Objects in the Wall Decorations category within Build Mode will now count towards the Wall Decor lot requirement for Museum venues.

That said, you still (intentionally) can’t travel or save when a Sim really is aging up… happy birthday!

Ok, but seriously… this is just rude. We live in a society people.

We’ll just go ahead and blame that one on aliens.

(On a personal note – Eating Semi-Firm Beet Noodles would make me pretty sad.)

Get to Work

Retail counters that become dirty can now be cleaned once again.

The “Lice Cold Retail Freezer”, and the “Cat Loves Food Inc. Professional Grade Warming Rack” will once again update their appearance when food is placed inside them.

The Grim Reaper will no longer become frozen in place if a Sim activates a Neighborhood Hivemind effect via the Scientist’s satellite while the reaping of a dead Sim is in progress.

Doctors will no longer be assigned a nurse’s outfit as their work clothes when reaching level 7 of their career.

As a detective, attempting to fingerprint a criminal that’s inside a jail cell will no longer cause the detective to idle in place.

Scolding a Sim for inappropriate behavior while on an owned retail lot will no longer cause your own Sim to become uninvited and unable to access the building’s interior on their retail lot.

Male Sims wearing steel toed boots paired with a skirt (It’s called fashion, look it up.) would previously have their legs disappear. Happily, we’ve fixed this.

Fixed an issue where changing the gender of an alien would cause the alien to appear naked.

Makes you think… Scientists had unwittingly invented a world without death, only for those of us at Maxis to meddle and take it away.

Get Together

Baristas will now leave the Cafe lot once their work shift is over.

Updated some Windenburg neighborhood skyboxes so that clouds no longer visibly clip with the mountains.

City Living

Plants at festivals will grow harvestables that are ripe for picking once again.

Haggling over prices with vendors at stalls will now result in the correct price being displayed that the household will actually be charged.

Holiday decorations (requires The Sims 4 Seasons) that can’t be removed will no longer appear on apartment balconies.

Tricksy little gnomes will no longer spawn outside your apartment unit during the Holiday Gnomes tradition (requires The Sims 4 Seasons).

Made improvements to simulation lag in certain San Myshuno neighborhoods.

If a Sim is at an event, such as the Opera, a Concert, a Musical, or the Circus, having another Sim travel will no longer cause the Sim at the event to leave the event early.

Sims will once again animate properly when busking for tips while playing the electronic keyboard.

This is also fixed in other packs that include vendor manned stalls.

Cats & Dogs

The needs of cats or dogs that live in another household will no longer start off low when your Sim visits their household.

Bathing a dog in the “Trap’s Trapezoid Tub” (Requires The Sims 4 Fitness Stuff) will now correctly fill the bathtub with water.

Updated the women’s hairstyle that’s long with a straight middle part to no longer cause clipping with Sims’ faces.

Fixed a t-shirt that was causing Sims’ elbows to bend in a very odd manner.

Seasons

Sims will no longer have difficulty decorating the Ever Delightful Evergreen Holiday Tree when it’s placed adjacent to certain wall decorations.

If a Sim is at work or school on the day of a holiday, they will no longer return home from work/school early if another Sim in the household travels somewhere during the holiday.

Sims may now WooHoo in leaf piles that build up outside of a lot.

Mac users who play in Laptop Mode, your Sweet Treats nightmare has come to an end. Plants in certain neighborhoods will no longer be rendered in shades of pink and purple during the Fall season.

Trees with leaves should be casting shadows once again, for players who were observing issues with certain hardware configurations.

When raining, NPCs will now correctly put their umbrellas away when going indoors on venues.

The Santa hat will no longer cast shadows on your Sim’s eyeballs.

Gnomes will no longer break unbreakable objects.

Toddler’s foreheads will no longer cause clipping when wearing certain hats from The Sims 4 Seasons.

Father Winter will no longer choose to move into a home in your town.

Each color of the “Umbri Umbrella Rack” now costs the same amount of simoleons to purchase.

Sims will no longer spawn in the neighborhood and idle in place during the Fall if there are no large leaf piles in the open streets area of the neighborhood.

Lightning will no longer strike pool lights, which previously caused singe marks in pools that could not be removed.

Outdoor Retreat

When using Manage Worlds to edit a lot in a destination world, the Build Mode catalog will no longer show debug items without using a cheat.

Sims will no longer have their position jump when exiting a tent.

Sims will no longer route fail when attempting to sit in a loveseat that’s been slotted to a campfire.

Spa Day

Changing into a towel at the Gym or Spa will no longer cause a Sim to occasionally wear additional accessories.

Sims will no longer become stuck when a yoga class starts on a Gym lot.

After a long, hard day of beekeeping (Requires The Sims 4 Seasons), Sims will now fully remove their beekeeper suit when heading to the sauna or massage table.

Dine Out

Repairmen that are called to restaurants will now properly fix any broken objects on the lot.

The Jazz radio station is now available on all stereos.

Vampires

Vampires will no longer attempt to “break in” to venues, which was previously preventing players from traveling or saving their game during the break in.

Vampires who started burning in the sunlight while traveling away from home, will no longer continue to burn when returning home and retreating inside.

Adjusting a Vampire’s Dark Form can no longer occasionally cause issues with the Sim’s other outfits.

Vampires will no longer automatically help themselves to a plate of food after cooking a Family or Party sized meal.

Parenthood

Table settings will no longer disappear when Sims sit down to eat.

The low hanging “Mason Multi-Jar Lighting” will no longer cause Sims to route fail when placed in rooms using medium height walls.

Jungle Adventure

Sims will no longer receive invites to the bar in Selvadorada, which would previously leave them stranded in the jungle.

Only one protective item will now be consumed at a time when it’s used to save a Sim from various animal attacks while exploring the jungle of Selvadorada.

The Latin Music radio station is now available to select on cheaper stereos.

The Cantina venue in Selvadorada will continue playing festive Latin music, even if your Sim chooses to not pay their household bills on time.

Sims will no longer route fail when attempting to unpack their sack lunch while exploring the hidden areas of Selvadorada.

The explorer shirt will no longer cause oddly colored patches of skin to appear on the back of Sims’ necks.

Tooltips on relics should now correctly appear after a Sim has learned about the relic’s curse or blessing.

The value of a relic that has a crystal inserted into it will now display properly in the relic’s tooltip to include the value of the crystal.

We tightened up the graphics on the Selvadorada map icon.

Movie Hangout Stuff

The “Projectotron Indoor & Outdoor Movie Screens” can no longer be placed on top of coffee tables or TV stands.

Kids Room Stuff

Songs on the Tween Pop radio station are now labeled with the correct artist and song title.

[kaorei-endgame]

Fast Karate Game of the Year 2017 #1: Gravity Rush 2

I think about falling a lot.

Well, falling, floating, whatever. That part in Perfect Blue where she's in the bathtub, or in Ghost in the Shell where she talks about what would happen if she just ended up going down, and down, and down.

Kat doesn't fly; she falls. It's really just a semantic difference.

I suppose there's not much of a game to Gravity Rush, which I always suspected would be the case, which is why the overwhelming praise coming from even personal recommendations like @kidfenris and @psikick never got me perked up. The combat's pretty rough, even with the band-aid of Homing Kick Works On Everything. And for many interminable stretches, this game that is not a stealth game and has no mechanics/UI elements to allow for stealth gameplay, will throw you into back-to-back-to-back Pass/Fail stealth sequences and then when you finally clear them, ask you to do them again as side missions.

But damn, you can just fall. 

I suppose this game has objectives. It definitely has cute side quests where long-suffering Kat uses her awesome powers to do decidedly unheroic things like deliver newspapers, shill for a cafe, rescue a lost puppy, and take on day labor as a mover for a rich asshole. Her peppy Can-Do! anime girl attitude-and her put upon resignation with the asinine-yet-humorous requests of every townsfolk she comes across-sands the corners of friction, such that I didn't mind when I realized this was a super hero game, even though super heroes have always sucked. It has a nice story. It has kind of a bittersweet story, in a meta way, in that the best part OF the story is the last hour or two that encompasses what would probably be the whole of Gravity Rush 3 except while playing this they definitely realized they would never get the chance to make a Gravity Rush 3. 

So my game of the year for 2017 is a game I started playing on January 1st 2018, because it was half-off on the online store and we'd finished whatever we were streaming for the night and Graz had to go out to walk the dog. There could be no better kismet, and, across the two weeks where I spent most of my free time playing this game (and its DLC, and its predecessor) I feel somehow as if my brain reset. I found a rare video game where my objective was not to have an objective (despite the fact that Gravity Rush has almost as many objectives as any open world game does), but just to be. To feel the movement of my fingers as I double-tapped the shoulder buttons to readjust my trajectory. To feel, as if in my body, and not just my hands, that moment when you deactivate Kat's powers at full speed, that split-second where she hangs in the air like a clueless Wile E Coyote before gravity-real gravity, inescapable gravity-takes hold and sends her plummeting to earth. To work my palm against the rumble of the controller as she pancakes into hard stone, over and over, because, I don't know, falling animations are a wonderful thing about games, and this year, with Nier and Zelda, has been very good for goofy-ass falls. It's so frustrating, in Dark Souls, when you're so concentrated on a battle that you roll off a bridge and to your death, right? If it weren't, the Anor Londo archers wouldn't be the thing that bristles the whiskers of every player, big or small, when they reminiscence. 

But it's hilarious, too, right? It couldn't not be. The way the camera seizes and locks in place halfway down, but your character just keeps falling, and falling, until they're nothing but a tiny speck. I've always liked the shock of realization that an accidental death by falling produces in Dark Souls. The flare of anger and indignation is so pure and justified and so deep-rooted in your core, this ancestral memory of what unfairness looks like, in the moment that you just throw yourself into your outrage at this bullshit, this theft-only to snap back to your senses a minute later, maybe somewhat quietly chagrined, and try to laugh it off, under your breath, like "ahahaha… yeah, that one was on me."

What I like about Gravity Rush is Kat can be that speck, but nothing hurts her, no matter how far she falls. It is a game with no consequence, but it's also a game that tells you there are no consequences, which is a much rarer thing, where the Call of Duties and Assassin's Creeds are concerned.

While I was playing this game, I posted a lot of videos to twitter of sending Kat falling to earth. Those videos don't even represent even a hundredth of the times I crashed her into rock, grass, asphalt, ponds, enemy battleships, church steeples, a fire-breathing elephant statue or a ferris wheel. Partially I did it so much because I think video game characters smashing into the ground is hilarious/fucking rocks, but it's also because it feels like the most efficient way to get around the world, a lot of the time. It's like the game has schooled you in subtle Trigonometry. Gradually, your holds mold to a game that at first felt unplayable. I am an apologist for this, like I am an apologist for Resident Evil. These feel like games to me, a synchronization of the limitations of the player with the limitations of the game. What I crave from games is resistance. It's a completely worthless skill--a didactic lesson with no real bearing outside of video games. But let me tell you a secret: that's true of all video games. They're all stupid. They're all a waste of time. So is most of human life. I'm trying to find ways to be fine with that. I'm hoping I'll do that before anxiety makes me explode.

What I've pretty rarely craved from games is passivity. Even when I enjoy it, I don't enjoy it. When I'm mining my thousandth copper ore in World of Warcraft, there's a cognitive dissonance: the acceptance that I might need this brainless play, with the frantic, rabid desire to not. 

But I never felt that pull here. It was the rhythm of it. The constant micro adjustments of flight. The swoops, crashes, and soars. You are moving, and the shining purple gems that upgrade combat skills you never actually need are there like signposts to guide your descent. So are the sidequests. So are the races. So is everything. An excuse for forward motion, a series of tasks with no real bearing on anything, except instilling in me a peace of mind. In exploratory games like these, every outcropping is peppered with something to pick up that secures you a fractional bit of an incremental upgrade. That's what exploratory games are bad, because they incentivize exploration with garbage, because everything is a Piece of a Heart but now instead of 1 of 4 it's 1 of 400. For me, the one Assassin's Creed I played to competition was this ludicrous Lucy With The Football shit of seeing a chest on a ledge, climbing to that chest, and being rewarded with, like, 70 lire every time. So when I started this game, and saw giant, hovering pink diamonds twinkling from every outcropping I felt the swell of that instinctual revulsion towards collectibles, my superego vainly protecting me from the pull of my id, which always says "get those things, it will feel good. It will feel even better if you imagine getting all of them." But lurking behind that is always this tacit notion of, "every one of these things you pick up is a page of a book you didn't read or a word you didn't write."

For an hour at a time, basking in the music, all I would do was exactly that. I spent a lot of hours that way, suffused with the relaxation, basking in the float.

2017 was a bad year in a lot of ways. Specifically, for the purposes of this writing: personally, creatively, I did not exit it feeling super great. Christmas break was my last-ditch effort, and I flubbed that. And, playing through Gravity Rush 2, and its DLC, and the entire first game too, over the first couple weeks of January, I thought "well 2018 is off to just an awesome start," even as I acknowledged that maybe I was allowing myself space for my brain to reset.

What's cool, and I say this as someone who has never definitely felt like their brain has reset, to pull them out of a slump in that way (just in case you are also a person who has felt this way) is that this time: it actually did. The plans I'd deferred from the end of December started falling slowly into place at the end of January. They still are. Slower than I'd like them to, but at least they're moving. It's the first time it's happened to me, in this way. It's really bizarre, to feel like this is the first time I'm experiencing that. So I'm, at this point, almost two months late on finishing my Game of the Year, and nearly a month out from my #2 game (and I assume anyone who cared just guessed it was this anyway, I wasn't trying too hard to keep it a secret). But that's just a personally inflicted timeline anyway, so who gives a shit. 2018, I wanna get things done. That was my desire for 2017 too. But I'm approaching the idea that 2018 can be about getting things done in the speed that they're going to get done, instead of the speed I desperately need them to. I am making myself believe that is a possibility, and something about that seems possible, this time.

Tap-tap, goes my finger on R1. And move the analog stick ever so slightly. Hear the rush of air, and the distant strands of peppy music. Tap-tap, again, and I'm off, somewhere else. Even if it's the second half of the game, which is the whole of the first game, where the music is nowhere near as good as the initial town music, which was so raucous and so buoyant that often it inspired in me a desire to do nothing but fly upwards, testing how far I could fall into the sky before my power ran out, and then seeing how far I'd fall before it came back. That song, that song that was so peaceful and felt so kind. Touching upon these gems, triangulating among landmarks for a treasure chest hunt, and skidding to a magnetized stop on the craggy underside of a floating castle. And basking in the nature of the character on screen doing it, looking cool or clumsy, or both. Falling forever, until you are a speck, and the game doesn't even kill you when you run out of flight power over the vast abyss, it just teleports you back up wherever, and lets you try again.