#ARGUS PRESS SOFTWARE

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[gimmethatagustd]

wanna watch a sex tape | kth (ft. pjm)

When Taehyung invited you over to watch a movie, you didn’t think the movie he had in mind would be your sex tape… And you definitely didn’t think his roommate would want to watch, too.

↳ pairing: taehyung x reader x jimin

↳ rating/genre: BTS | 18+ | frenemies to lovers | strangers to lovers | smut | a lil bit of fluff

↳ wc/date: 6.9k | August 2023

↳ warnings: no pronouns/gendered language for oc except "pussy", namjoon has mono and it's not the album (hahahaaa), homemade pornography, Big Dick Tae, exhibitionism, humiliation kink (but it's like... unintentional? tae isn't mean or anything), handjob, blowjob, deepthroating, facefucking, crying, anal and vaginal fingering, unprotected anal and vaginal sex, double penetration, creampie, subspace, sub!reader, soft!dom tae, switch!jimin ig, an insane amount of lube like way too much, they're all arguing with each other the entire time, tae tries to deepthroat a camcorder

↳ notes: lol yeahhh soooo... idk what's up with me and threesomes lately, but, uhhh, i'm too embarrassed to proofread this so i'll do it later hkjds

↳ masterlist / taglist

↳ what was jai listening to? up! - lil vada & donnysolo

The Wannabe-Photographer Chronicles (mini-series) Masterlist

“It’s just a movie,” he’d said. “What’s wrong with two friends watching a movie? It’s Netflix and chill in the most literal way, I promise,” he’d insisted. 

So why does Taehyung have pulled up what appears to be a video editing software instead of Netflix? 

You sit with your back against Taehyung’s headboard and your legs tucked beneath you while you watch him place his laptop on the bed in front of you. The moment he presses play, you feel all the blood drain from your body. 

“Kim Taehyung, turn that the fuck off!” you screech. You lunge forward to slap the space bar, effectively pausing the video. “Why? Why why why why why?” 

“You said I could pick the movie,” Taehyung says with a slight pout. 

“This is not a fucking movie!”  

There on the screen, with a fucking sepia filter, is a still of Taehyung’s fingers lodged deep between your thighs. The tendons and veins in his wrist and forearm pop to the surface from the thrusting motion. In the second it took to pause the video, you’d heard your own breathy moans blare from the laptop’s speakers.

This is probably the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in your entire life. Probably in anyone’s life! You’re living a nightmare. 

“You’re right, it’s not a movie,” Taehyung sighs. He leans back on his palms and lets his head loll to the side as he stares at you blankly, almost as if he’s bored. It’s enraging how hot he looks. “It’s just raw footage. I have a lot of edits to make before I could call it a movie. For starters, I already hate the filter.”

Ears and cheeks aflame with invisible heat, you dig your fingers into the bed’s fluffy comforter to prevent yourself from clawing Taehyung’s eyes out. He’s genuinely insufferable and has been for as long as you’ve known him. 

You don’t know how you keep finding yourself in these unfortunate situations with Taehyung. The first time, he provoked you. How could you have reasonably walked away from him at Hoseok’s party when it was in your own fucking apartment? After he fucked your pussy and took a photo when you came? What were you supposed to have done?! You’d already tried kicking him out. The little shit just wiggled his way under your skin and made you itch. 

The whole striptease thing hadn’t been your fault, either. Hoseok had a whole conversation with you about not “scaring away” his friends as if it’s somehow on you that his friends are all annoying. But you love Hoseok, no matter how difficult he makes your life sometimes, and you told yourself that you would do better to be nice. Helping Taehyung with his college photography assignment seemed like a nice way to hold out an olive branch to the asshole. How could you have known that it would end with, with, with a sex tape?

Because that’s what this is on Taehyung’s laptop. A fucking sex tape. 

You made a sex tape with Kim fucking Taehyung, the most infuriating man on the planet, and now you’re sitting on his bed while he explains his editing software like this is the most normal thing you could be doing on a Friday night. 

“Are you even listening?” Taehyung narrows his eyes at you. His fingers hover over the trackpad, posed to click on the video’s play button. 

You swat his hand away, and he yelps. 

“Stop it right now,” you snap. “We are not watching this.” 

You’re so embarrassed that your entire body is on fire. The skin at the nape of your neck prickles, and your stomach swoops so severely that you’re afraid you might pass out from how difficult it is to inhale. It doesn’t help that Taehyung’s previous look of irritation has morphed into something slimy and smug. 

Of course, the universe is never on your side. Assuming Taehyung will let this go is nothing more than a pipe dream. 

“You’re that upset about it?” Taehyung isn’t sincere when he asks. 

Using the arrow keys, he fast-forwards through the video. Despite your embarrassment, you can’t take your eyes off the frames as they quickly flash across the screen. Taehyung lingers momentarily on a part of the video that makes the heat in your face travel south. 

Most people look better in real life than in photos, but Taehyung is flawless no matter the circumstance. His sharp, dark eyes stare back at you through the screen. From the angle his head is tilted, his eyes have a narrowed, almost sleepy appearance as he looks through his eyelashes at the camera. You can only see the top half of his face because the lower half is buried between your thighs. 

You straighten your posture and clasp your hands in your lap. Forcing yourself to look away from the laptop is hard, and you hate yourself for being so affected by the image of Taehyung eating you out. It was a fluke. A mistake. Something fueled by lust and some weird desire for you to prove that… what? You could fuck him, and it mean nothing? 

“This is the best part.”

You don’t want to look again, but you do. It isn’t Taehyung’s comment that draws you toward the laptop once more, but another voice. Your own. 

“I liked you better when you were crying and begging for me like a good boy.” 

In the moment, you thought you’d been snappy and clever when you said that line – meant to be an insult more than anything. Listening to it now, you’re ashamed to hear something far more… suggestive to your tone. Had it really been like that? Or are you overanalyzing now?

“I can still be a good boy for you like this…”

Taehyung’s rough, fucked-out voice makes your entire body tense. It was fucking hot when he said it then, and hearing it again only confirms that, yes, it was fucking hot. 

The sound of skin slapping against skin and broken moans flood the room. Watching yourself on video is surreal, a version of you that you wouldn’t otherwise ever know. Most people live their entire lives without knowing what they look like when they’re having sex – not like this. And here you are, watching a version of you fuck yourself on Taehyung’s cock in the very bed you sit on right now. 

“Honestly, I’m offended that you don’t even appreciate how well I edited these shots. They all flow so seamlessly; didn’t you notice?” 

For some reason, the pout Taehyung wears tugs at your heart in a way you wish it wouldn’t. He just looks so genuine. 

“Taehyung,” you speak sternly, hoping you can set the tone for a more serious conversation. Even though your face isn’t in the video, you’re still a little nervous about what Taehyung will do with it. 

Another part of you is very turned on because the video is still playing, and even though you’re looking at Taehyung, you can see the movement out of the corner of your eye. It only gets worse when Taehyung’s moans grow louder. 

“Yeah?” 

Taehyung’s lips part slightly. You watch him run his tongue against the inside of his cheek with your heart hammering in your chest and heat pooling between your legs. Taehyung exhales in real life, the sound soft and shaky, at the exact moment he cums in the video. 

Whatever you were about to say evaporates from your mind like mist in the wind because he sounds so pretty. 

Fucking hell. 

“What?” Taehyung tries again to get an answer from you, but you can’t speak. 

By now, you’re thoroughly wet, to the point that your thighs feel damp from being pressed together. Your underwear is uncomfortable when you shift, and you wish you’d worn more than a pair of baggy basketball shorts. They go well with your cute cropped hoodie and the Nikes you left at Taehyung’s front door. At least they’re black, so there’s no chance your arousal will be seen through your clothes. 

The last thing you need is for Taehyung to know you’re turned on.

“Nothing,” you finally respond, tearing your gaze from his face. 

The new view is worse, though. You immediately look down and see the last frame of the video. Taehyung’s cock rests on your bare ass, cum splattered on your cheeks and lower back, his cock shiny and slick. You breathe in sharply and seal your fate because Taehyung immediately pounces on that tiny detail. 

“I know you liked it,” Taehyung goads, his pout morphing into the classic grin you’ve grown to both hate and love. 

“No, I didn’t.” 

“Don’t lie.” 

You twist around to face him fully. “Listen here, you little piece of–” 

It’s like deja vu, really, how your eyes fall to look at the bulge in Taehyung’s pants. This time, he’s wearing light grey sweatpants that are a little tight in the crotch, showing a clear outline of his cock resting along his thigh. The fabric at the head of his cock is darker than the rest, a wet spot that has your body throbbing with desire. 

Perhaps from the attention, Taehyung’s cock kicks up, twitching in the confines of his sweats. He lets out a quiet, breathy laugh. 

“I’m listening.” 

Taehyung reaches over to squeeze your knee when you still don't speak. Slowly, he glides his hand up your thigh. Once he reaches the hem of your shorts, he lifts his gaze from where his hand is hot on your skin to your face. His eyes lock with yours as he slips his hand into the leg of your shorts and continues following the inside of your thigh. 

Despite Taehyung’s body heat, you shiver from his touch as he travels higher and higher. It tickles, but you bite your lip and force yourself to stay still. The only part of you that moves is your chest as you rapidly take shallow breaths. It does nothing to calm you down; if anything, it worsens everything. You’re working yourself up to the point that you’re gushing in your underwear.

Taehyung’s fingers trace along the elastic, and you know he can feel how soaked you are. His gaze weighs heavy on you, eyes dark and lidded. He presses his fingers against your underwear and drags them along your lips, lightly increasing his pressure to massage your clit. 

“Oh,” you let out with a gasp, digging your fingers into the comforter. You automatically open your legs further, allowing Taehyung better access. He continues rubbing your clit through your underwear, his movements too slow and light for your liking. “Taehyung…” 

“Hm?” He’s so fucking smug you want to slap him, but you also don’t want him to stop. 

“Just, fucking, just–” 

Your desperate request for him to just fucking finger you already is cut off by Taehyung’s bedroom door flying open. With an embarrassing scream, you practically leap off Taehyung’s bed. 

“Taehyungieeee! I was supposed to hang out with Namjoon hyung, but he canceled because he got fucking mono. Can you believe? Who gets mono at almost thirty years old? Seriously! I asked him who he’s been making out with, but he–” 

The dark-haired man stops midsentence with his jaw hanging off its hinges. Wide, unsuspecting eyes flit from your look of horror to the outline of Taehyung’s dick in his pants to Taehyung’s hand now resting on your knee. But what’s somehow the most embarrassing thing is that the man’s eyes eventually land on Taehyung’s laptop, where his dick and your ass are still on display. 

“Oh wow.” 

Taehyung lets out a long groan and lets his head roll backward. 

“This is exactly why I tell you to knock before you come in here.” 

“W-what!” The man sputters. “This is my fault?” 

After a moment of staring at the ceiling, Taehyung levels his gaze to stare at the man. “Did you knock?” 

The man looks pained when forced to say, “No…” 

You would rather die than be here right now. You watch the two men begin bickering about proper roommate etiquette because this is apparently Taehyung’s roommate, Jimin, who you didn’t know even existed. A convenient thing to leave out, right? Of course, Taehyung wouldn’t fucking tell you that there’s the possibility that someone might be in the apartment with you. 

“Well, what are you watching?” Jimin walks toward the bed to get a better look at Taehyung’s laptop. “Fuck, that guy’s cock is huge. What’s this on?” 

“Oh my god, Taehyung, make it go away!” You finally hiss, slapping Taehyung in the arm to make him do something.

Taehyung throws his head back in a fit of laughter, which makes you slap him even harder. 

“That’s me.” 

Jimin nearly chokes. “Excuse me?”

The look on Taehyung’s face is a mix of pride and mischief. He’s absolutely glowing, absorbing all the praise, even if it’s accidentally given. 

“That is my cock. And the ass…” Taehyung jabs his thumb in your direction, much to your displeasure. 

“Oh,” Jimin exclaims. “Your ass looks great.” 

“For fuck’s sake, I need to get out of here.” 

“No!” Taehyung reaches for your arm to keep you from getting up. “We haven’t even fully watched it yet.” 

You narrow your eyes and gesture in Jimin’s direction. Even if you wanted to watch the sex tape – which you definitely don’t – you can’t watch it with Taehyung’s roommate hovering over you like this. You don’t even understand why the guy is still here or how he and Taehyung can converse normally while Taehyung’s got a literal erection. 

Boys are so fucking weird. 

“Can I watch, too?” 

Your eyes nearly bug out of your head. There’s no way, no fucking way. And yet Taehyung’s already nodding and scooting over for Jimin to sit on the other side of him. 

“I worked so hard on this, and it’s going unappreciated.” Taehyung glares at you. 

Before you can react, Taehyung has restarted the video. His hand migrates from your arm back down to your knee and squeezes lightly, maybe in an attempt to be comforting, but you’re already beginning to die inside from embarrassment. 

It doesn’t help that Jimin is gorgeous. You find yourself admiring him as he watches the video, which Taehyung has now turned on with full volume. Jimin’s eyes are glued to the screen. Occasionally, he makes little comments to praise Taehyung’s editing skills or point out how you and Taehyung have “great chemistry.” But the most intriguing part is when Jimin begins to squirm. 

It’s still early in the video, just after Taehyung starts eating you out, when you notice Jimin’s hand move to rest in his lap. It isn’t subtle how he adjusts his erection in his jeans, but he doesn’t know that you’re staring at him.

There’s something about knowing that this complete stranger is now hard because of watching your porn that rekindles the arousal buzzing inside you. It doesn’t help that Jimin and Taehyung are right; the video is hot. It’s ridiculously hot. 

Distracted, you don’t realize Taehyung’s attention is no longer on the video like Jimin’s is. Instead, he’s got his eyes on where his hand disappears into your shorts again. This time, he wiggles his fingers inside your underwear. 

The first press of his fingertips against your clit makes you moan, high-pitched and desperate. You immediately slap your hand over your mouth, and Taehyung chuckles. 

“Y’know, I was thinking…” Taehyung begins, noticing that Jimin’s now watching his fingers move in your shorts. “We should make another video.” 

“You should,” Jimin agrees immediately with a nod. It’s eager, without shame, and that alone makes your pussy throb for some reason. 

Are you into exhibitionism? Is that what this is? What the fuck is going on?

“No way,” you try to protest, but another moan comes from deep in your chest when Taehyung slips his middle finger inside you. 

“I could film it,” Jimin offers, as though finding a director is the issue. His chest rises rapidly as his pretty eyes roam your body. 

Just as before, you let your legs spread. By now, Taehyung isn’t trying to hide what he’s doing. He openly fingers you with his roommate sitting right there, watching. You lean back on your palms and let your head fall back when Taehyung squeezes your thigh with his other hand to hold you open. 

“Yeah, Chim, you film it,” Taehyung agrees. “Baby? Wanna do it now?” He slips a second finger inside you, and you think it’s unfair that he’s asking you this while fingers you because you’d probably do anything to get him to fuck you right now, whether you want to admit it or not. 

“Fuck you,” you hiss. “Fine.” 

With a grin, Taehyung removes his fingers from you. You want to complain, but he and Jimin are off the bed by the time you sit up again. You sit there, dumbfounded, as Taehyung heads to his closet. Jimin trails behind him, nodding at the instructions Taehyung gives him. 

The two return to the bed once they each have a camcorder. They’re smaller than the one Taehyung used before, sleeker, and more colorful compared to the all-black, more heavy-duty one from before. 

Taehyung sets his camera on the bed next to you while Jimin fiddles with his from where he stands at the edge of the bed. 

“Take your clothes off, baby.” 

You bite your lip at the term of endearment you’ve always told Taehyung not to call you, that he calls you anyway. This time, there’s something different about it. You watch him shred his clothes, tossing his t-shirt to the floor and then dropping his sweatpants. As you expected, he isn’t wearing underwear. The sight of his cock, so big and hard that it hangs heavy between his legs, makes you finally start moving. 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” you throw out just because you have to stay in character unless you want Taehyung to think you’re in love with him or something. 

But he grins like an idiot and kneels on the bed while he waits for you to strip. You thought it would be weird getting naked in front of a stranger, but excitement thrums through you as you think about Jimin’s eyes on you, filming you, while Taehyung fucks you. 

“Should we do introductions like they do in those casting videos?” Taehyung grins up at Jimin. 

The poor guy’s face is bright pink, and his forehead glistens with sweat. Nothing has even happened yet, but he’s completely hard and looks like he’s about to have a heart attack. His hands shake worse than yours had when Taheyung ate you out in the video. 

“Chim.” 

Jimin swallows but doesn’t speak. 

“Jimin,” Taehyung tries again. It seems like Taehyung has a knack for leaving people speechless. He moves to the edge of the bed, still on his knees, and leans forward slightly. Jimin must be too nervous to move because he stands completely still as Taehyung opens his mouth. 

You watch with a mixture of embarrassment and arousal as Taehyung takes the flip screen of the camcorder into his mouth. All the while, he keeps his eyes locked on Jimin’s.

It’s so fucking hot you have to look away. 

Finally, something snaps. Jimin jerks backward, pulling the camera out of Taehyung’s mouth. 

“Tae!” He exclaims in disbelief, quickly using his sleeve to clean the screen. “What is wrong with you?” 

“If you wanna join us so bad, hurry up and take your clothes off.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to. Your dick spoke for you.”  

Jimin takes his eyes off Taehyung to look at you. It’s an unspoken request you find yourself granting by nodding your head without even thinking. How could you deny a man that looks like that? Whatever happens, happens. But you know that you want them both if you can have them. The thought just never crossed your mind before. 

It seems that Taehyung has helped you learn a lot about yourself, like how you apparently get off on being embarrassed. 

“I don’t want to fuck you,” Jimin announces to Taehyung. He tries to look serious, but it’s hard not to laugh when his dick bobs from how quickly he tugged his jeans off his body. 

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “I don’t want to fuck you either; shut up.” 

You thought it would be awkward having Taehyung and Jimin in bed with you, and it is, sort of. Uncharted territory is scary, no matter what it is. It must be evident that you’re feeling this way because Taehyung reaches for you. He pulls you close by the back of the head, and you think the kiss will be rough and charged. Instead, it’s soft. He moves his lips with yours in a gentle rhythm, something meant to be grounding and comforting. His other hand cradles the side of your face, and his thumb caresses your cheek. 

“You guys are so cute.” Jimin’s comment makes you pull back from Taehyung. 

“No, we’re not.” 

“Thank you.”

You scowl at Taehyung, but he’s still wearing that grin that’s getting harder to hate. It slowly fades into something darker once Taehyung finally looks at your body, eyes lingering on how shiny and wet your thighs are from him fucking you with his fingers. 

Taehyung bites his lip, reaching for the camcorder on the bed beside you. 

“Let me record Jimin fucking your face, baby.” 

You and Jimin gasp simultaneously, immediately turning your heads to look at each other. Even though it’s clear that Jimin was invited into this to have sex with you, too, for some reason, you thought Taehyung would be greedier. You thought he wouldn’t want to share, didn’t expect that he’d be the one calling the shots. 

Then again, it isn’t that surprising. Hasn’t Taehyung always called the shots? Sure, you let him, but he was good at it. A director. He’s in his element, you realize. 

You quickly realize, once Jimin’s cock is down your throat, that Jimin is the greedy one. He kneels directly in front of where you sit on the bed and digs his fingers into the back of your head to hold you still as he fucks your throat. 

“You’re doing such a good job, baby,” Taehyung murmurs. He kneels next to you, recording all the sloppy sounds and visuals of you messily gagging on Jimin’s cock while you jerk Taehyung off. 

Tears spill from your eyes as Jimin’s cock hits the back of your throat. You do your best to keep pumping Taehyung’s cock, but your rhythm falters. 

“Fuck, yes, swallow. Like that.” 

Jimin’s moans are different than Taehyung’s. While Taehyung’s moans are soft and deep, Jimin’s are high-pitched and erratic, coming in stunted waves rather than smooth like Taehyung’s. They sound pretty together, even if they’re so different. 

You can tell Jimin won’t last as long as Taehyung, though. He has to pull away from you very quickly, which is fine because you gasp for air, leaning forward slightly to catch your breath. 

“Don’t go so fucking hard,” Taehyung snaps once he sees your reaction. 

“Wha–” Jimin’s eyes grow wide. 

“I’m fine.” Your voice is hoarse, but you’re genuinely okay. You pat Taehyung on the thigh to reassure him because, well, it’s kind of cute that he cared enough to chastise his friend like that. 

Taehyung reaches down to wipe the tears from your cheeks with a stern look that feels strange coming from him. “Let’s take care of you, okay, baby?” 

It’s soft, the way he talks to you. It isn’t for the cameras. 

“I wanna go first. You got your chance before,” Jimin whines.

“Why don’t you ask me then?” 

Jimin crosses his arms against his chest. “May I fuck you first?”

“Sure,” you say with a shrug. 

Taehyung rolls his eyes, but despite the annoyed look on his face, he flops backward onto the bed. The motion causes his cock to slap against his hip, and he groans, slightly rolling on his side. 

“See, stop being such a drama queen,” Jimin chides.

You let out a rather unattractive snort that makes Jimin grin. 

“I like him.”

“Shut up.” 

For once, Taehyung doesn’t have a witty comeback or a stupid smirk to flash your way. Instead, his face twists into something unpleasant. The expression quickly dissolves, and you almost feel like you’ve imagined it. 

Taehyung leans back on his elbows and looks down at where you settle between his legs. Even when Jimin moves to kneel behind you, Taehyung’s eyes never leave yours except to check the flipped screen of his camcorder. 

“Wait, use this.” Taehyung sits up, and his cock is suddenly very close to your face. He reaches over to open his nightstand drawer, nearly ripping the entire thing out. “A lot of it.” 

Something passes between Taehyung and Jimin’s hands. You only glimpse it, but between what you see and the sound of a cap popping open, you know it’s a half-empty bottle of lube that Jimin is now squeezing all over your ass.

“What the hell,” you hiss as the cool liquid drips down your thighs. “Might as well dump the whole fucking thing on me, shit.” 

You refuse to admit that it feels nice having Jimin massage the lube into your skin. It heats up quickly, and his hand easily glides across your muscles. You feel yourself sink forward, lifting your lower half to give Jimin more access. In the midst of how good Jimin’s hand feels, something cold and hard presses against your lower back.  

“If you ruin my camera, Jimin–” 

“That’s hyung to you.” 

“No fucking way.” 

Their banter would be cute if you didn’t have your ass in the air and Taehyung’s dick mere inches from your face. And maybe if you didn’t fucking hate Taehyung and weren’t wary of Jimin at best. 

“Are we gonna do something, or…?” 

Taehyung fluffs a pillow behind his head to keep him propped up so he’ll have a better shot for filming. 

“Yeah, put it in your mouth.” 

You roll your eyes because there Taehyung goes, bossing you around again, but something deep inside whispers that you fucking like it. Not that you would say it out loud. You can’t help how your pussy gushes over him, though. It’s a betrayal, honestly. 

“Say, please.” 

Taehyung sticks his tongue out at you. “No.” 

You don’t have a chance to bitch him out because Jimin chooses that moment to slowly inch his cock inside of you. 

“Oh my god,” you moan with your lips brushing against the base of Taehyung’s cock. You rock back gently, helping Jimin ease into you.  

“So tight,” Jimin says once his hips are flat against your thighs and his cock is fully buried inside you.

“Right?” Taehyung murmurs. “You always feel so good.”  

It’s a bit difficult to bob your head along Taehyung’s cock when Jimin’s fucking into you like his life depends on it. The rhythm is all off, but Taehyung doesn’t seem to mind. He’s watching you with fucking stars in his eyes, hyperfocused on where your lips suckle the head of his cock. When you take more of him into your mouth, he switches the camcorder to his right hand and reaches out to you with his left. 

Taehyung runs his thumb along your upper lip, shallowly dipping into the corner of your mouth to feel how little space there is with your mouth full of his cock. 

“Don’t run away; you gotta take it,” Jimin grunts, squeezing your waist and pulling you back hard onto his cock. 

You want to snap at Jimin that it’s not your fault you keep getting lurched forward, but Taehyung’s letting out cute little whimpers from you rubbing your tongue against his slit, and you don’t want to do anything to make him stop. 

When you finally pull off Taehyung to breathe, a string of spit connects your lips to his shiny cock. 

“Can I fuck you in the ass, baby?” Taehyung practically hums the question, his voice already fucked out, deep and hoarse. “I think we need to diversify our portfolio.” 

At the question, Jimin slows down his thrusts until they’re shallow and don’t jostle you too severely.

You’re nodding before your brain can catch up to how your body reacts to Taehyung’s request. 

“Jimin?” 

“On it, boss.” 

You mean to groan in annoyance at how fucking corny they are – as if they’re actually trying to make this into a bad porno – but a moan comes out instead as Jimin slowly presses a generously lubed finger against your rim. 

“Have you done this before?” Jimin asks, working you open with one finger before moving on to a second.

“Y-yeah,” you whimper, the sensation of Jimin’s cock still moving inside you while his fingers are in your ass enough to make you lose your mind. Even if you hadn’t fingered yourself before, the amount of lube Jimin poured all over your ass removes nearly all the friction and tension. 

“Fuck, that’s so hot,” Taehyung groans in an almost frustrated tone. He reaches down to pump his cock since you’re virtually useless with Jimin’s fingers and cock moving inside of you simultaneously. 

“Oh my god, Jimin.” You bury your face in the inside of Taehyung’s thigh, biting down just to ground yourself.

“Shit, that hurts,” Taehyung hisses, but he doesn’t tell you to stop. 

Once Jimin has four fingers inside of you, he leans forward to get closer to ask you if you’re ready.

“Do you want us at the same time?”  

Something that almost sounds pained comes from Taehyung, a broken whimper you’ve never heard from him before. He squeezes his eyes shut and nods his head even though the question isn’t for him. 

“Please, fuck, Y/N, please say yes.” 

You can’t even appreciate hearing Taehyung beg because you’re desperate for this, too. 

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just, let’s go.” You get up, nearly slipping from all the lube that has dripped down onto your body and Taehyung’s. 

“I don’t understand how Taehyung ended up not doing any of the work,” Jimin grumbles as he helps you turn around. 

You’re hardly paying attention to the men’s bickering. They can do whatever weird bromance thing they’re doing, but you’re trying to get doubly dicked down. Cameras or not. 

You sit on Taehyung’s abdomen with your legs on either side of his thighs and face Jimin. Taehyung’s large hands squeeze your waist to lift you up while Jimin grabs Taehyung’s cock to guide the head to your rim. 

“I can’t believe I have to touch your dick,” Jimin adds to his list of grievances that you’re sure Taehyung will never hear the end of. 

Taehyung just laughs, causing your body to jiggle in his tight grip. 

“Don’t act like you don’t love it.” 

Jimin grimaces. “I really don’t.” 

It’s surprising that the two have never done this before when it feels so natural for the three of you to fall into place like this. 

Eventually, Jimin lets go of Taehyung’s cock once the tip pushes inside you. Taehyung feels much bigger than you remember, and Jimin’s fingers certainly don’t compare. Luckily, Taehyung is gentle as he pushes past the ring of muscles. Thank god for the ridiculous amount of lube. It allows you to sink down on Taehyung’s cock with only mild discomfort at first. 

“Relax, baby,” Taehyung murmurs. His hands slide up to squeeze your tits, rubbing and pinching your nipples as you eventually slide fully onto his cock. 

“O-o-okay,” you stutter as Jimin kneels between you and Taehyung’s legs. 

Jimin’s slow as he eases his cock into your pussy, mindful of the pressure you will feel with both cocks inside you. He pauses when he’s halfway in to squeeze even more lube onto his cock, making sure there’s enough to drip down to Taehyung’s, too. 

“What are we filming, a fucking lube ad? What is this?” 

“Shh, baby, you’re gonna ruin the audio,” Taehyung scolds from behind you. 

Biting your lip, you watch Jimin’s face as he concentrates on sliding into you. He’s pretty, sweet even, but… he’s not Taehyung. 

“Wait.” 

Jimin’s bright eyes flit up to meet yours. Concern twists his features, making his eyebrows scrunch together. “Are you okay?” 

“What’s wrong? Does it hurt? Did we not prep you enough?” Taehyung tries to sit up, but Jimin slaps his thigh.

“Stop moving!” 

“I just wanna know what’s going on!” 

Taehyung rubs comforting circles into your sides, sliding his thumbs down to trace your hip bones before running his palms back across your ribs. 

You shake your head and try not to think about what you’re going to say.

“I… I want to,” your face heats up, and you internally scold yourself for feeling the way you do. “I want Tae.” 

Your words are rushed, but Jimin seems to understand – perhaps even more than what you’ve let on because he gives you a small smile and eases out of you without any questions. 

“What?” Taehyung peers from around your body.  

“No assfucking for you, buddy. Better luck next time.” 

“Jimin!” It’s your turn to haul a slap, this one hard against Jimin’s arm. “I’m a person.”

At least Jimin has enough sense to appear bashful. Grabbing your arms, he helps you lift off of Taehyung. He guides you so you’ve got your knees on either side of Taehyung’s hips. 

When you straddle Taehyung, you press your palms to his chest and dig your fingers into his firm pecs. He’s gorgeous like this, skin smooth and tan. A few moles scatter his torso, like little flecks of chocolate that you suddenly realize you’ve missed out on having the chance to lick up. His cheeks are dusted a light pink, and his sweaty bangs are brushed away from his forehead. 

He’s gorgeous all the time, but especially like this. 

“See something you like?” 

You dig your nails into his skin, and Taehyung winces, but he maintains that stupid fucking sparkle of mischief in his eyes. 

“Shut up. Maybe.” 

Taehyung’s grin widens. It’s bright and lopsided, makes him look like an idiot, honestly, and your stomach swoops because, fuck, you’re so fucked. 

“Are you two lovebirds ready or what? My dick is starting to hurt.” 

Taehyung apparently thinks slapping your ass is the best way to respond to Jimin’s question. 

Reaching between your bodies, you guide Taehyung’s cock inside your pussy. The unholy amount of lube makes it easy for him to slip in, which is good because you need to focus on relaxing your body once you feel Jimin’s cock press against your rim. 

You’ve never had two dicks at once – god, it sounds insane when you think about it, even though you know plenty of people who have explored this side of their sexual fantasies. It just isn’t something you’d do, mainly because you’ve always been insecure and a little shy. The hardass exterior is a great wall you’ve built to hide from getting your heart broken, but of course, Taehyung has managed to fuck with all your plans. 

It’s a strange sensation once Jimin fully bottoms out. The three of you freeze, allowing your body to adjust. 

After a while, Taehyung grabs your ass, holding you open as he and Jimin slowly begin to rock into you. As it was when you were sucking Taehyung off, it’s a bit difficult to find the right rhythm at first. Taehyung and Jimin bicker back and forth about who should thrust first and who should pull back. Taehyung jostles you in his lap a few times, squeezing your thighs to adjust your legs against his hips when he isn’t kneading your ass. 

Jimin eventually pushes down on your back, pressing you against Taehyung to open your hips more. The action pushes your chest into Taehyung’s face, much to his amusement, because he immediately sucks one of your perky nipples into his mouth. 

“Oh god,” you moan, reaching out to squeeze Taehyung’s broad shoulders when he flicks your nipple with the tip of his tongue. His mouth is wet and warm, and your nipples have always been extra sensitive when you’re aroused. 

“Fuck, Tae, just, go now,” Jimin instructs through gritted teeth. 

Taehyung begins thrusting into you at a different tempo, knocking your heart into your throat because you can feel both of their cocks alternating thrusts inside of you now, both rubbing against each other between your walls. 

It’s embarrassing when the first wave of tears starts streaming down your face. You start babbling, hardly aware of what you’re saying because the pleasure is so intense it feels as though your brain completely short circuits. 

“Tae, Tae, oh my god, Taehyung,” you breathily chant into Taehyung’s ear. You can’t lean far forward because you have to keep your back arched for both Jimin and Taehyung to comfortably thrust into you. That frustrates you because you suddenly feel the need to be closer to Taehyung. It’s like everything inside of you will explode if you don’t. 

“Tae, I n-need y-y-you,” you sob. 

“Shhh, baby, we got you, okay? I got you.” Taehyung reaches up to lightly wrap his hand around your throat. It isn’t meant to choke you, just to comfort you with his presence since he can’t hold you against his chest. 

“Dropping?” Jimin asks as he pounds into you from behind. 

“Just sensitive, I think,” Taehyung responds for you, and it makes you warm to know that he knows you well enough to answer correctly.

His hand slides from your throat to hold your jaw. The position allows him to press his middle finger into your mouth. You immediately suck on it, finding comfort in it even as you continue to cry from the pleasure. 

“I’m gonna cum. Tae. I’m gonna cum.” 

Taehyung’s hand quickly drops to squeeze between your bodies. He rubs your clit, adding the extra sensation you need to finally push you over the edge. You cry out Taehyung’s name as you cum on both his and Jimin’s cocks, fingers digging into Taehyung’s pecs so hard that you worry you’ll draw blood. 

Jimin immediately cums, too, the feeling of your ass clenching around his cock proving too much for him. 

“Wait, wait,” he pleads until Taehyung stops moving. “Let me pull out.” 

You whimper when you feel Jimin ease out of you, your ass clenching and unclenching as your body adjusts. Now that only Taehyung is inside you, you collapse against his chest. Your lips find his neck and suck, making him shiver underneath you. 

“Can I move?” Taehyung asks, and you hum, too afraid to speak. 

Taehyung fucks into you harder than he had before. There’s something desperate about it, the way he chases his pleasure and can thrust at the speed he wants without needing to match with Jimin. You don’t even know what Jimin’s doing, probably cleaning himself up or filming you. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is how Taehyung moans your name as he thrusts into you. It’s sloppy and wet, something Taehyung appreciates. 

“You sound so good,” he moans into your ear. “Will you cum for me again?” 

You frantically nod your head, already almost there. 

“Just let go for me, okay? You can trust me.” 

It feels like more than just sex when he whispers it in your ear, another quiet promise meant for you and not the camera. 

You cum for a second time, this one accompanied by a silent scream that’s pressed into the crook of Taehyung’s sweaty neck. 

“Fuck fuck fuck,” Taehyung groans, squeezing you against his chest as he finally finds his release, too. 

You feel warm and gooey, none of your limbs cooperating when Taehyung tries to move you off him. Jimin has to help, and the two lay you on your back and get to work cleaning you up. It should be embarrassing, but you kind of like having two men doting on you. It’s nice, even if you’re still a little sticky from cum and lube, even after they’ve done their best to wipe your body down. 

Why haven’t you ever done this before? This is lovely. Men should be taking care of you. 

You smile at them, brain fuzzy and warm, when Jimin helps Taehyung tuck you into bed. 

“How are you feeling?” Taehyung asks. He presses his thumb to your bottom lip, caressing it lightly. 

“I’m barely holding on.” 

Jimin snorts and immediately turns his head away when Taehyung shoots him a death glare. 

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” The nervousness in Taehyung’s voice is cute. 

“You’re cute.” 

Rather than say something smug, Taehyung covers his face with his hands. 

“We broke Y/N.” 

“What?” Jimin whips his head back around. “What, because you’re cute?” 

“Yes.” 

You use the rest of your strength to slap Taehyung in the thigh. “Oh, shut the fuck up before I kick your ass. Take the fucking compliment.” 

Taehyung peeks at you from between his fingers. “Fuck, you scared me for a second there.” 

With a roll of his eyes, Jimin stands up and stretches his arms out. “You’re both fucking drama queens.” 

all rights reserved © gimmethatagustd on tumblr & AO3

do not copy, repost, modify, or translate any of my work

[fawnhunter]

BFF'S4L

Plug! Connie x Black! Bestfriend Reader [MASTERLIST]

Warnings: Lovey dovey fluff, One mention on a gun, One mention of hitting licks, general discussion of drugs. possibility of loving a man who isn't real.

- Plug! Connie who calls you his best friend in public, but to him, you’re so much more than that. A more accurate word would be his everything, you are his everything. He starts to realize it over time, although slowly, it happens. He realizes that he, for one, does not allow you to pay for things and hasn’t done so in a long time. He always checks on you, he even has ur location on, he be clockin yo ass. He also realized that he enjoys spending time with you even when y’all aren’t doing anything, he just wants you there with him, always. He just doesn't feel right when there's no contact between you guys.

- Plug! Connie who trusts you completely. He tells you about the licks he's about to hit with the boys so you’ll know when he needs to lay low. He puts his glock in ur purse when he decides to bring you along when he’s mobile. He hits ur bank account with his cash flips, he even lets you hold his product when it’s hot. He loves that no one ever questions his innocent best friend who stays out the way. You help him get away with a lot

- Plug! Connie, who calls you when he's swerving niggas late at night, because he’s feeling lonely and is in the mood to listen to your playlist. He picks you up from your home, reaching over the console to open the door for you without even getting out. He stops to get milkshakes and fries for you two because he knows you get the munchies when you ride with him late night. He thinks it's cute when you say hi to some of the people he swerves, like he's not dealing drugs to your friends right now. Just his little passenger princess in her own little world.

- Plug! Connie who would do anything for you. Sometimes you don’t even have to ask. He loves it when you ask him for things, it's his favorite thing ever. He likes to feel like he’s the main person that you come to for things. Whether it be clothes, shoes, money for hair and nails, let him provide for you please, it makes him happy. And don’t even worry about when someone tries to bother or threaten you, he's probably gonna find out before you try and tell him( with all the eyes he has on you) and it’ll be handled by the time you stop crying about it.

- Plug! Connie who’s extremely invested in ur future. Hes the man who will take you to and from all your classes. Finds out information on ur tuition so he can pay for ur classes behind ur back. Buys you everything you may need for your new school year. New laptop? U got it.  Those expensive ass art supplies? U got it. U need coding software? Don’t even worry about babe he got you.

- Plug! Connie who's very protective of you in public, he serves a lot of niggas and likes to think he's well known, so he keeps his eyes open and stays attentive when he's out with you, makes you walk on the inside of the street when ur together. Is either pressed against ur side or is holding on to some part of you so he keeps you close to him when y’all are out.

- Plug! Connie who feels conflicted when he takes you to moves with friends because you look so god damn sexy dressed like that, and he can’t help but feel jealous that it's not just for him. He watches you dance and flirt with other men because all he's been to you his whole life is ur best friend. Who gets grumpy when he watches you hand ur phone number out because you’re single, and he can’t argue with that even if he wanted to.

-Plug! Connie, who is entirely in love with you, but can’t bring himself to ruin the only good thing he has going on in his life right now. Because he'd rather have all of this than lose you, ever.

Thanks for reading, place consider hitting my inbox babe!

[fluentmoviequoter]

Accidental CI

Pairing: David "Deacon" Kay x fem!reader

Summary: When your employer's name comes up in a case, your best friend Deacon calls to ask for your help. He leads you into a dangerous situation, and you come out as more than friends.

Warnings: r works an unspecified corporate job, mentions weapon trafficking and guns, threats, mostly fluff!

Word Count: 3.1k+ words

Masterlist Directory | Deacon Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

“Hi, Deac,” you greet as you open the door.

“How was work?” he asks.

“It was fine. My boss forgot to start a software update last night so we didn’t have computer access until after lunch.”

“So, you got paid to sit there and do nothing?”

“Which isn’t that much different than most days,” you tease. “What about you? Any crazy calls?”

You lead Deacon into your kitchen, and his smile widens when he sees dinner waiting on your counter. He pulls you into a quick hug before telling you about his day at work.

“No injuries?” you ask softly.

“No injuries,” he assures. “What about you; any paper cuts that need tending to?”

“Just mental injuries for me. Our financial statements aren’t aligning like they should and if it’s not fixed by the next audit, someone’s getting in trouble.”

“What do you think caused it?”

“Oversight or adding the same bill twice, I’d guess. But I think we should talk about something more exciting than my future IRS investigation.”

“Then let’s talk about that amazing dinner over there and I’ll remind you that Luca wants to have a cooking competition with you.”

Deacon has been your best friend since he moved in next door. You also harbor an ever-growing crush on him. When you saw him climb out of the moving truck the first day, you knew you wanted to be close. He’s got a stressful job, so if you can give him a break and a friend, that’s what you’ll do.

Deacon watches the screen in the situation room as Hondo explains the corporate espionage turned weapon trafficking case. It's a strange move, going from stealing trade secrets to transporting illegal weapons across borders and into areas with strict gun control laws. Metro found a lot of evidence, but when they located the weapons supply in their prime suspect’s corporate office, they called in 20 Squad.

“Wait, go back. Who’s the suspect?” Deacon asks.

His eyes search the monitor as Hondo returns to a page of surveillance photos.

“Elwin Dupree. You know him?” Hondo responds.

“Not personally, but I know someone who works for him.”

“CI?” Chris guesses.

“No. She might be willing to help, though.”

“Call her,” Hondo says.

Hicks adds, “Otherwise, we’re going in blind. Metro has intel but it’s not enough to avoid an ambush.”

Deacon nods and walks out of the room. He presses a contact from his favorites list before raising his phone to his ear.

“Remind me why we work here?” your desk neighbor, whom you lovingly call Nola, says as she sits across from you.

“Because the pay is good… and we’re desperate,” you offer, smiling as you accept your favorite drink.

“May I remind you that Dupree is an idiot who can’t even remember what he asks us to do?”

“Just smile and go with it, Nola, it’s the easiest way to handle it.”

“The man called me into his office yesterday, and then didn’t know why I was there,” she whispers.

“That’s probably a good thing for you. Considering your nickname is based off of your reply of no; lazy.”

“I am lazy! So, I don’t like to do things. He can fire me whenever he wants.”

You roll your eyes and prepare to reply but are interrupted by your cell phone ringing. You apologize to Nola before you answer it.

“Hey, it’s me,” Deacon says on the other end of the line.

“Indeed, it is. What’s going on?” you reply.

“How do you know something is going on?”

“It’s mid-morning on a weekday. And you never call me.”

“I call you all the time!” Deacon argues.

You laugh before you say, “Not when you’re at work.”

“Okay, fine, you’re right. Listen, we’re working on something, and your boss’s name came up.”

“Dupree?” you inquire. “Why?”

“I can’t tell you exactly what we’re looking into, but Hondo and Hicks wanted to know if you’d be willing to help us.”

“Of course. Tell me what to do,” you agree.

“Can you come down here?”

“Uh, yeah,” you answer. You open the calendar on your computer and add, “I can spare an hour and a half, is that enough time?”

“Absolutely. Thank you,” Deacon says.

“Anything for you.”

You hang up and gather your things before standing.

“Where are you off to? Please tell me you’re leaving to go on a date with the hot neighbor you always talk about,” Nola whispers.

“Not today. There was a slight mishap for some of our paperwork. I have to run to another office and get everything sorted out,” you lie. “I’ll have my cell if you need anything.”

“Dodging bullets left and right, aren’t you? Go ahead, I’ll watch your phone and fill in Dupree if he notices you’re gone.”

“Thanks, Nola.”

When you park outside the station, your thoughts begin spiraling. You sit in your seat and wonder if you made the right decision. Will you be in Deacon’s way or be too distracted by him to even help? What if something happens to him while you’re with him? What if he-

A tap on your window draws you from your questions. You turn your head and see Deacon looking at you through the glass. You send him a small smile as he opens your door and bends to look at you. His head tilts to this side, and when he lowers to a squat, his brown eyes distract you as he looks up at you.

“You okay? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he says gently.

“No, I want to. Just- I was thinking too much, I guess,” you reply.

Deacon nods and stands before offering his hand to help you out of your seat. He closes the door and ensures it’s locked before moving his hand to your back to lead you inside.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hondo,” Hondo says as you enter.

You shake Hondo’s hand and introduce yourself as you follow him further into the station. He doesn’t waste any time as he begins explaining as much as he can about how your boss is involved in the case they’re working.

“We’d like to send you in the get additional details on the office and any other information you can find,” Hondo says. “We’ve got basic floor plans, but we need insider info.”

“She can’t go in alone,” Deacon argues. “We don’t know what he has in that office. If she starts asking questions and he gets suspicious-“

You cut Deacon off by laying a hand on his shoulder and asking, “What if you go in with me? It wouldn’t be that hard for me to lie about who you are; Dupree doesn’t know most of the people who work in the building. Plus, you know what to look for better than I do.”

Hondo looks at Deacon and waits for his reply. You feel Deacon sigh against your hand before agreeing to go into the office with you.

“There’s an employee entrance without metal detectors, but you have to swipe a keycard,” you explain. “They’ll know if you piggyback with me.”

“Our techs can make him a keycard,” Hondo assures. “If you have yours, they can copy parts of it.”

You nod and pass your card to Hondo. He turns and gives it to a passing officer with a few short instructions. Deacon pats your arm as he leaves to change; his uniform isn’t business casual, but he said he'd find something more fitting.

“20 Squad is going to be close by,” Hondo begins. “Deacon can say a word and we’ll be inside, but if you need help and get separated from Deacon, try to get to a window. Signaling for help is easiest with this; just keep it in your pocket or your hand and press the button if you need us.”

You accept the small device and slide it into your pocket. It’s invisible, and you nod as Hondo reassures you everything will be okay.

“I know you can’t tell me what exactly Dupree is doing, but you’re going to catch him, right?” you ask softly.

“Absolutely. Nobody can run from S.W.A.T.”

You scan your keycard and wait for Deacon to do the same before opening the door. The employee entrance is on the side of the building, and you smooth your hands over your hips nervously. When you feel the device Hondo gave you, you relax slightly.

“We’ll walk to my desk, look at a few papers, and then go in?” you suggest as Deacon gestures for you to enter.

“Sounds good,” he agrees.

“The suit looks good,” you mumble as you walk toward the elevator.

Deacon chuckles as the elevator door opens, and you smile as he shakes his head at your flattery. The elevator is quiet, and as you wait to arrive on your floor, you take a few deep breaths. Deacon’s hand finds your lower back, and he rubs small, comforting circles before the door opens.

“Still working on the paperwork issue?” Nola asks when you reach your desk.

“Yeah, we are. This is Ryan from the Santa Monica branch,” you say.

Nola’s eyes narrow at you before she looks at Deacon’s hand. He’s close to you, like always, but you don’t understand her look. You raise your brows, but she only shrugs before looking back at her computer.

“Was it this one?” you ask Deacon.

He takes the blank form from your hand and nods. “Yes, this is the one.”

You return the paper to its rightful place on your desk before leading Deacon down another hallway. Nola’s reaction confused you at first, yet you’re not surprised when Deacon gently grabs your hip to stop you in the hallway.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper.

“It’s fine. Just stay calm and remember our covers. Like you said, Dupree won’t know any difference,” Deacon soothes. “And the team’s waiting for our signal if we need them.”

You nod, and Deacon’s hands raise to your shoulders as he drops his chin to look into your eyes.

“You got this,” he promises.

“I need to discuss an urgent matter with Mr. Dupree,” you inform his secretary. “This is Mr. Ryan Davidson from the Santa Monica branch. There have been some discrepancies with paperwork submitted to their office, which needs Mr. Dupree’s immediate attention.”

His secretary raises the receiver of her desk phone and whispers into it. You turn to look at Deacon, and he tilts his head to the left to signal you to stay calm and wait.

“You can go on in,” the secretary says as she lowers the phone.

Deacon opens the door for you, and you step inside first.

“Hello,” Mr. Dupree greets. He doesn’t pretend to remember your name, you notice. “I heard there’s an issue with some paperwork?”

“Yes, sir,” Deacon says. “I’m Ryan Davidson with the Santa Monica office and we’ve been having issues; receiving incomplete or incorrect paperwork from this branch.”

“My sincerest apologies, Ryan. If you don’t mind, use that laptop there and sign into your account while I bring mine up. We’ll get this sorted.”

You stand back as Deacon walks to the table at the back of the office and opens the laptop. Mr. Dupree didn’t shake his hand, ask for identification, or take other proper steps before jumping to help. It’s suspicious, but probably not what Deacon and his team need.

“What kind of incorrect information have you seen?” Mr. Dupree asks. You open your mouth to answer, and he adds, “Ryan?”

“Financial statements that aren’t matching previous months, for one. Most likely an oversight or adding the same bill twice. Nothing too extreme, just something we need sorted before the end-of-year audits,” Deacon answers.

You raise your eyebrows in surprise at his response. He practically repeated a complaint you shared during your last dinner together.

“Very well. I don’t know why the system is moving so slowly,” Dupree responds. He moves his hand under his desk as Deacon types.

You watch Dupree because Deacon’s team is getting him the access he needs. When you see the handle of a gun gripped in Dupree’s hand, you call, “Gun!” and drop to the floor just before he shoots above your head.

Deacon pulls his own weapon and points it at Dupree as he demands, “Put the gun down. I’m Sergeant Kay, L.A.P.D. S.W.A.T.”

As Deacon speaks, you slowly press your back against the side of Dupree’s desk, where he can’t see you. Deacon’s eyes are on Dupree, but you watch Deacon because you trust him to keep you safe.

“I could put it down,” Dupree says. “But if I angle it like this and pull the trigger, wouldn’t it hit your little friend?”

Deacon glances at you quickly, and you lock eyes before you shift away from the oversized desk.

“One more time: drop the gun,” Deacon repeats.

You can’t see Dupree, but you clap your hands over your ears as you hear two shots. Everything goes quiet, and you lean forward slowly to look for Deacon. He kneels before you and gently pulls your hands away from your head. You let him move you before surging forward to hug him. He welcomes you into his arms as footsteps echo in the hallway outside.

“It’s okay. We got him,” Deacon promises.

You nod against Deacon and allow him to help you stand. Deacon keeps you angled away from Dupree’s desk, and you’re happy to avoid looking.

“Did you get everything you need?” you ask quietly as Street and Luca lead a paramedic inside.

“We did. Are you okay?”

Deacon lays a hand on your shoulder, and his thumb presses gently into your tense muscles as he looks into your eyes.

“Get her out of here. Hondo said you can take the rest of the day. Maybe she can practice for the competition,” Luca calls.

“I think you need the practice more than me,” you reply without turning.

Luca laughs as Deacon wraps an arm around your shoulders and leads you out of the office. He takes you back to your desk to get your things, and Nola rushes to hug you when you enter the open area.

“I heard the shots and was so worried!” she exclaims. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” you promise.

 “Then I need you to do something. Go home and ask your neighbor out. Don’t wait too long,” she says.

You nod and return to Deacon’s side. He heard everything from where he was standing, yet doesn’t comment as he helps you into the passenger seat of his car. Once you’re on the road, he fills the silence by asking you questions about what you will cook for your competition with Luca. You know he’s trying to distract you from what happened, and you appreciate it.

Back at the station, you sign some paperwork to receive CI benefits before walking to Deacon’s side. He offers to drive you home and keep you company, which you happily accept. You never like leaving Deacon and don’t want to be alone tonight.

“I waited too long,” Deacon murmurs while walking you out.

You stop and turn to face him as you ask, “For what?”

“What your friend said. I waited too long to ask you out.”

You smile and slide your hand into his. “Did you know that Nola looked at us like that because you were standing really close to me?" Deacon shrugs, and you explain, “I never shut up about you, Deac. I’m in love with you, so she was confused about why I was standing so close to another man.”

“Never?” Deacon repeats playfully.

“You didn’t wait too long, Deac,” you promise.

“I didn’t?”

“Not if you take your chance right now.”

Deacon looks around quickly before yelling, “Hicks! Did you file it yet?”

“No; I’m busy, Deacon,” Hicks answers.

“Can you make her Hondo’s CI?”

Hicks looks between the two of you and rolls his eyes. “Yes, I can.”

When Deacon turns back to you, he doesn’t give you time to speak before he asks, “Will you go out with me?”

“Nothing would make me happier,” you answer.

Your smile grows to match Deacon’s, but he makes it disappear when he pulls you in and kisses you. The sound of clapping makes you open your eyes as you pull back. Hondo leads 20 Squad in a round of applause, and you bury your face in Deacon’s chest to hide your grin and burning embarrassment.

“My CI’s never end up like this,” Hondo jokes.

“Pretty good timing, though, wasn’t it?” Deacon asks as he wraps his arms around you.

You stand wordlessly from the couch and walk past Deacon. He turns to watch you as you enter your bathroom and close the door. It only takes a moment for him to decide to follow you.

“Are you okay?” Deacon asks from outside the door. “And don’t just say you’re fine. We both know you’re not.”

You open the door and lean against the vanity as he walks in. “I feel bad that you had to shoot Dupree. I know he’s fine and he’ll recover, pay for him crimes, and everything. But you probably wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t there.”

“Don’t think like that. If he had refused to drop the gun or fired again, I would have stopped him. Whether you were there or not. The only thing that was different was how fast I decided to do it; he was threatening you, but that didn’t affect my reaction itself.”

You nod, and Deacon places his hands on the vanity, caging you and keeping you close. “Don’t carry that guilt around,” he requests. “It gets heavy quickly.”

You slip your arms under Deacon’s to circle his waist. Because of your position, you look up at him and ask, “Could I have another kiss to help me overcome all of this guilt?”

Deacon laughs as his hand raises to rub your back. “Anything for my accidental CI.”

“I’m Hondo’s CI,” you remind him.

“But I’m the one that gets to kiss you, so who has the better timing?”

You let your kiss answer the question, and when Deacon pulls you against him to be even closer, you know that the wait was worth it. Though you probably won’t agree to go into the office of a weapon trafficker with him again, you will always be ready to help him when he asks and comfort him when he can’t. Despite how much you loved Deacon when you thought you could only be friends, you feel more love now that you know he feels the same.

[kingkestrel]

Software Instability

“You have a crush on your android?” George exclaimed, resulting in Lando quickly shushing him. They were in public after all and there was a high probability that someone would overhear or worse, record their whole conversation and sell it to the press. He could practically see the headline already: LOSER LANDO NORRIS’S LOVE UNREQUITED. THIS IDIOT FELL FOR AN ANDROID.

“What the fuck,” George continued loudly. Lando frantically led him into the privacy of an alleyway between two of the motorhomes. “It’s not like I can help it,” he argued, trying to keep his voice down.

George however was making no such effort. “But he’s an android!”

“You don’t say,” Lando jabbed back.

READ HERE

@leftneb @lyslsstuff @lottie1824 @vibes-and-visuals @flesh-n-brain-rot @bystandrr @wanderingblindly @wisteriagoesvroom @roosterhouse @jaecantwrite @chandelier-s-notebook @scythewrites @krankliu

[feminist-space]

"Just weeks before the implosion of AllHere, an education technology company that had been showered with cash from venture capitalists and featured in glowing profiles by the business press, America’s second-largest school district was warned about problems with AllHere’s product.

As the eight-year-old startup rolled out Los Angeles Unified School District’s flashy new AI-driven chatbot — an animated sun named “Ed” that AllHere was hired to build for $6 million — a former company executive was sending emails to the district and others that Ed’s workings violated bedrock student data privacy principles.

Those emails were sent shortly before The 74 first reported last week that AllHere, with $12 million in investor capital, was in serious straits. A June 14 statement on the company’s website revealed a majority of its employees had been furloughed due to its “current financial position.” Company founder and CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles district said, was no longer on the job.

Smith-Griffin and L.A. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho went on the road together this spring to unveil Ed at a series of high-profile ed tech conferences, with the schools chief dubbing it the nation’s first “personal assistant” for students and leaning hard into LAUSD’s place in the K-12 AI vanguard. He called Ed’s ability to know students “unprecedented in American public education” at the ASU+GSV conference in April.

Through an algorithm that analyzes troves of student information from multiple sources, the chatbot was designed to offer tailored responses to questions like “what grade does my child have in math?” The tool relies on vast amounts of students’ data, including their academic performance and special education accommodations, to function.

Meanwhile, Chris Whiteley, a former senior director of software engineering at AllHere who was laid off in April, had become a whistleblower. He told district officials, its independent inspector general’s office and state education officials that the tool processed student records in ways that likely ran afoul of L.A. Unified’s own data privacy rules and put sensitive information at risk of getting hacked. None of the agencies ever responded, Whiteley told The 74.

...

In order to provide individualized prompts on details like student attendance and demographics, the tool connects to several data sources, according to the contract, including Welligent, an online tool used to track students’ special education services. The document notes that Ed also interfaces with the Whole Child Integrated Data stored on Snowflake, a cloud storage company. Launched in 2019, the Whole Child platform serves as a central repository for LAUSD student data designed to streamline data analysis to help educators monitor students’ progress and personalize instruction.

Whiteley told officials the app included students’ personally identifiable information in all chatbot prompts, even in those where the data weren’t relevant. Prompts containing students’ personal information were also shared with other third-party companies unnecessarily, Whiteley alleges, and were processed on offshore servers. Seven out of eight Ed chatbot requests, he said, are sent to places like Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Australia and Canada.

Taken together, he argued the company’s practices ran afoul of data minimization principles, a standard cybersecurity practice that maintains that apps should collect and process the least amount of personal information necessary to accomplish a specific task. Playing fast and loose with the data, he said, unnecessarily exposed students’ information to potential cyberattacks and data breaches and, in cases where the data were processed overseas, could subject it to foreign governments’ data access and surveillance rules.

Chatbot source code that Whiteley shared with The 74 outlines how prompts are processed on foreign servers by a Microsoft AI service that integrates with ChatGPT. The LAUSD chatbot is directed to serve as a “friendly, concise customer support agent” that replies “using simple language a third grader could understand.” When querying the simple prompt “Hello,” the chatbot provided the student’s grades, progress toward graduation and other personal information.

AllHere’s critical flaw, Whiteley said, is that senior executives “didn’t understand how to protect data.”

...

Earlier in the month, a second threat actor known as Satanic Cloud claimed it had access to tens of thousands of L.A. students’ sensitive information and had posted it for sale on Breach Forums for $1,000. In 2022, the district was victim to a massive ransomware attack that exposed reams of sensitive data, including thousands of students’ psychological evaluations, to the dark web.

With AllHere’s fate uncertain, Whiteley blasted the company’s leadership and protocols.

“Personally identifiable information should be considered acid in a company and you should only touch it if you have to because acid is dangerous,” he told The 74. “The errors that were made were so egregious around PII, you should not be in education if you don’t think PII is acid.”

Read the full article here:

https://www.the74million.org/article/whistleblower-l-a-schools-chatbot-misused-student-data-as-tech-co-crumbled/

[jadevalentine-writes]

WIP...Saturday???

In the slipstream today! Reread Chapters 1 and 2 of Welcome to the Mod Shop and decided to crack open Chapter 3. Had much more written than I remembered and decided to add to it this evening. Below is a snippet of the beginning (aka what I had written before this evening). Enjoy! (Tagging @hidden-scarlet-whispers because I thought you would enjoy! :) )

Osiris had been with Saint through many deaths, but the quantity did not make each one easier. There was always that moment of panic, that cold pool of dread in his stomach at the momentary realization that Saint was dead. Then Geppetto would twist in a burst of light and his beloved would breathe once more. 

Osiris would breathe too, and swallow any tears around an irrational lump in his throat.

Saint waking up from surgery was different and the differences made it simultaneously comforting and terrifying.

"He'll be a bit groggy, maybe even completely disorientated," Dr. Rose said calmly after the surgery was completed and her assistant cleaned up. "Be calm and give him time. Shutdowns are different from dying and rezzing, so his recovery time may be a few minutes instead of a few seconds. His system basically has to recalibrate and install software for the new peripheral, hence the extra time. If he's not functioning normally in ten minutes, you can press the red button near the surgery door. Clara or I will be here within fifteen seconds to assist. Do you understand?"

Osiris glanced at the emergency button near the door, glowing like a Vex's singular eye behind its protective glass flap. He nodded.

"I understand."

"Good." Dr. Rose smiled and clasped her hands together. "Now the fun part! The peripheral will be fully operational upon start-up. You are encouraged to ensure it is one-hundred percent operational before departing today, though you can come back at any time for a tune-up, recalibration, or any maintenance. A lifetime warranty is guaranteed with any augment.”

Osiris nodded sagely as he held Saint’s cool and motionless hand. 

“And if there are any issues with the peripheral during testing?”

Dr. Rose grinned and pointed at the emergency button near the door. “Just give it a press and Clara and I can assist.”

“Sounds easy enough.” Osiris exhaled as he looked at the dark voids where Saint’s light once was. “I’m ready.”

Dr. Rose nodded and motioned for Clara as they began the reboot sequence. First the shutdown circuits and relay pathways were brought back online. Osiris studied Saint’s motionless face intently as diagnostics were run to gauge the connections. 

“Everything looks green,” Clara said. “Circuits and pathways are clear.”

“Good. Proceeding with wake-up call.” 

Dr. Rose tapped a key and Osiris swore he heard the moment power once again flooded through Saint, like a warm electrical hum on the edge of his hearing. Osiris felt like he his lungs could expand fully for the first time since the shutdown was executed. 

“New hardware is receiving power and the logic panel is patching the required software now,” Clara reported. “New peripheral should be operational in under two minutes.”

“Excellent.” Dr. Rose smiled and turned to Osiris. “We’ll leave you two to it then.” 

Dr. Rose and Clara quietly moved towards the exit. Before departing, Dr. Rose gave Osiris a double thumbs up. The professionalism of the action could be argued, but Osiris would be lying if he did not admit it made him smile. When the surgical suite door slid closed behind her, Osiris turned his attention back to his beloved. 

Saint’s hand was starting to warm, though Osiris was not certain if it was from Saint’s systems or his own sweaty palm. Tentatively, he squeezed Saint’s hand and feared he would not get a response. 

He silently gasped in relief when the Exo’s fingers twitched against his own. Then the Titan began to shift slightly on the table.

[crazycurly-77]

The submarine -

Ch 2

Director Shepard looked at you seriously and said: “We have a problem.”

You didn't know what it was about and wondered whether you should even respond to her statement. But Gibbs made the decision for you and asked with his usual self-assurance: “What's up?”

“The SECNAV is pressing for an explanation as to why the new software for launching guided missiles from submarines is apparently not working, even though the tests so far have been successful. All missiles are missing their target or misfiring.”

You could only shrug your shoulders. “I’ve no idea why this is happening. Everything has been going correctly so far, but according to the protocols, someone is sabotaging the tests just before they are carried out. It is so short notice that it must be an insider who knows the exact time and can hack the program. He must be on board the submarine being tested on, because he logs into the system from there. But we don't know who or why, and we can't find out from here either."

That let Director Shepard sink in for a moment. Then she nodded and said: "Good, then you'll be boarded on the submarine."

Her words made cold sweat break out on your forehead and sheer horror was written all over your face.

"No. I'm not going on a submarine. Never. Forget it. Under no circumstances," you said vehemently and shook your head.

"But the program obviously has a malfunction that needs to be fixed, and McGee gets seasick at the sight of a glass of water. You wrote it with McGee's help. He can't. So you have to go on the boat and clarify the matter," argued Ma'am Director Jenny Shepard, trying to appeal to your reason.

Yes, her logic was compelling, but your claustrophobia was stronger.

You were on the verge of a panic attack and your hair stood on end as you stood in front of her desk, shaking your head the whole time. Slowly you started to take small steps backwards and started to shake.

Gibbs sensed that you were panicking and he suspected that he knew the reason for it and decided to help you.

You had a good relationship with each other. Even if he didn't like that he couldn't reach you.

He was more worried about you than the others.

Why? He had never asked himself that. It was just like that.

Then you felt it. Your boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who stood next to you like a rock in the surf, took your hand to calm you down.

He stood there by your side. He didn't move an inch, didn't sway in the slightest and you held his hand as if your life depended on it.

"There is no one with your knowledge of this system. Please, you have to go,” Jenny finally begged you.

“No. Absolutely not. I can’t do that,” you said firmly. Your brain shut down and your body prepared to flee. Everything in you resisted and only one word dominated your thoughts: “No. No! NO!!!”

“Okay, then I’ll make it an order. You will leave in an hour,” the director finally decided in a final tone that said the conversation was over for her.

Your blood froze in panic and your body went stiff.

“Then please shoot me. That’s much more merciful than forcing me to do it,” you said, staring into her eyes.

At this point in the conversation, Gibbs spoke up in a firm tone:

“No, we won’t do that. But to strengthen your position on board and give you the support of a male colleague, I’m coming with you. I don’t want to leave you alone and unprotected, surrounded only by men. We can also find out together who the saboteur is," he explained, but left no room for argument.

She briefly looked at your joined hands with interest and then looked up at you two. 

"Good, let's do it," the director concluded. "You two go home and pack your things. Your flight leaves in an hour. You can go now."

With that, she turned to her computer and Jethro tried to pull you towards the door. At first you were rooted to the spot, but then he pulled firmly on your hand, which he was still holding, so that you followed him out of the room.

He closed the door to Jenny's office, wrapped his arms around you, rubbed your back up and down and whispered calming words in your ear.

Panicked and still shaking, you clung to him.

"It's okay. I'm here and I won't let you down," he whispered.

"Just breathe. In and out. In and out. Breathe with me. In and out," he said.

You did what he told you and your shaking slowly subsided.

(To be continued...in Chapter 3)

-------------------------------------------

Here you will find the other chapters of this story and the other stories I've written to date.

-------------------------------------------

Tags: @ilovemark1951, @hobby27

-------------------------------------------

[mariacallous]

For the past eight months, Europeans uncomfortable with the way Meta tracks their data for personalized advertising have had another option: They can pay the tech giant up to €12.99 ($14) per month for their privacy instead.

Launched in November 2023, Meta introduced its “pay or consent” subscription model as fines, legal cases, and regulatory attention pressured the company to change the way it asks users to consent to targeted advertising. On Monday, however, the European Commision rejected its latest solution, arguing its “pay or consent” subscription is illegal under the bloc’s new digital markets act (DMA).

“Our preliminary view is that Meta’s ‘Pay or Consent’ business model is in breach of the DMA,” Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the EU’s Internal Market, said in a statement. “The DMA is there to give back to the users the power to decide how their data is used and ensure innovative companies can compete on equal footing with tech giants on data access.”

Meta denied its subscription model broke the rules. “Subscription for no ads follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA,” Meta spokesperson Matt Pollard told WIRED, referring to a Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in July that said that Meta needed to offer users an alternative to ads, if necessary for an appropriate fee. “We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close.”

In a press briefing on Monday morning, Commission officials said their concern was not that the company was charging for an ad-free service. “This is perfectly fine for us, as long as we have the middle option,” they said, explaining there should be a third option that may still contain ads but are just less targeted. There are different, less-specific ways of providing advertising to users, they added, such as contextual advertising. “The consumer needs to be in a position to choose an alternative version of the service which relies on non personalization of the ads.”

Under the DMA, very large tech platforms must ask users for consent if they want to share their personal data with other parts of their businesses. In Meta’s case, the Commission said it is particularly concerned about the competitive advantage Meta receives over its rivals by being able to combine the data from platforms like Instagram and its advertising business.

Meta has a chance to respond to the charges issued on Monday. However if the company cannot reach an agreement with regulators before March 2025, Brussels has the power to levy fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s global turnover.

In the past week, the EU has issued a series of reprimands to US tech giants. The Commission warned Apple that its App Store is in breach of EU rules for preventing app developers offering promotions directly to their users. Brussels also accused Microsoft of abusing its dominance in the office-software market, following a complaint from rival Slack.

[netscapenavigator-official]

I just read a sentence of yours with no less than 5 dependent clauses. Maybe consider that

Sir, this is Tumblr Dot Com. Take a chill pill, go outside, touch grass, and realize that you're trying to argue with someone cosplaying as a two-decade-old piece of software. You're taking this website way too seriously.

Also, I'd be hard-pressed to take grammar advice from someone who "forgets" to punctuate, but I digress...

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[alexandriaisburning]

+001: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and the long shadow of Dark Souls

Addendums, Archives and Appendecies is extra, off topic writing in addition to the regular CANON FIRE entries. You can support more writing like this on Patreon. 

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is the latest in Team Ninja’s series of flagship action games, a fantastical take on the beloved Chinese saga of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Its unique Spirit system turns the battle of wills into an explicit tug of war--pressing the attack and learning when to counter rewards you with powerful resources, while taking a passive or sloppy approach opens you to being cracked open. Personally, it’s one of the most interesting action games to come out in years.

Yet despite this, in discussions about Wo Long I can’t escape the feeling that I’m often not talking about the game itself, but only how it compares to another game: Sekiro. Every conversation is framed by it, dominated by it. As if there’s a secret desire for Wo Long to somehow be a sleeper sequel to Sekiro. Almost by necessity I find myself defending the fact that Wo Long is a different game, and that the differences in design are done with intent, and not inherently a flaw because they don’t conform to From Software’s mold. 

Surface level comparisons between Wo Long and Sekiro are obvious: you can see the parallels between Wo Long Spirit system and Sekiro’s Posture--each allows you to break the enemy’s guard, with chances to intentionally step into their most dangerous attacks to mount a massive counterattack. Wo Long is the successor to Nioh and Final Fantasy: Stranger of Paradise, games where you fundamentally cannot deny the influence of Sekiro and the Souls series. Despite that, Team Ninja’s games are easily the most comfortable with remixing, reappropriating and recontextualizing those ideas, even more than Fromsoft themselves. 

Think about how Nioh’s Ki system not only rethought the Souls stamina with the Ki Pulse, but also gave enemies a stamina bar, and let you break their guard by watching their attacks and attacking their stamina. The effect isn’t dissimilar to Sekiro’s Posture system, and it’d be easy to claim the influence it had on Nioh--if it wasn’t for the fact that Nioh released TWO YEARS before Sekiro. 

Wo Long’s more streamlined approach to this combat tug of war is the result of nearly four games of mechanical iteration, starting from Nioh. Nioh’s Ki Pulse allowed players to refill the stamina bar with several actions, creating an expressive system that allowed them to continuously pressure enemies--as long as they were willing to risk not having anything in reserve when it came time to defend. Nioh 2 iterated on this with an expansion of the tools available. 

Stranger of Paradise streamlined this system for a mass audience, turning it into a Break system that allowed you to have an unstoppable defense, as long as you spent your resources carefully. Countering enemy attacks could snatch them for yourself, and successful defense increased your MP bar, allowing you to frequently spend resources for power skills and spells. Depleting the enemies Break Gauge was crucial to this, with big finishers providing the main form of resource gain. All of this was bolstered by its version of the signature Final Fantasy Job System, allowing you to switch between movesets and abilities on the fly, replenishing your Break Gauge as you did. 

Wo Long makes this tug of war explicit. Attacking and counter attacking add to your Spirit Gauge, allowing you to spend it for big damage, and blocking pressures you until you break right open. In a neutral state your abilities are always available, essentially making resources unlimited, as long as you’re willing to take the risk of being crippled by your spiritual debt if you take a hit. It’s a smart and easier to parse iteration of the mechanics Team Ninja has been playing with for half a decade now, leading to unconventional approaches to combat, and what I’d argue is the most thematically resonant version of their mechanics. What could be more perfect for a story about wills and philosophies vying for supremacy than a system that literally has you breaking the enemy’s spirit to gain advantage?

I rarely hear any of these ideas come up in conversation about Wo Long. Instead I often heard that people never played Team Ninja’s previous games, or skipped them after a brief look because the games didn’t play to their expectations of what they wanted from an entry in this genre. I don’t begrudge anyone for not playing through a game they don’t enjoy, let alone believe they have to play several full length RPGs before trying a new one. But it is frustrating to hear the same conversation everywhere, with every complaint wrapping around to how From Software does things, and how each Team Ninja game fails to adhere to it. 

We’re over a decade removed from the first Souls series release, and half a decade from Team Ninja’s first entry in their own interpretation. The “Soulslike” genre has matured now, and it’d be disingenuous to frame games playing in this space exclusively by what they steal from the Souls series, rather than their own interpretations on a shared understanding and design language. The same way that “Metroidvania” and “Doom-clone” can limit our understanding of what’s permitted in a space, holding Fromsoft’s blueprint as the ideal can prevent us from approaching new works on their own terms. 

Look, I get  it. In terms of mindshare it’s hard to avoid the high profile gaming events that each Fromsoft release has become. Each game is developed with the hype, polish and budget of a company able to throw their weight around to get as much time and money as they need to finish a title. Everyone played Sekiro, even people who didn’t enjoy Fromsoft’s previous work. 

For comparison, Elden Ring took close to five years to complete, during which Team Ninja put out THREE GAMES iterating on Nioh’s ideas. Not to mention co-developing Fire Emblem Warriors, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and putting out a new entry in the Dead or Alive series, along with multiple spin offs. 

And for all the legitimate faults that Team Ninja games have (like the insistence on having the worst managed loot system to exist), they also bear clear indications of a development cycle limited on time and resources. Their titles are often cobbled together with as many existing resources as possible, reusing and remixing concepts and designs to keep the next game fresh. It leads to a lot of rough execution, but lets them rapidly iterate in a way that makes every entry fascinating. 

What people forget is that From Software used to develop games exactly like this. Before they were the AAA developer who dominated the charts they were a mid-tier developer that rapidly iterated on the same ideas, while pushing out plenty of offbeat genre entries, many of which were never given any real critical understanding. You could argue that it was exactly the two decades of iteration that led them to the success of their current formula, with changing tastes allowing people to not only catch onto the appeal of Fromsoft’s games, but titles like Wizardry and Druaga that it was influenced by. 

So it’s frustrating that the same generosity that’s allowed people to enjoy Fromsoft’s work and reevaluate their history also has people dismissing the games that take influence from them. The framing of a subject can change how we approach it entirely. The pull of history is powerful, and the gravity of genre sets our expectations and desires. To say that we can escape drawing comparisons to popular titles would be futile, but we can never see a complete picture of history from within the moment. 

Letting a title stand on its own, and asking us what it attempts to do, and how successful it is within its own bounds can give us a more interesting and critical viewpoint, even if we come to similar conclusions. Judging a game by its ability to replicate the success of others is equally as futile and shallow as expecting the comparison to be removed entirely. 

Team Ninja’s games in particular have arguably matured into their own, away from the usual trappings of the genre. The Souls elements--the RPG progression, the corpse run mechanics etc.--aren’t there to pay homage to Fromsoft’s work or try to replicate it, they’re tools Team Ninja have made their own. Team Ninja isn’t using these tools to replicate the effect, they use them for the same reason Wo Long is also a cooperative loot grind: because that’s simply what action games are now.. 

For better and for worse, Team Ninja is making modern action games, and that’s the template. Titles like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Team Ninja’s own Ninja Gaiden once set the standard, but have waned in popularity. To the point where the same people who pioneered the genre are themselves making their own attempts to integrate those modern elements, often to mixed results. 

Team Ninja have repeatedly managed to synthesize pop elements into their own identifiable style, and remained consistently interesting despite their flaws. And if you look, I’m sure there’s many more games in the space that remix the formula in their own, compelling ways. It’s a shame that the shadow of Fromsoft’s monolith always seems to obscure so many other legitimate approaches. But the thing about shadows is that they transform with a little light from a different perspective. 

[adgp35]

No Feminist

Michael Gorton, CEO of Hidrosoft, one of the largest military software companies in the world and the holder of countless extremely high value contracts with the US Defense Department, could not believe he had fallen for the oldest trick in the book. June Chen, the leggy young intern his company had taken on last month had always seemed keen, and also very attracted to the powerful man. She had agreed with a squeal of delight to have dinner with him in his private office late that night, equipped with its own annex of top secret files of Hidrosoft’s latest prototypes. Gorton had told his wife he was working late and he looked forward to seducing the 23 year old girl with tales of his brilliance and his buddies in government as he had with so many female interns in the past. There was, of course, a pull out bed in his office too…

Unfortunately for Michael, as he leaned in on Ms Chen over the roast duck and Merlot, he suddenly became aware of the snub nose of an automatic pressed into his stomach. Terrified, and deciding not to argue with this determined female, Gorton soon found himself tightly bound and gagged by June. He figured this insane young woman was making a point - having her own #MeToo moment, perhaps - so best to humour her. However, Michael soon realised to his horror that feminism was the last thing on “June Chen”’s mind. Instead of receiving the accusatory female lecture he was expecting, the CEO was forced to watch helplessly as the fake intern downloaded file after file onto her laptop, his only consolation being the brief sight of her beautiful nyloned legs as she plundered Hidrosoft’s treasures. As she departed, leaving him anguished, tied up, gagged and helpless, June turned to look at her miserable captive with a mocking smile. “The People’s Republic of China thanks you for your co-operation, Mr Gorton.”

Source for tied up guy: retrorope

[akaluan]

Hey, that stuff about Google Docs you just shared would be VERY helpful to share with some people I know but do you happen to know of any sources I can link about it besides your post? (No worries if that is not possible, but my search attempts are probably not using the right keywords and I'm coming up blank.)

Good search terms are "Google documents canvas" and "Google doc canvas implementation" although you'll need to skip past mentions of Canvas The Product.

Here's an opinion piece by someone at Zapier about what Google's changed, in layman speak, and why it is (theoretically) a good idea. https://zapier.com/blog/google-docs-canvas-based-rendering/

Realistically I do somewhat agree, but also I will argue that there IS no way to entirely unify the way things display... If you're talking about using different browsers. Because Firefox renders canvas slightly different from how chrome does, and things will never one hundred percent agree. But different computers all using chrome? Yeah, things will render very close to identically.

On the other hand. This change broke 90% or more of BROWSER extensions (not add-ons, which are like extensions for just gdocs/Gmail/etc) that tried to interact with gdocs. Many that still work only work on chrome. Of those that do, many of THOSE only work on editable Google docs, even if they're just an accessibility extension to read websites aloud.

So most of the points I listed past number one are merely things I've found while working with the code itself. However! Here's one of the initial documents that Google released about the update to canvas:

https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2021/05/Google-Docs-Canvas-Based-Rendering-Update.html?m=1

Note that they say that SUPPORTED assistive tech will be unaffected, which means tech implementations that they approve for use. Specifically, it requires getting access to the API, and also they're talking about Add Ons, not browser extensions, which need to access a different API. I work for a pretty large education based company, and we were denied our request to access specific features that would allow us to Just Work As Usual, so I had to work around their switch to canvas in order to enable our specific features in Google docs.

And no one say anything about Grammarly still working on gdocs in both Firefox and chrome. You know why? Because I figured out my work around trick from examining THEIR implementation. Which doesn't use any API access (which thus means no Google integration is required to use their software) and thus works on both editable and uneditable documents. (Okay, so Grammarly doesn't APPEAR to work on uneditable documents but that's just because the coders told it not to. After all, why make grammar suggestions on a document you can't edit?)

Most of my points (the rebuilding of the canvas, how often it happens, etc) are only visible when I add debugging statements in my specific code, which lets me see otherwise "invisible" interactions happening beneath the hood.

You can see the use of four canvas with your own eyes, though! And it's actually pretty fascinating to watch the html move. If you want to see that bit, in your browser of choice, navigate to a Google doc (not a spreadsheet, a document) of your choice, and open the Inspector

(Chrome and Firefox: press Ctrl+shift+i )

Now click on the element picker icon in the corner of the inspector panel that came up

(it looks like this:

And hover your mouse over the Google document you're viewing. You should see part of the page highlight a light blue. Aim for the page of the document (so where the text is) and you should see a popup that reads something like "canvas.kix-canvas-tile-content" which is what we're aiming for! Click to confirm, and look back over at the inspector window you opened in the first step. Make sure you're viewing Elements -- these are the raw html components of the page you're viewing.

This is an example of the element inspector panel on Chrome.

Now, you don't need to know tooooo much about html to follow what's next. Clicking on the canvas when in selection mode should have highlighted a line in the inspector panel that should start with something like "<canvas class="kix-canvas-tile-content"" that's the actual canvas that Google is drawing on to produce your text document.

Now, right above it should be another line that starts with "<div class="kix-page-paginated"" along with a little down arrow next to it. This is the containing element that holds the canvas in a proper place, and you should see several divs with kix-page-paginated as their class. Pay attention to these divs specifically. Now start slowly scrolling down the page and watch the inspector panel. Note how after a point there's a flash and the z-index tag on the div changes? That's Google rebuilding the canvas inside that div to be a different page. Google lists pages starting from index 0, so what we would call page 1 is actually z-index 0, but otherwise it's the same. If you hover your mouse over the html element in the inspector, you'll see the element's location on the screen -- do this with a page outside of view, and watch how when the index changes, the location the div points to changes too!

Again, this part of the changes really isn't a problem, it's just a Fascinating Implementation that amuses me to play with.

[pluttskutt]

people: arguing about which software is best to write in

me: opens ao3, presses new work, writes in the work text box

[writtenjewels]

Switched part 8

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

“Where were you last night?” The question popped out of his mouth as soon as he and Jason were close enough to talk. The guard's face turned a little red and he turned his head aside. “Dar wasn't upset,” Eric mentioned. “So don't worry about Salim getting in trouble.”

“Yeah. Salim said it'd be all right.” Jason turned back to Eric. “What about you and Lord al-Basri? The fuck is goin' on there?”

“I really don't know.” Last night after parting from the man, Eric's body had echoed with the feel of Dar's weight pressing him against the door. The way that warm hand felt traveling down his side. Primal desire had stirred with the need for intimate touch.

“It's your business,” Jason shrugged. “I ain't gonna say anything.” Eric nodded gratefully. In truth, his feelings concerning Lord al-Basri were very confusing.

Though he never considered being with other men before, as a man of science Eric was always open to explore and experiment. There was certainly physical appeal to the way Dar kissed him and the feel of the man's hands and body. But there was also their conversations, Dar's many attempts at teaching Eric “languages”, and the fact that Eric was comfortable talking and being around Dar. Eric would be happy spending the afternoon teaching Dar to play Minesweeper or walking with him around the lake.

And Eric called last night a date. There was no getting around that.

“All right, people,” Rachel spoke up. “We have a meeting with Lord al-Basri in two hours. I want everyone prepared and in formal attire. We want to impress him. Eric, Nick, don't forget to leave time in your presentations for me to translate.”

Eric wondered if he should tell her that he already talked about his work with Dar, and the man seemed to follow along without translation. When you speak of your passion, you are beautiful. His heart beat faster remembering those words. After their heated kiss last night, it would be strange to be so formal around Dar.

– – –

Admittedly Dar moved the schedule of ambassador meetings around so he would see the Americans first. It was a flimsy excuse to see Eric again. When it was Eric's turn, Dar noticed that the presentation was much more stiff than when Eric talked through his work last night. It was all about what the software did and how it could be used, nothing of Eric's enthusiasm for the work or his excitement during the process.

In short, what Dar heard at the meeting was enough to satisfy the ruler of a palace but not nearly enough to satisfy a man with growing affection toward the presenter.

“Delegate King,” he called. “Will you stay a moment longer?” Eric paused, but so did Rachel.

[Is something wrong?] she asked in Arabic.

“A moment with your scientist, please,” Dar requested in English. “Alone. My guard can translate.” Rachel pursed her lips in displeasure. Dar stared her down until she finally nodded and left the room. Eric turned to him expectantly. “Your other talk was better,” Dar told him.

“To be fair,” Eric responded, “I wrote that presentation thinking I would give it to the lord of this palace. I didn't think you'd care about my passion.”

“I care chiefly about your passion,” Dar argued. Eric's eyes went wide and his face flushed. Dar smirked at him. “Second date tonight,” Dar suggested. Eric didn't answer right away. “Eric,” Dar prodded him.

“Is that what this is, then?” he finally asked. “We're dating?” Dar moved closer. When Eric was still, Dar lifted a hand to touch the American's face. His fingers slid up into the blonde hair.

“What you call two who enjoy each other, and want to spend time together.”

“Using logic on me.” Eric wrinkled his nose. “How do you know me so well?”

“I pay attention.” He pressed his lips delicately against Eric's. The response was immediate as Eric made the kiss more defined. Dar's fingers pushed farther into Eric's hair to keep their lips together. They broke apart, Eric flushed and breathing hard.

“I should, um... they're waiting for me.”

“I know.” Dar brushed his fingers one last time through Eric's hair to make sure it looked messy. He wanted that woman to see her ex-husband in this state and have her wonder. “Second date, Eric?” he mentioned hopefully. “Meet me in the garden.”

“I met a handsome guard there a few days ago,” Eric mused. “I remember the place.” He slipped out of Dar's reach and headed out into the hall. Dar let out a sigh.

So he was 'dating' an American man. It was a surprise, to say the least.