#one is that bad laptops can still handle custom content

[peakvincent]

new game is to type one through ten in your tags and see what comes up. i think my favorite of mine is ‘my uncle told us he spent seven and a half hours in a sensory deprivation tank once’ but ‘gideon the ninth motherfucker’ is a close second

[poledancingdinos]

You’ve Got Me Hooked - Chapter 5

Pairing: Captain Syverson x OFC (Riley McKenzie)

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: Sex work, stripper, OnlyFans, Mentioned Online Harassment

Catch up: Series Masterlist

Taglist: @amberangel112 @utterlyhopeful-fics @marantha @kebabgirl67 @littleone65 @omgkatinka @luclittlepond @marytudorbrandon @foxyjwls007  @peaches1958 @identity2212  @summersong69​ @liecastillo @islacharlotte​

A/N: If you want to be added or removed from my taglist, let me know!

Please consider giving me a reblog because dumblr is censoring these posts so badly that I struggle to find my own chapters on my blog.

Masterlist

Sy

As soon as my boss got to the garage this morning, I asked him about hiring Riley to help with advertising. He’s known me my whole life so when I told him I knew someone willing to help us out, he didn’t ask for more information, he just took down her number. He opened this small shop a few years before I was born and I know it would be devastating for him to have to close it down. 

I don't know much about running a business. Sure, I can run a team and keep track of costs and inventory, but I didn't have to deal with suppliers, banks and customers. I sure as hell can't manage a web page or anything like that.

After I found out about Riley, I checked out "Razzy's" profiles. Not her Onlyfans — that is a line I'm determined not to cross — but I looked at her TikTok and her Instagram. She's good at what she does. She has a big follower count by my uneducated standards and lots of likes and comments. I also made the mistake of reading some of the things people said about her and had to close the app before I did something stupid like march into her room and confiscate her laptop and her phone.

Some people just say how hot they think she is. Lots of them share all the fucked up shit they want to do to her. I’m no saint, I like it rough as much as the next guy, but I don’t plaster my desires across the Internet. Those weren’t the bad ones though. They were fucking nice compared to what I saw next.

I scrolled through dozens of comments from other girls calling her a skank or guys saying how she should be ashamed to do those kinds of things for money. So many people were lashing out at her from completely anonymous profiles, each one worse than the last. How does she manage to read that every day? No wonder that poor girl doesn’t feel safe enough to wear anything other than pants and hoodies in front of me.

Despite all that, I have to say, I can see her talent and skill showing even if it has nothing to do with the typical corporate bullshit. The colors and tones of the videos are consistent throughout the posts and they always compliment that bright pink hair that I assume is a wig since Riley's blond locks don’t look like they’ve ever been colored.

I text Riley a quick heads-up to expect a call then put my phone back in my locker. Aika is asleep under a nearby table, knowing well enough to stay away from the lifts and other tools and machinery. She’s content just being near me and the loud noises are nothing compared to the sound of bombs and gunfire she was trained to endure.

I’m the first one here every morning. Sometimes I go to the gym first but I still make it in by 8 am to open up. More often than not, I wrap up whatever job the other guys don’t quite finish or I do the final checks before returning a car to a customer.

My boss, Don, handles all the bookkeeping and most of the administrative work with the help of his wife since his arthritis made him incapable of working on the cars. They had a pretty good business going for the best part of the last forty years until all the larger chains started undercutting his prices. A few of the other mechanics had to leave and find better paying jobs elsewhere because there wasn’t enough work here to go around.

It doesn’t help business that the building is falling apart on the outside. The parking lot is in such dire need of being repaved that I’ve become an expert at maneuvering cars around the pot holes and deep cracks. It looks nothing like it did back before I enlisted.

It used to be that the garage ran off word-of-mouth alone with most of the locals adopting the garage because it was just that — local. But now, no one could blame customers for taking their business somewhere cheaper or somewhere they deem more reliable even if it is a half hour drive away from town. A lot of the old clientele have either retired or moved away since the garage was started, meaning there is no inherent loyalty from the townspeople. It’s just how things work these days.

I’m busy doing an oil change when I hear a car pull into the lot. In fact, I heard it approaching from the main road long before it ever reached the turn off. That car sounds like a bunch of bolts in a garbage disposal even over the loud music and the various power tools the other guys are using.

I roll out from under the car, expecting to greet a potential customer but instead I’m surprised to see Riley stepping out of the vehicle. I’ve noticed before that her car doesn’t look in great shape but I always assumed it was mostly aesthetic. If I had realized how bad it is I would’ve offered to take a look at it a long time ago.

I exit through the open workshop door with Aika trailing close behind. As soon as she sees her approaching, a wide smile spreads over Riley’s face. She bends down, burying both hands in Aika’s fur.

“Hey, sweet girl.”

“I take it Don called ya?”

“He did.” Riley stands, catching my gaze but as soon as she does, she turns her eyes towards the ground. She tries to play it off by wiping the dust from the knees but I know that she is just that shy.

She isn’t wearing her typical sweatshirt and leggings, instead opting for a cream blouse and fitted black pants that show off her beautiful figure. She looks every bit the professional put together woman I know she strives to be. She obviously put some thought into what she wore, because it’s not so fancy that she’d appear stuck up to a bunch of guys literally covered from head to toe in oil and grease on a day to day basis. It’s perfect.

"I'll show you to the office,” I say, pointing over my shoulder.

I lead Riley inside, being mindful not to get grease on anything, and knock on Don's door frame. The door was taken off its hinges long before I started working here. Part of the reason is so he can keep an eye on the work floor and be available if we need him. The other half of it is because he makes sure to say "hi" to every person that comes in even if they don't need his help.

"Hey boss, Riley's here to see ya."

"Miss McKenzie, how wonderful to meet you." He stands, shaking Riley's hand.

"The pleasure is mine, Sir."

"Oh, none of that, call me Don. Please, sit."

I take that as my cue to leave, going back to my work. I glance towards the office every so often and every time, Riley has a smile on her face. She takes notes of whatever Don is saying, nodding along.

It's funny how different this Riley is to the girl I've come to know. Instead of making herself as small as possible, she's sitting straight with her head up and shoulders back, meeting Don's gaze as they talk over their ideas.

Over an hour later, she stands and shakes Don's hand again. She walks out through the office door and makes her way to her car with a small wave my way.

When my day is over, I go to the office to drop off my day's paperwork then poke my head in to say goodbye to Don.

"I'm headin' out."

Don lifts his head from the stack of invoices he's reviewing.

"Alright, Son, thank you."

I don't want to meddle but I can't help myself from asking about how the meeting went.

"So, umm, what didja think of Riley?" 

He crosses his arms over the desk, leaning closer.

"Oh she is just lovely, Sy. Smart and beautiful, you've got yourself a real catch there."

Something in my chest warms at the praise but I have to remind myself that she is not mine to be proud of and never will be. When Sam said she filmed videos with other girls I figured he was just making it up to try and catch my interest but I’d seen enough on “Razzy’s” profiles to know he’d been telling the truth.

"Actually, we're just friends. Barely know her if I'm being honest."

Don's eyes go wide. "My apologies, I thought she said something about you two living together."

I guess he would have assumed that. Not many people in his day believed in living together out of wedlock so us living as roommates must be strange.

"We do. But we didn't know each other before I moved in. We both know I don't make enough to pay for my own place right now and there aren't a lot of men my age looking for roommates."

Like that, any remnants of a smile is completely wiped from Don's face. "I know, Sy, but I really can't —"

I stop him immediately because I have no intention of trying to guilt him into paying me more.

"I didn't mean it like that, Don. I just meant sharing with Riley might not be a conventional choice but it works out well for the both of us."

He nods in understanding.

"That car of hers sounds like a real piece of work."

"You can say that again," I say, sinking into the chair opposite him. This is shaping up to be a long conversation so I might as well get comfortable.

"She's refusing to let me pay for her work until she has proof that it helped us bring in more business."

I scoff, shaking my head. "That sounds like her alright."

She rarely stands up for herself but if ya offer to pay something of hers, she gets as stubborn as a mule.

"She also said the money would be better invested elsewhere."

"I doubt gettin' the the lot paved costs the same as a couple hours of her time."

"No, you're right about that." He pauses, looking down at the invoices on his desk. He pulls open the bottom drawer of his desk, taking out two glasses and a bottle of something that looks an awful lot like whiskey. He pours us both a generous amount and slides mine across the desk. "But if she comes back after crunching the numbers and tells me what I've been thinking for a while, I'll take out a second mortgage on the house."

"What?" Now I know why he pulled out the liquor. "No, I'm not lettin' ya do that Don."

The last thing any man his age needs is another loan to pay off. If he's even mentioning it to me it means he's already talked it over with his wife and that she’s agreed. He’s serious about this.

"If it means saving this place and keeping it going then, yes, I am. Your father and I worked too damn hard on this place to see it go down. I don't have any kids of my own but as far as I'm concerned, half of this place is yours and you deserve to have yourself a stable income to provide for your own family some day."

His words cause my throat to tighten up and I have to swallow down a gulp of whiskey before I can respond.

"Well, just know that I will be by your side every step even if we do have to shut this place down."

He takes a sip of his own drink.

"You're a good man, Sy. Your daddy would be proud."

Fuck, this has really turned into a liquor kind of conversation. I simply nod, looking over his shoulder at the framed picture on the wall behind him. My pop and a much younger Don smile back at me, my pregnant mama on one side and Charlotte, Don's wife, laughing brightly on the other. 

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Don."

“Get home safe.”

Those are always Don’s parting words. I never took them seriously until the first time I shipped out. Then they got a whole new meaning after my parents were killed in that car wreck.

I shoot the remaining whiskey from my rocks glass, focusing on the slight burn down the back of my throat then get to my feet. “Will do, Don.”

For the second day in a row, Riley is at the island when I get home. She has a set of colored pencils spread out around her computer and sheets of paper strewn from one end of the counter to the other.

“You know, Don doesn't expect you to get back to him tomorrow.”

She doesn’t look up or move from her spot. She just keeps coloring with her head tilted to the side and worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

“I know, but I want to brainstorm while the ideas are still fresh.”

Fuck, she is adorable. All I want is to go up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I’d rest my chin over her head and look at all the ideas she’s put on paper. I’d tell her how much it means to me that she’s doing this for my godfather.

“Have ya eaten?”

“I have stew simmering on the stove. Should be ready in about an hour. I got bread from the bakery on the way home and —” Her sentence is cut off when her eyes land on me. “Sy, why are you green?”

“Aika and I went to the park.”

She gives me one of those cute little giggles that she always hides by putting her hand over her mouth or making her hair fall in front of her face.

“You know, normally, the dog is supposed to be the one rolling in the grass.”

I finally get my boots off and step further into the apartment. “Where’s the fun in that?”

She shakes her head at me and waves me off. “Alright, shoo. You’re trailing grass and mud everywhere and in all honesty, I can smell you from here.”

I give her a mock salute. “Yes ma’am. I’ll let ya get back to work.”

I take my shirt off, leaving it inside out in an attempt to keep at least some of the dirt contained. Riley immediately turns away but not before I spot how her eyes trail over my chest. Maybe she isn't completely uninterested after all.

Chapter 6

[hill13hood]

5 Easy Face Painting Patterns And Design Ideas

There are many ways that you can build a online site. However, if you do not know HTML code and scripting languages, you will have very hard time making your own website from the start. Luckily there are alternatives. You can pick an online web builder that might or might not offer the features you need, or you can look for a rapid website program that will enable you to build your site in in whatever way you choose with little to know knowledge of website coding. The dilemma is that you just aren't going to see the consequences of tension these things immediately. You're going get 35 lbs over night because you missed one day of working out and you're not going in becoming a bad leader an individual missed 20 min of research. It's also not going to be the end of the globe because you didn't are affected by that email right away. A quick search internet based for easy jobs from my home will reveal lots of opportunities. Jobs from home require which are a laptop and connection to the web in many but that's all. You will not need any cash to get home business started a person can always invest with some of dollars you make online later on. You will decide no matter whether that is a thing your to be able to do later on. So what are running one benefits getting in the middle of easy jobs from property or home? There are plenty of programs which you can buy that are described as 'easy'. These programs will a person that it's all done for you, go to bed and funds while you fall asleep. If you can believe that then the moon is indeed made of green cheese. These programs can be very expensive and often involve a monthly set fee. This is continuity retailing. They show you their next get rich scheme (there are so many) a person continue pay out them week after week. The individuals who sell these schemes are right of course, that easy, for them, to empty your pockets. Yes, wanting to offer not numerous people associated with as all-natural. Yes, this conserve you you efforts. You know means positivity . have to end for get the job done. atelier sophie the alchemist of the mysterious book crack have the most control over your schedule before you close the car door your morning. Leverage the morning time get the afternoon time. Schedule time to get supper ready and use easy dinner recipes. When you use some easy cooking recipes, you maintain your ingredients for you to some minimum and take up the least associated with prep time period. All that remains when you get home through using heat upward. titanfall multi repack fitgirl crack that bakes an easy website builder may be the ability to handle your own layouts a great easy manner that still match the template for website. In resident evil crack , there in order to a layout that is open with each other template to let you can insert a custom url site. This custom page also ought to be customizable using the and click interface. You'll need be inside a position simply show a text box or graphics insert button and click on the page an individual want it to go away. From there you can insert your graphics and content identical way you would on some other layout page within the site builder. Overlooking modest simple steps will eventually lead to big effect. This is very easy to forget because they don't happen right away. xenonauts crack about skipping a pretty important daily step, think close to future impact to business enterprise. It's those small, simple, quick steps we skip over that could have the biggest combined success later on. Compose a plan and stick to it. Your success is riding attached to it.

[bokubonk]

i think i’m in love

content: fluff, coffee shop au

characters: sugawara x reader

date: 2/9/21

word count: 1.5k+

notes: this was inspired by “action!’ by DPRLive. It’s an amazing song so you guys should definitely give it a listen if you haven’t already. Also I’m not really satisfied with the way this turned out but I put way too much effort in to just not post it so I hope y’all like it even if it does suck. 

He didn’t know how many days it had been. All he knew was the smell of coffee, the scent of your perfume that lingered every time you passed by, the colorful nail polish that never seemed to chip even though you spent hours tapping away on the keyboard of your laptop. All he knew was that he was in love and the one who irrevocably stole his heart was you. 

You can’t really remember when the first time you came to the coffee shop was. It all happened in a blur of rainy days and the countless nights you spent awake studying for your finals and soon, you couldn’t imagine not stopping by and visiting what was now your favorite place to spend your free time. 

It was a little shop, located in a corner that not many people knew about. Mostly, those who came wanted to keep the shop a secret, it was a sort of escape from the real world for those who visited. Anyone who stumbled upon the coffee shop inevitably fell in love with not only the coffee and the pastries, but also the owners: a married couple that had been together for over 20 years and were still as in love as they were when they first got together. 

You always came to the shop to get coffee before going off to school and you would visit whenever you had free time, always wanting to be on top of your assignments. Anyone who saw you knew that you were more interested in getting your daily dose of coffee and focusing on your education than anything else, that’s why no one ever bothered you. 

Although, you would still occasionally get a few numbers here and there, no one ever stuck out to you and their offers always ended up in the trash can. You didn’t want to waste your time on a relationship that would only end up going downhill when they realized you would never have enough time for them. 

That is, until he came. 

It was a pretty windy day and you settled into your usual seat next to the door despite the cold breeze that would hit you every time the door opened. Unsurprisingly, the cold weather brought in more customers and the door opened every few minutes, the sound of soft chatter filling the coffee shop. 

By the sixth time the door opened yet another shiver wracked your body and you had had enough. You were began packing up your things to leave. It seemed as though this was going to be one of your worst days of the year. It was bad enough that your hair refused to listen to you and you had to resort to tying it into a ponytail in hopes of masking the huge knot that had accumulated overnight. You also forgot your umbrella since you woke up late and had to rush out of the house. Even though there was only a light drizzle, your clothes were still soaked and the constant wind coming your way wasn’t helping. 

You hoped your usual cup of coffee would help but at this point you were too uncomfortable to enjoy it and it didn’t seem as though your mood would lift anytime soon. 

The door opened for the seventh time, the jingle of the bell alerting everyone of a new customer walking through the door. You scowled, your frozen fingers gripping your assignment as you struggled to shove them into your bag. 

You heard a laugh and you froze. Your gaze flickered in the direction where it came from and your eyes widened. 

Grey hair, hazel eyes, flushed cheeks, and a mole under his eye.

Beautiful.

His soft voice could be heard talking to his other companions: a tall, blond with glasses, a short, orange-haired boy, a scowling boy who’s eyes reminded you of blueberries, and a freckled boy who was laughing at something the blond had said. 

You moved your gaze away, not knowing that his eyes were now on you. A part of you regretted having packed up your belongings but now it was too late to sit back down and you had no other choice but to leave, taking small sips of your last bit of coffee and bidding the owners of the shop good-bye. 

It would be another week before you saw him again, and time seemed to hiccup once more. You wondered why you were so captivated by him and you found your attention lingering on his voice and the soft smiles that accompanied his small conversations he had with his friends. 

As the weeks flew by, you began learning more about him through the loud chatter of his companions. He played volleyball. He was a third-year at Karasuno. And his name was Sugawara.

But there were also things you noticed about him that no one had to tell you like the little furrow in his brows when he concentrated or how he always seemed to forget that the coffee was hot, burning himself every time he took his first sip. In between sips of your coffee, your gaze always wound up on him, but you never expected that his eyes would lock on yours and he would send a smile your way. 

A blush painted your cheeks and he would sigh, a chuckle slipping past his lips as his friends teased him, not missing the way he would stare at you while you worked. But surprisingly, you never heard them, even though they were quite loud. 

The wordless glances and small smiles exchanged for quite a while but the distance between the two of you never seemed to shorten. And you never bothered making a move, not quite ready for rejection and still apprehensive about starting a relationship with all the other priorities you had on your plate. 

Yet, a small part of you hoped for more. 

It wasn’t until one rainy day that your relationship finally seemed to shift. You were unlucky enough to have forgotten to check the forecast and didn’t realize it was supposed to rain until it was too late. 

You gazed out at the rain pattering against the window. The steady thrum was soothing but it only reminded you of how you would have to walk home and risk getting sick. You had finished your coffee a while ago and now you were only waiting for the rain to ease before leaving. 

The coffee shop had mostly cleared out because of how late it was and there were only a few others lingering but the one person you noticed was him.

Sugawara. 

These days, you saw him coming with his friends less and less and nowadays he would spend his time at the coffee shop like you, alone and on his laptop, typing away at one of his many assignments. You noticed that on the days that he came, he always stayed late. Never once had you seen him leave before you but you didn’t pay the fact much attention, assuming that he had a lot of homework to catch up on. 

You zipped up your jacket, waving good-bye to the owners and you felt the words clinging to your lips as you stared in his direction but you decided against it. You had never talked to him before so it would be strange to start now. 

A sigh escaped your lips instead as you pushed open the doors, shivering at how cold it was outside. You reached out a hand to catch the rain, feeling the droplets slide past your fingertips. 

You rocked back and forth on your heels, standing on the steps of the shop, unsure of what you were waiting for but when the bells on the door rang from behind you, you were glad you had stayed. 

Sugawara stood in front of you, a smile on his lips and a scarf wrapped around his neck. 

“Hey, y/n, right?” 

“Yeah,” you nodded, “Are you heading home, too? It’s getting kind of late.”

“Yeah,” he said, before bringing his hands out from behind his back and shoving an umbrella in your direction, his cheeks flushing. “I was waiting for you to go home, actually. I noticed you didn’t have an umbrella and I didn’t want you to get caught in the rain.”

You reached out to grab the black umbrella from him, his hands brushing against yours. 

“Thank you,” you murmured, watching as he beamed, the wind lightly brushing through his gray locks. 

“It’s no problem,” he glanced down at his watch, his eyes widening once he saw the time, “Wow, it is pretty late. I should get going, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You didn’t usually go to the coffee shop on Sunday’s because you always tried to finish your work the day before. It was sort of your routine and it was one you liked to stick to but the thought of seeing him again tilted your world on its axis and for once it seemed like changing your routine wasn’t that bad of an idea. 

After all, it wasn’t everyday that you would get to talk to the boy you admired so much. “Yeah, tomorrow sounds great.”

You waved at him and watched as he ran home, using his bag to shield himself from the rain. Your fingers tightened around the handle of the umbrella, warmth spreading across your cheeks as you made a mental note to return it to him.

i think I’m in love.

[kiwi-bitchez]

Not a Toy

Peter Parker x Avenger!Reader

Everyone is over 18 here!

Warnings: smut, sex toys, fingering, lowkey squirting, sexy times, confessions, fluff

Word count: 6.7k

Summary: Peter is working on a secret project and starts acting strange when you ask him about it. How do you explain to your best friend that you are engineering your spider suit to have vibrating fingers? And how are you supposed to react when she offers to be your test subject? 

Lazy days at the compound were not to be taken for granted. Between the high regiment training schedule, international travel, press conferences, and team meetings, it felt like you rarely had a minute to yourself. So when a day popped up where you could relax for a minute, you took full advantage.

That was the problem though, you didn’t know how to relax. Your body naturally woke you up at the crack of dawn and you instinctively went on a morning run. What was wrong with you. Every time you sat down to “relax” you felt restless, searching around for something productive to do.

Noon rolls around and you give up on your attempts of a relaxing day. You peek your head into the lab to see who’s working. You promised yourself you would leave Peter alone today, that you’d let him enjoy his day off too. Screw that. Your best friend was the only person you knew who was more attention-deficit than yourself, he was probably just as restless.

It was a little strange at first when he had joined the team. You were skeptical of someone so young, even though he was six months older than you. You had tried to give him the cold shoulder, to let him know that this job wasn’t going to be easy. You caved within a day. He was just so nice and funny, how could you not grow to love him. Like him. Friends. Like.

The two of you had quickly grown dependent on one another for company, as everyone else on the team was a little older and less inclined to participate in movie marathons and pancake nights. You would be lying if you said you didn’t have a little crush on Peter. A little, tiny, minuscule crush on him that was easily repressed into the deepest parts of you and squashed down. Until he smiled and the corners of his eyes crinkled or when he’d grab your hand to drag you off somewhere. Not so easy to squash then.

You were too aware of the consequences though, and there was no way he would ever feel the same. So you were content with being his friend, with spending every minute you could with him.

So you decide to bother him. Looks like he wasn’t able to relax on his day off either and decided to work on something in the lab. You slip through the door and shuffle your way over to him. He had headphones on, and his tongue was poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration.  

He was deep in the zone, so much that he didn’t notice you approach the bench and slip into the seat across from him. Resting your chin on your hand you watched attentively as he worked on his project. Laptop open next to him with wires tangled all around, he was toying with the hand-piece of his spider suit. The hand was on a stand in front of him and he was poking at it with tools, occasionally going to his laptop to make some changes.

“What’cha doing,” you finally ask, making him jump back. You laugh a little at his reaction, finding it funny how deep in concentration he could get.

He starts to scramble around, moving wires and closing his computer. He seemed nervous, and was frantically pushing his tools around, but not actually accomplishing anything.

“Huh, uhhhh, um, I’m just, nothing, I’m just working,” his voice was on edge and he continued to fiddle around with the things on his desk.

“Okay weirdo,” you move around the table to sit at the stool next to him, “Doing some upgrades?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah , upgrades,” he continued clearing the table and moving his tools.

“Damn, okay if it’s a big secret then I guess I’ll leave. Didn’t mean to bother you,” you felt bad, as he seemed really flustered by your presence.

“Nono, you aren’t bothing me,” his eyes were still wide with panic, “It’s just, uhhh, I’m just working on something.”

“I can see that,” you say sarcastically, “I just wanted to come see what you’re up to. I can't manage to relax, if you can believe it.”

“Me either, decided to do some work on the suit,” he was still acting shifty.

“What are you doing?” you ask with genuine interest, “I feel like we just did suit upgrades the other week, what more could you be adding?”

“Ummm, I just,” his face was bright red and he shifted his weight back and forth from leg to leg.

“Okay Parker what’s your deal,” you turn to him, “you are acting so strange. Hiding something from me?”

“No, not hiding anything,” his words came out a little too quick.

“Okay, show me what you’re doing then,” you teased him a little, knowing he was uncomfortable and you could pull at his strings.

He let out an exasperated sigh and ran his hands through his hair and over his face a few times.

“Just, umm, improving dexterity.”

“You’re a bad liar you know,” you moved closer to the spider hand on the table, “I would have believed that if your voice didn’t crack.”

“Okay please promise you won’t make fun of me?”

“Oh Peter, you know I can’t promise that.”

“Please, I’ll show you but you can’t be mean to me about it,” his voice was higher than usual, clearly concerned.

“I guess…” you laugh a little, “What the fuck could you be doing that’s so embarrassing?”

“Okay,” he let out a deep sigh and turned to you, “so have you ever thought about how the tech we use could be applied to non-superhero uses?” 

It was like he was starting a pitch, everything was always so formal with him. You lean back in your seat and smirk a little. 

“I guess,” you shrug.

“Like our toaster here,” he talks with his hands in a way that makes your heart smile, you shake off the feeling and nod attentively, “you know how it always toasts your bread perfectly? That’s because Tony fixed it, set the levels to always get the perfect level of toast.”

You were still completely unsure where he was going with this.

“So I was thinking about my suit and the different non-super uses for it,” his voice was slowing. He was stalling, trying to find the right words to describe this to you.

“Um, so one day there was a little glitch in my suit and it got a little...shaky, and we fixed it right away, no problem, but I kept thinking about how the...shaking could be useful.”

“Shaking?” You were not having any of this, “what the fuck are you talking about Peter.”

“Ugh, okay, this is the part you can’t be mean about.” 

You nod with your hands up defensively.

“I’m messing around with the levels on the hand of my suit because that one day it started vibrating. And I thought that a vibrating hand would probably be a good sex toy. And the tech we have here is probably way better than anything they have out there. Like if we can make perfect toast, why can’t we make the perfect dildo, ya know?”

It was taking every ounce of strength you had to not burst out laughing. You bit your lip and nodded at him, trying to uphold your promise.

“So I umm, I’ve just been messing around with the different things I can program my suit to do, the different...vibrations I guess.” 

He wouldn’t make eye contact with you. He just moved back over to his seat and twisted the hand so that you would have a batter view.

Opening his laptop back up and pulling open the lines of coding, he highlights a section and hits enter. The hand of his suit promptly begins to shift, the fingers buzzing aggressively.

“So you….turned the fingers of your spider suit into vibrators?” your tone was somewhere in between shock and giggles.

“Hey, no judgment, you promised!” 

You bring your hand up to your mouth, making the “lips are zipped” motion but keeping the smirk you had plastered to your face.

“So they aren’t just vibrators,” his voice dipped back into science mode, “that’s what it originally started out as, but I’ve found I can make them do lots of things. Different speeds and pressures, like any other high-quality sex toy.”

Moving to a different part of the code he highlights a section and hits enter again, this time the fingers rippled and bumps appeared, giving the surface a moving texture. He showed you how the fingers of his suit could twist and roll and curl.

“I can see on your face that you're judging me, and I need you to not tell anyone else about this, because as mean as you’re gonna be, I can handle it. But I can not handle Tony or Sam finding out about this. Please.” 

You felt bad for how nervous he was, and that you had crashed his secret session in the first place, but you were actually quite impressed with his invention.

“My lips are sealed, I swear,” you brought up a pinky, as was custom between the two of you, and hooked it around his. 

“It’s my day off, so this doesn’t really count as spider man lab work, you know? I’m just messing around, this isn’t actually anything serious, I was just curious to see…” his face was still flushed red with embarrassment.

“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” you try to sound reassuring but it comes out more as a chuckle, “I actually think this is really clever.”

“Really?” The red of his face was starting to subside to pink.

“Yeah, but…” your face scrunched up a little, “do you usually fuck girls while wearing your spiderman suit?”

“Oh god, no,” you were a little relieved to hear, “no, that would be so unprofessional. Spider-man doesn’t use his powers or his charm to pick up girls, never.”

“You leave that all to Peter Parker?” You joke.

“Oh yeah, he really does a great job in that department for me,” his sarcasm meeting your own.

You give him a little shrug. Peter could get it if he just opened his eyes. Almost every girl he met basically threw herself at him, he just never seemed to pick up on it. You were kind of glad for his blindness, as he wasn’t constantly flirting back with every girl he spoke to, but the blindness was also a curse as he never noticed how you were right there. 

“So what’s your plan with this? If you’re not actually gonna use it on some spiderman fan-girl,” you ask.

“I don’t know, haven’t really thought that far ahead. Make a prototype that’s not spider printed and send it to some sex toy company maybe. But then I bet it would be so expensive, and I wouldn’t want to make a product that’s inaccessible.”

You closed your eyes and laughed to yourself for a moment.

“Well, whatever your plan is, you definitely need to change some things before this gets used,” you move around to the opposite side of him, taking the computer mouse from his stiff hand. 

You highlight the first section of the code and hit enter, causing the hand to buzz to life. 

“So this,” you move your hand to lightly touch the fingertips of the suit’s hand, “is way too powerful. You might think that more is better, but I promise you this will buzz her clit right off.”

Peters face was back to that signature beet red. 

You change a few lines of the code and hit enter again, softening the buzz. 

“This is much better, you don’t want it to hurt.” 

“Um, thanks,” he mumbles.

“I wouldn’t expect you to know about the nuances of vibrating sex toys, Peter. This is why I am graciously offering my feminine perspective on this fucked up project of yours.”

“Hey! You promised to be nice!” 

“I am! Who else is gonna tell you what a good vibrator feels like.”

“I didn’t think you would be so well versed in the subject,” he took a jab at you, you deserved it.

“I’m just as painfully single as you, dildo-fingers, I gotta get it somewhere and god knows we’re all to busy to go get it organically,” you joke back, “But I can’t quite say I have experience with any toy quite like this…” you continue to mess around with the controls, testing out the different modes. 

“Would you try it?” the question slipped out of him before he could fully assess the ramifications of his request. 

“Would I try it?” You flatly repeat back, also taking a second to process, “ummm, I guess so?” It came out more as a question than an answer.

“I mean, you don’t have to,” he was quick to retract his offer, “I just don’t really have a way of testing it out myself, accurately anyways.” 

“I’ll try it,” you were a bit more confident in your answer this time.

“See, umm, you would… You really don’t have to, because it would have to be on my hand,” he explained frantically, “the suit, would have to be on my hand…”

“Oh,” it was your turn to go red, “I mean, if it were for scientific research purposes…”

His eyes went a little wide, the two of you staring at each other blankly. 

“If we are going to start a sex toy empire I think we need to have a strong, active working relationship,” you said with a tinge of sarcasm, but also with underlying seriousness, “and if it’s for science then I am willing to be your test subject.”

“You know this is just something I was fucking around with, it’s not a big deal. I can scrap the whole project…” he was searching your face for a sign, trying to detect if you were being serious or not.

“I think it’s a good idea,” you shrugged, “Why not? Ya know?”

“Why not…” his brain was racing with reasons why not, because you were his best friend, because he was in love with you. Because this would mean seeing you in a very compromising position that he had definitely not imagined before…, “Yeah, why not.”

“When do you think it will be ready?”

“Now. It’s ready now,” Peter answers a little too quickly, unable to mask his nerves.

“That’s good,” you were avoiding eye contact, “Probably best that we do this today, cuz everyone is doing their own thing, you know? Like you said, probably best if Tony and the rest of them don’t find out about this”

“Right, right,” he was fiddling with all the wires on the desk again, “so…you want to do this now? Like, right now?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” you tried desperately to meet his eyes, “You’re the scientist here, how do you think we should go about this? Scientific method?”

You were trying to lighten the mood, but neither one of you could ignore the thick tension that had settled between you. You were both walking on eggshells, not wanting to say anything that would blow this all up, accidentally reveal how much you wanted this.

“Well I guess you could just go about how you usually would with any other sex toy…I’ll just be attached to the other end. I won’t even look, I can wear a blindfold and headphones or something, give you some privacy.”

“I think that would make it more weird,” you said honestly, “plus, I need you present to collect the research, observation and whatnot.”

“You want me… to observe you,” he was anxiously chewing on his lip, almost to the point of drawing blood.

“Yeah, I’ll talk you through it and give you feedback, and you can…observe.”

“My room or yours?” he focused all his energy on clearing his head, on trying to not act awkward about what was about to happen.

“Hmm?” you were a little lost in your own head, also trying to act casual, but failing miserably.

“Um, location? Where do you want to do this? That will be comfortable?” he started to unplug the wires and clean up his tools.

“My room I guess, if we want accurate results it should be in a place that I’m used to.”

He felt his breath catch in his throat at the thought of you touching yourself in your bed. The same place the two of you had watched movies and played scrabble, the same bed he would take naps in when you were gone.

You shift uncomfortably in your seat while he cleans up, closing his laptop and returning the tools to their proper storage. Why the fuck were you doing this? Why did you think this was a good idea? Too late to turn back now, you thought, put on a brave face and see this though, deal with the consequences later.

“Ready?” Peter asks, sounding like he was speaking to both you and himself. The truthful answer from both of you was no, but you nod your head and hop up to meet him in the doorway.

The walk up to your room was quiet, he shuffled a few feet behind you, unsure what to say or do to diffuse the tension. There had never been a moment of silence like this since you met, you were always cracking jokes and laughing together, why was this so different. He knew why it was different.

Both of you knew deep down that after this, things wouldn't be the same. You were pretending like this was just a silly project, a fun experiment between the two of you, but you knew better than that. He would never look at you the same way again, and you knew it.

You open your door and usher Peter into your room as you had done a thousand times before. You had been right, this was the perfect opportunity, most everyone was out for the day. You were the only people on the entire floor of the building. This could be a contained incident that stayed a secret, just between you and Peter.

“Okay,” you jump back onto your mattress, trying to hide the shaky feeling in your stomach, “so I’m thinking that I’ll just get naked and lay here, and you can work your magic with your fancy hand.”

“Yeah, okay,” Peter turned around to give you privacy while you undressed, a little ironic considering he would be seeing you fully naked in only a matter of seconds. He placed the new device on and let his spider suit wrap around his body.

“Oh, you’re gonna wear the whole suit?” You ask mid-taking your pants off.

“Uhh, I haven’t programmed it to be separate, it’s just a part of the whole-body piece right now. I can go change it if this is gonna be weird.

“It’s probably gonna be weird either way, so just leave it on,” you were glad his back was to you, as you were furiously blushing. You had always stolen glances of Peter when he was in his spider suit, the way it clung so tightly to his perfect body.

“So I’m thinking that we need something to compare this to, like a control group, so you should use whatever vibrator you already own for a little bit, and then we can use this and you can tell me the difference,” Peter was trying to be as professional as possible, this was for science, after all.

“Okay,” your voice was shrunken into your throat, “You can sit at the end of the bed if you want.”

You could feel his eyes burn into you as he turned around. No amount of overthinking could have prepared you for what it felt like to be seen by him in this state. You didn’t try to cover yourself up, you didn’t try to hide, you just sat there.

You broke the moment by turning over to your bedside table, giving him a moment to shake off the initial shock and move over to his spot on the bed. You grab your wand vibrator from its pouch in your drawer and flip back over onto your back.

“You can, um, watch porn or whatever you usually do to…” he tried to avert his gaze as you propped yourself up on your pillows.

“Oh, no, I usually don’t,” you spread your legs a little, giving him just the slightest view of your already wet slit. He felt a deep pit form in his stomach at the sight, you were already wet.

“Is this a bad idea? You can tell me if you want to stop,” you let him know.

He shakes his head rapidly, still unable to tear his eyes from your center, “We’ve made it this far, how weirder could it get.”

You laugh a little, before turning on your wand to the lowest setting. The faint buzz cut through the thick silence of the room. You let your head fall back onto the pillow as you run the vibrator up and down. You close your eyes and try to pretend that you were alone in your room, that Peter wasn’t only feet away from you, watching you. His presence, although foreign, was only fueling your experience. The way you could feel his eyes on you, even with yours squeezed shut, made you clench around nothing.

“Do you want me to finish?” your voice came out as more of a moan than you had intended, causing his dick to twitch underneath his suit, “To compare? Or should I save it?”

He heard your voice, but was barely listening to your questions. His left brain kicked back into gear, remembering that this was an experiment.

“How many can you usually do?” his voice was far too formal for the situation, but he couldn’t help it.

“A few, three on a good day” you reply, once again your voice came out breathy and weak.

“Okay, umm, yeah you can finish once with this one and then we can try the hand.”

You turned the setting up a notch, causing your back to arch a little. You let your free hand come up to palm at one of your breasts, your head still thrown back onto the pillow. A moan from the back of your throat slipped out unintentionally, but feeling his weight shift closer to you at the end of the bed only encouraged you to let out another.

“Fuck, Peter, I’m close,” you cried out. Hearing his name come from you in this context made his cock strain and grow impossibly harder. He felt the urge to rub himself through the material of his suit, but wondered if that would cross the line. Although you were naked and sprawled out before him, the two of you hadn’t discussed anything about him, so he decided against it and let the uncomfortable rod between his legs pulse with lust, untouched.

His mouth dropped open a little at the same time yours did, unblinking as he watched you writhe under the wand, hips rolling against it as your legs started to shake a little. Before he could even take it all in, you were sitting up, vibrator turned off and returning to its place in your drawer.

“Okay so that was the control,” you fixed your messy hair and repositioned yourself on the bed, “Hey, Peter,” you snapped in his face, “that was the control.”

“Oh, yeah, mhm that was the control,” he shook his head and blinked his eyes hard a few times.

“Okay so however you want to do this…” you laid back down, “I’m pretty wet from that last one so you should be able to slip a finger in no problem.”

Your voice dipped upwards on the last word you said, as two of Peter’s suited fingers plunged straight into your pussy.

“Fuck,” your body jerked up a little, your breathing became heavy very quickly. He watched you intently as he twisted his two digits around inside of you, finding the spot you liked them curled up at.

“I’m gonna turn the vibrations on now, is that okay?” he tried to steady his voice.

“Mmmmmm,” you moaned, unable to keep your hips from rolling slightly against his hand, “yeah, I’m ready.”

He pressed down on the wrist of his suit, turning the vibrations onto the setting you had fixed earlier. At that exact moment, Peter knew he was done for. The long, gravely moan that started in your chest and made its way past your perfect lips was something he would remember forever. He knew he would never be able to watch porn again, that he would always compare everything to this moment, to the way you sounded, to the way you looked underneath his touch.

“Oh my god, Peter,” your words snapped him out of his daze, “this is so much better, fuck, so much better.”

He continued to move his fingers up inside of you as he slowly brought the pad of his thumb up to your clit. He had programmed it to be slightly different than the vibrations in his center two fingers, but to match rhythm.

He was observing you. Observing how your eyes rolled into the back of your head when he pressed down slightly harder, the way your hips bucked up when he stalled his movements. Observing the way your hair fell around your face, observing the perfect oh your beautiful lips made. Observing the butterflies fluttering in his stomach and the rapid beat of his heart as he watched you. Observing you. For science.

He noticed the way your walls pulsed around his fingers as he switched the vibrations to the next setting. The hums and whimpering noises you were making were driving him crazy. You let your head lift from its thrown back position and meet his gaze. His eyes were dark, and lust-filled, and incredibly focused. The tip of his tongue poked out between his lips in the same way it had when he was in the lab.

His thumb started to rub tight circles around your clit, matching the vibrations coming from the suit. You had never felt something quite like this, the growing heat in your lower stomach was throbbing against his hand. You noticed that every time you said his name, his fingers curled up a bit harder into you, you used this to your advantage.

You let out a whimper of his name as you felt your high quickly approaching. He was so fixated on your body, taking in every sound that passed your lips and every shudder, every small movement. He was determined to make you feel good, to hear his name mixed with your needy moans.

He let his free hand grip your hip, pushing you flat to the mattress, stilling your movements. Fucking his fingers up into you harder you press against his cold touch, arching your body into him. Even though it was only his palm, covered by his suit, his touch seared into your skin. The action pushed you closer.

Peter could barely register you screaming out his name as you came from the blood pounding in his ears. You ground your hips into his thumb, his fingers pushing perfectly into you as you clenched around them.

“Peter, you’re making me come, fuck- I’m-” you bit your lip to stifle your moans as your hips continued to roll forward. Watching you come undone around his fingers caused a wet patch to quickly form in Peter’s suit, leaving a barely noticeable stain on his leg.

The small tremors inside you quickly rose to an earthquake, crashing harshly around you. His fingers continued to work inside you through your high, knowing right when to slow his movements and still his vibrating fingers inside you, letting you clench around them as you caught your breath. He removed his thumb from your clit and leaned back to look at you.

Your back finally gave out from its permanent arched position as you relaxed back down onto the sheets. Your eyes flutter open to find his already looking at you.

“Peter, Peter, oh my god,” your voice could barely rise above a whisper, “that was… that was so fucking good.”

“You liked it?” he asked genuinely, starting to circle his fingers inside you again, causing you to twitch, “think you can come again?”

“Again?” your hoarse voice raised up.

“You told me you could give me three,” the tone of his voice alone was enough to get you there. The fact that he said your orgasms were “for him,” it was the truth and you were glad that he knew it.

“Fuck, it won't take much if you keep-” your words were cut off by a short gasp, your hips lifted ever so slightly off the mattress and your head fell back. He pushed his fingers flat and deep into you, turning up the vibrations another setting.

His opposite hand was rubbing soft circles on your outer thigh, moving in tandem with your hips that bucked forward. Your moans were desperate and whiny, your clit still sensitive from your last orgasm.

As soon as he ran his thumb up through your folds, gathering your wetness and pressing softly onto your overstimulated nub, you couldn’t feel anything other than the waves of pleasure that rippled through your body.

Your body was set on fire, your senses were dialed to eleven. You could swear you heard him mutter under his breath, “that’s it beautiful, come for me again,” and “you look so fucking perfect like this.” But with the state your mind was in, you couldn’t be sure.

Your body tightens and tightens, threatening to snap at any moment. You couldn’t help but reach out and grasp his arm, the smooth material of his suit under your grasp as you clung to him for support.

“Please,” you begged, “fuck, Peter, please don’t stop.”

He changed the setting up to something that was a perfect mix of vibrations and rotation, his fingers snaking in a motion that had you seeing stars, his thumb still pressed against your clit as the movement beneath the surface of his suit continued to turn and spin for your pleasure.

The grip on his arm wasn’t enough, so you bring both hands to his shoulders, angling them down to you so you could hold onto them. You bury your head into his neck, feeling the solid texture of his suit against your forehead.

Your body seized up as you hit your third high, mouth gaping open and letting out deep, frantic breaths. Your thighs lock around his hand like a vice grip and your contracting walls frenzy around him.

While the first orgasm he had given you had rolled over you in waves, this one flipped your stomach up into your chest like the initial drop of a roller coaster. You could feel jolts of pleasure wash over your entire body, your legs grew numb, your nipples stiffened, all the air was sucked from your lungs.

You could hardly register what was happening to you until you started coming down, your oversensitive body collapsing without warning. He retracted his fingers from you, making you whimper at the loss. When your lower half returned to its place on the bed, you notice an unusually large wet patch.

“Holy shit, did I…”

“Yeah,” he laughed a little, “that good?”

“Fuck,” you threw your head back, hand meeting your forehead to wipe some of the sweat away, “that’s never happened to me.”

“Really?” his voice was soft.

“Really, really… sorry, I guess.”

“Are you kidding,” he moved back to the end of the bed, “that was fucking hot.”

Your face grew warm at his compliment. You shouldn’t feel so flustered considering what had just happened, but his words sat heavily in your chest.

“Umm, so the spider hand is definitely better than anything available on the market, that much I can tell you for sure. You can put that in your data.”

You fully flop back onto your bed, wanting nothing more than for him to join you. Your body felt limp and heavy, like you had just run a marathon or been hit by a train.

You watched through hooded eyes as he pressed the spider in the center of his suit and slipped it off to put his clothes back on. His back was turned to you, but the view you got of his shoulder muscles could have set you off for another orgasm…if he offered.

“I’m gonna let you rest, you seem pretty beat,” he chuckled as he flipped your lights off, “I’m glad you liked it.”

You couldn’t even think through what had just happened before you fell into a deep, much-needed sleep. Your body would need a day or two to fully recover, and you would need far longer than that to mentally recover from letting your best friend slash secret crush finger fuck the shit out of you in his superhero uniform. Fuck.

The next day you felt like you were walking on a tightrope. When you see Peter, what should you say? What should you do? “Hey buddy thanks for the amazing sex, let's do it again sometime?” You wash your face with ice-cold water to prepare yourself for the day, you knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

You tried to go about your day normally. Morning run, then breakfast, then some light training. You couldn’t ignore the faint soreness between your legs, reminding you of yesterday. You manage to go a few hours without running into Peter until the group all met to discuss some upcoming events.

You could hardly focus on what was being said, you could only stare at Peter across the table, quickly looking down or away when he noticed you staring. You were going to need to come up with a better plan than avoiding him.

You resume your normal spot across from him at lunch and strike up a conversation as normal. He plays along but you can tell he is feeling the same way as you. All through your mind ran thoughts of “what if he regrets it,” what if he didn’t like it,” “what if he doesn’t like me.”

The two of you keep up the charade for three days. Tiptoeing around each other and playing it up when you were together. You even managed to do your normal Wednesday movie night without too much awkward tension, but not none.

By the fourth day, it was all too much. You weren’t willing to sacrifice your friendship with Peter for anything, but at this point, you needed to get this all out and in the open. You were tired of holding your breath.

Sitting back on his bed, reading a book casually while he typed furiously away on his laptop, you decided that now would be as good a time as any.

“Your stupid spider hand sex-toy has completely ruined everything for me,” you start off jokingly, this being the first time either of you had mentioned it, “honestly, I can’t even get myself off anymore.”

Peter whips his head around, swiveling towards you in his desk chair, “that wasn’t my intention.”

“I guess it’s a compliment to you if anything,” you were trying to keep the conversation light.

“I did make some changes to the coding…”

“Changes? I promise you, Peter, nothing about that needed to be changed.”

“Well,” his hand came up to the back of his neck, “I figured out how to detach the hand from the rest of the suit, so it functions as an independent unit.”

Your eyes went a little wide. You cocked your head to the side, giving him a look through squinted eyes.

“So, I could make a copy, for you… if you want.”

“I don’t know, Peter,” here you go, it’s now or never, “I just don’t think it would be the same.”

His adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he harshly swallowed.

“I think I want to try it again,” you sit up on the bed, “as long as you want to.”

You knew that you were taking a risk. What if you had read this whole situation wrong? Maybe you could play it off as a joke or something, find a way to make things normal between you two again…

“Yes,” he responds with a nod, “I…would very much like to do that again. For science or whatever, you can test the new product.”

This was the final leap, you stood up from your spot on the bed and walked over to him. “I don’t want to do it for science, Peter,” you stood in front of where he sat, “I just…want to do it with you.”

You searched deep in his eyes for a reaction, hoping he knew what you meant. The seconds of silence were killing you, but before you could backtrack, start to explain yourself or cover it up with a joke, he wraps his strong hands around your waist and pulls you into his lap.

“Not for science?” he asks, hands firmly planted on your sides. You slowly lean in, pressing your chest flat to his, feeling his body heat radiate onto you. Looking up through your lashes you meet his gaze, not finding any indication that he wanted you to stop.

You had imagined kissing your best friend a million times. Dramatically in the rain, under the mistletoe, softly in the morning, quickly as a goodbye before he left, every day you had thought about kissing him. You never quite imagined being propped up in a swivel desk chair, and you never quite imagined that he would have already seen you naked beforehand, but this wasn’t imaginary, this was happening.

Your lips parted and met his, the space between you wonderfully dwindling away to nothing. You felt like your heart was in your throat as your lips slipped together easily, as if you had done it a thousand times before. Your hands tentatively move up to the sides of his face, cupping his smiling cheeks.

You grin into the kiss too, unable to stop yourself. You want to pull away to look at him, to tell him how you feel, but you couldn’t help but lean back in for more, the feeling of his lips tingled on yours as you pulled away.

“Is this…” he whispered to you, “is this just because you found out that my spider suit can be used as the world’s best vibrator? Or…do you actually like me?”

Your heart ached at his question, hoping he already knew the answer and was just asking to be precautionary, in that signature Peter Parker way.

“Peter,” your forehead was pressed to his, fingers now running through his hair, “I’ve wanted to do this for so long, I’ve liked you for so long, you have no idea. When we were joking around the other day about you using the suit on me, I thought it would be my only chance to get close to you, because I didn’t think you’d ever see me that way. It was stupid and I should have told you first. But I want you to know now, that I’m so in love with you it hurts.”

His lips frantically met yours, kissing you almost as if he wouldn’t get the chance to again. Wrapping you tightly in his arms he lifts you up and gently sets you down on the bed, laying you back to your original position. He kisses down the corner of your mouth to your cheek, and then your jaw.

“Y/n,” he holds himself up over you, “I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”

You sit up to meet his lips, holding his face close to yours. You shift back, letting him join you on the bed. You wrap your legs around his midsection and flip him over so you were straddling him, on top.

“So,” you say in between sucking spots down his neck, “about using that hand on me again...”

[softboywriting]

Welcome To The Pack | Mendes Triplets Series | Part Eight

Summary: You’re a human who has moved in with the Mendes triplets as their newest housemate. You’ll have to learn to navigate life with werewolves, college classes, and your feelings for each guy. [fluff] [shifting] [fighting]

Word Count: 1.8k

|Masterlist In Bio|

Leaving the tattoo shop you run into the last people you want to see. It's the group of guys from campus. There are four now instead of three and Raul immediately goes on the defense.

"Hey! You fucks!" Raul snarls and Shawn wraps his arms around you, holding you to the side for safety.

"Can we help you?" The fourth unfamiliar and clearly older member of the group asks.

"Oh don't play coy with me." Raul says as Peter walks out of the shop to your right. "I know you're the ones who have been harassing our girl."

"Excuse me?" The man asks, seemingly genuinely confused.

Peter joins Raul, looking over the guys. He's tense, you can tell by the way he's got his shoulders back and head up. "You're the ones who put nightshade in the yard."

"What?!" The guy asks, looking to his very guilty looking pack mates. "I have no idea what's going on here. Harassment? Nightshade? What are you guys talking about?"

"Why don't you ask those three." Raul points at the younger men of the group, the ones who bothered you. "I'm sure they'll explain."

"Scott...we were just fucking around," one mumbles and the older man turns to look at the three. "We thought...like y'know...she was their toy and we could get in on that."

"The fuck did you just say?" Peter snarls, stepping forward and Raul reaches for him. He shrugs him off and gets in the guy's face.

"Whoa, calm down," Scott says, holding a hand up to Peter. "He's-"

"I said she's your toy. A human like that living with three alphas? Ain't no way she-"

"Peter no!" You yell and he looks back at you, teeth showing, eyes wild. He looks ready to turn on you and your heart sinks. The last thing you see is Peter shifting, his face looks murderous. Raul desperately tries to get between him and the smart mouth with the guy named Scott helping. Shawn turns you away and holds his hands over your ears.

It's over as soon as it started. Raul drags Peter away, quite literally, as Shawn takes you to the jeep. You don’t look back, you don’t even know where Peter and Raul went but Shawn is starting the jeep and leaving the situation. You don’t know what to say. Everything escalated so quickly...and Peter just snapped. You wrap your arms around yourself. Peter was supposed to be your anchor in this crazy pack, the sane one, the one who had a level head. Seeing him go crazy like that so quickly, and feeling like you were his target for a moment...it scares you.

_____________________

Peter and Raul don't come home for hours after the fight. You don't know where they are and you don't ask Shawn. He seems just as tense as you are.

After midnight you hear talking in the hall. You aren't asleep, not even tired. You've been watching movies on your laptop just trying to calm down. The voices are muffled at first but eventually get louder, as if they are approaching your bedroom.

"Leave her alone," Shawn says. "She hasn't come out of her room since we got home. I'm sure she doesn't want to be woken up."

"I need to apologize to her." It's Peter. "She didn't need to see that."

"Maybe you can talk in the morning. Right now is not the best time."

The handle on your door jiggles and your heart races. There's a thump and loud growling. You grip your comforter, not ready to deal with another fight, not ready to see Peter.

"Shawn, I can't wait. She needs to know that I didn't mean to scare her. I just...I wanted to protect her."

"She wasn't in danger. We were all there with her. You let your feelings get in the way and it backfired!"

More growling, this time from Peter you assume. "Like you haven't been dealing with that too."

"This isn't about me. You have to let her do this on her terms. You fucked up. I understand that you need to say you're sorry but just...give her space."

Silence follows Shawn's words. There was so much to unpack in that short conversation. Feelings? Peter has feelings for you? And Shawn too? You close your laptop and scoot down into your blankets, turning and curling into your pillow. You don't know what to make of anything right now.

_____________________

Two days you avoid Peter, you avoid all the boys honestly. You get up, shower, go to class and come home. You don't stop and talk to Shawn while he makes breakfast. You don't yell at Raul for leaving his crap all over the bathroom. Nothing.

You're contemplating moving. The idea came to you the second night. Maybe if you weren't around things would be better. Maybe you don't belong with three wolves.

On the third day you get home from school and shortly after closing and locking your door, something you've never really done before now, there is a knock. You're not even changed out of your sweater and jeans when the familiar soft knock knock knock gets your attention. There is no doubt that it's Peter.

"I know you're home." It's definitely Peter.  

You don't answer.

"I heard you come in. I know you're still...unhappy with me. I just- I wanted to talk to you."

You go about changing, not ready to see him. You know he's going to look rough. You had seen Raul before class yesterday and he looked like he'd got the shit beaten out of him. You have no idea if it was from trying to get Peter off the guy in the fight or if it was from pulling Peter away. Either way you know Peter can't be unscathed.

"Please..." You hear his head hit the door with a soft thump. "I need to see you. I don't want you to leave."

Your stomach hurts. How did he know you were thinking of leaving.

"I fucked up." You hear him moving, and suddenly his voice comes from lower, as if he's sitting against the door. "I looked at you like you were the problem, and you're not. I lost myself and I don't know how to explain it. I think, everything was just building and building. That guy set me over the edge when he said...when he marginalized you as a toy. It made me sick."

You cross the room and stand in front of the door.

"I care for you so much, you're my best friend in this world right now and I know that's saying a lot, and I'm probably too emotional, but you are. You've changed my life, our lives, since you moved in. I don't want to be the reason you leave. I don't want this fuck up to be the reason we lose you."

You wipe your eyes, tears streaming out upon their own accord. It's time. You can't let him go on without seeing him. It'd just be cruel. You turn the door handle and the lock clicks open.

Peter looks up at you, eyes wet as well. He's got bruising across his eyebrow and his lip piercing looks swollen. "Do you hate me?" He asks, voice cracking as he fights back more tears. "I understand if you do."

"No." You whisper, stepping closer. "Peter I don't hate you. I'm not sure I could ever do that."

He stands, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for attacking that guy and I'm sorry I scared you." He quickly wipes his eyes before resuming crossed arms. "I don't know what came over me. I-I freaked out and I shouldn't have."

"It was terrifying. I thought you were going to come after me."

"I know. I know I'm so sorry." He is visibly shaking. "Like I said, I had a lot of pent up emotions and it was the last straw. I shouldn't have let things get so bad. I don't...I don't like not being close with you."

You lay your hand on his chest and his heart is going wild. "I miss you too." You unfold his arms and slide yours around him. "Come on. I think it's been long enough. I can't not talk to you any longer."

Peter wraps his arms around you in a bear hug, squeezing you flush against him. "Thank you." He breaks down, gripping you tight and you just let him get it all out. It's what he needs. It's what you need.

_____________________

The alpha, Scott, from the group of guys who harassed you showed up with an apology on behalf of his pack mates. He said he had no idea what was going on, and that he won't stand for what they did. He even brought a gift card for you as if that would make things better. It doesn't change the fact that his pack did what they did. But it's a good attempt at making amends.

You and Shawn went out and got snacks for a movie night with the card. All of you decided that you just needed some quality time together as a pack. Things had been so hectic lately you all need to relax.

So now you're together on the sofa, watching a movie called Love Rosie. The guys let you pick the movie, much to their dismay and audible groaning. They all seem to be actually enjoying it though, they haven't fallen asleep...yet.

Raul puts his feet up on your legs on the ottoman and you glare at him. But he smiles, so cute and innocently, you can't help but let it slide. He snuggles down into the cushions, one of your blankets wrapped around him. He looks so soft compared to his usual indifferent demeanor. It's a small show of affection but one you will gladly take.

Shawn sits beside you, cuddled up against you, hand in yours. He's sharing his blanket, keeping you nice and warm. He claimed the spot before anyone else even sat down. You know he wanted you to sit on his other side so he could have you all to himself but Peter wasn't having that.

Peter. He is on your left side, slumped down, nearly asleep from a long day of taking tests. He's trying his best to stay awake for you, to watch the movie you picked. His head slips off your shoulder, and he ends up situating himself with his head on your lap and his legs over Raul's lap.  

You put your free hand in Peter's hair and he lets out a soft growl of content. You smile to yourself, happy to be loved. These boys have stolen your heart and they know it.

———–

End PartEight

———-

Thank you for reading! Please reblog if you enjoyed this and reblog to support and encourage myself and fellow writers. Next part coming soon! - A

Custom header per part made by the incredible delicateshawn

*****Note: none of my works should be posted anywhere outside of my linked accounts. I do not give permission to repost with or without credit to my accounts. Please notify me of any reposted fics.*****

[sheeple]

The intern | 14: The Monday after

GIFS NOT MINE. THIS IS ALL FICTION. Genre(s): intern!au / fluff / mild angst Group(s): NCT / Red Velvet Pairing(s): Moon Taeil x fem!reader Summary: The new Elysion Publishings intern is the youngest they ever had. It’s not a problem until she grabs the attention of the IT guy. Warning(s): Age-gap of five years A/n: Look who b a c k [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist]

I rub my eyes as I walk out of my apartment building. I almost didn’t close an eye last night since my body’s buzzing with excitement. I mean, who wouldn’t when you get into your first real relationship.

I suddenly hear the honk of a car and I look up, worried that I walked into the busy morning traffic without looking midst my thinking.

Instead, I see Taeil with his car in front of me with a bright smile. A smile automatically spreads on my face and I walk towards him, to give him a hug.

“Good morning”, I say with a bright smile as I Taeil kisses me on my forehead. “What are you doing here?”

“Picking you up for work, of course.” He turns around and opens the car door for me to slip in. 

I put my backpack at my feet and put on my seatbelt as Taeil jogs over to the other side.

“How did you sleep?”, he asks as we drive away, his eyes scanning the side streets for incoming traffic.

“I didn’t sleep a lot but when I finally closed my eyes, I slept great. You?” I place my elbow on the middle console and lean my head on it while looking towards him.

“I slept like a baby because I was visited by an angel in my dreams.” he wiggles with his eyebrows and I immediately know what he means.

I groan and slap his hand that rests on the middle console. “So cheesy.”

Taeil smirks and grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers, bringing our hands to his lips and placing a soft kiss on my knuckles. 

If I saw it by other people, I would have gagged. But for some reason, I don’t mind. Maybe it’s the person who does it or it is because I am growing soft. 

We arrive soon after at the parking space of Ely and we hop out of the car, still holding each other's hand as we walk into the lobby. 

Before we walk through the security gates stops Taeil us and turn towards me. 

“I have to be in the server room so I have to part with you, my sugar drop. What’s on your agenda today?” 

I frown and cringe at the stupid nickname he gave me. “First of all, ew. Secondly, at ten I have a call with my teacher and team leader Byun about my evaluation and show him around the department. But I’m free at lunch.”

Taeil smiles. “Great. I’ll see you for lunch between half-past twelve and one?”

I nod and give him a  kiss on his cheek before sending him off. “Now go before you’re late.” 

He waves one last time before almost bumping into someone and walking away. I shake my head and turn around, scanning my pass and walking towards the elevators. 

Suddenly, Johnny and Wendy appear out of nothing and drag me away. They push me into an unoccupied room and sit me down in one of the many chairs. 

“Spill”, grins Johnny and leans against the doorframe. So I start to tell about our evening. About the fire, the diner, and the necklace.

“Does that mean..?”, questions Wendy with the biggest smile on her face and I nod shyly, hiding my face behind my hands.

The two of them cheer loudly and high fave each other, jumping up and down. I expected positive feedback but this positive? Never guessed in a million years.

“So did you two...” Johnny wiggles with his eyebrows and I scrunch my nose in disgust. 

“Ew, of course not! Who do you think I am?”

Johnny nods. “True. You wouldn’t have─”

Wendy holds up her hand. “Don’t you dare to finish that sentence.” She glares at him before looking at her phone. “Come on, ‘Yong is looking for us.”

When Johnny told Taeyong the news, he flipped. He wouldn’t stop smiling and grinning the whole morning. I also didn’t miss the exchange of money between the two guys. 

“I would get 25.000 Won if you guys ended up together after your date”, explains Taeyong with a big fat smirk on his face.

I roll my eyes. Boys will be boys.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around. Team leader Byun smiles at me as he has a clipboard under his arm. “Everything is set up in meeting room 3.”

I quickly grab my laptop and wave goodbye to my friends as Byun and walk towards the meeting room and he turns on the fogging of the glass. 

“Are you nervous?”, questions Byun as I set up my laptop to the larger screen. 

I hum. “Not really. Well... a bit? If that makes sense. My grade is depending on how well I explain. And of course, how you filled in the form I send you.”

Byun whips out two sheets from his clipboard and places them on the table. “I send them to your teacher and we’ll go through them before the call begins.”

“Okay”, I nod with a sigh, my palms sweaty.

“The first question, the student is professionally informed. Out of an Inadequate, Sufficient, and Outstanding, I gave you an Outstanding.” Mr Byun glances at me and I smile brightly. “After the last review, she began to ask more questions and has been progressing greatly.”

“That was definitely one of my learning points, to not be afraid to ask more question. I try, it’s not always easy.” I scratch the back of my hand, a nervous habit of mine.

Byun smiles proudly. “Two: the student is motivated. Outstanding. Despite moving to the other side of the world and being in a foreign country, you have always been very motivated. When everyone was busy and you didn’t have an assignment, you asked around to help the others.”

Byun nods. “I asked around the department, and they all greatly appreciated it. Especially during Black Friday when everyone had a lot to do.”

I run a hand through my hair, forgetting it is in a low ponytail. “I just... thought it was normal? And I enjoy helping others!”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that. Just make sure that nobody could misuse your generosity. Continuing, number three: the student works independently on their tasks. Another Outstanding. Absolutely. When I asked if she finished something, she already had sent it to me or someone else for a quick check. Only thing, please let it know so nobody has to ask for the status.”

Byun chuckles as he sees me nodding. “Yeah, I sometimes can be pretty caught up in work and forget about notifying you.”

“Fourth question: the student is communicative and socially skilled in dealing with both colleagues and customers. Outstanding. Y/n has a very professional attitude and is a full-fledged college within an adult environment.”

"And the last question. The student works focused on their learning goals. Outstanding. As I said earlier, she has been working on asking more questions and it shows that she still is learning every day. And that’s perfectly normal.”

A blush creeps up my cheeks as I can’t handle the number of compliments I have received in ten minutes. “Thank you, Team leader. I greatly appreciate the feedback.”

A content sigh leaves his lips. “It all good. You are a delightful person and pleasant intern.”

I and wipe away a tear harshly. “Stupid tear and overemotional personality”, I grumble as I grab a tissue that Byun holds out for me. 

“Oh stop you, otherwise I’m going to cry too”, he snivels and looks up at the ceiling, obviously blinking away some tears. I laugh and blow my nose, wiping my eyes before throwing the tissue in the trash.

With a sigh, he shakes his head. “Okay, the sad moment is over and now we’re going to think happy thoughts. We don’t want your teacher to see us with all red eyes and tear-stained cheeks, do we?”

I laugh and nod, done with the whole sappy stuff. 

With a sigh, I take place on one of the tables with Wendy, Johnny, and Taeyong in the company’s cafe. I pull out the sandwich I made this morning from a plastic bag. The three others take place in front of me and I frown. 

“What’s wrong with you guys? Why is nobody sitting next to me?” I look at them with my eyebrows furrowed. 

“Because lover boy is coming down this way with his friend”, says Taeyong with a grin and I turn around. Taeil meets my eyes and quickens his pace, Sicheng trailing behind him.

Taeil kisses my forehead before sitting down next to me. Sicheng looks at his friend in disgust and reluctantly takes place. 

“Hi Sicheng”, I chuckle, ignoring my pouting boyfriend. He gives me a short nod with a smile. “How are you?”

“Baby”, Taeil cuts Sicheng off, fluttering his eyelashes. Johnny and Wendy both gag as Taeyong looks at us disgusted. 

I shake my head, unwarping my sandwich from the plastic bag. “You’re too much, Moon Taeil.”

“How went the call with your teacher, by the way?”, asks Taeil with a slight smile on his lips. 

“She and Team leader Byun cried”, laughs Wendy and I kick her under the table. 

“Was I that bad?” He frowns and rubs my arms, “I’m sorry babe.”

“Oh no, on the contrary! I got amazing feedback, here look.” I give Taeil and Sicheng my feedback. “I cried because of all the compliments and I couldn’t handle it.”

Taeil shakes his head and kisses my temple as he lays an arm over my shoulders. “I’m proud of you for such wonderful marks. This is your final review, right?”

I nod while taking a bite out of my sandwich. “Yup, it’s only a couple more weeks, my break not counting, before I am finished here and need to go home.”

With me acknowledging that I have to go home, a topic we all have been ignoring for the longest of time, the mood drops. 

“When are you... leaving”, asks Sicheng softly. 

“Eighteenth of January is my last day, but I can stretch my departure until the week of the 25th.” I let out a sigh. The idea of my leaving everyone to go back to school... sounds awful. But it’s not like I have a choice. It’s my exam year so I have to go back. 

[maxismatchccworld]

Patch Notes

UPDATE: 11/12/2019 - PC 1.58.63.1010/ Mac 1.58.63.1210 Happy Fall! We have a few new Holiday items available for you in Create A Sim to celebrate the holidays. Along with that a new Multi Story Column feature to help you build tall columns for a grand entrance or interior. UI Scaling is also available in the options panel to give you more options with our UI configurations. Want to know what Sims 4 content is out there? New Main Menu Message is now avail on load to easily help you find the latest and greatest content from The Sims 4. In addition, we’ve fixed bugs and community concerns to improve your Sims daily lives. -SimGuruSteph NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES Multi Story Columns I’m not sure calling them multi-story columns is accurate. They are more like multi-height columns. Just go into the build catalog, place a column, grab the handle at the top, and drag it up and down to re-size. Some have a maximum size, others however... I think I topped out around 100 feet. UI Scaling Now available in the Options menu - UI Scaling! Are you a 4k player with tiny user interface issues? Do you prefer your interface to be readable at distances greater than fifty feet away? Have you a desire to customize the scale to your personal preferences? Now you can! From the Options panel, open up Game Options, and choose Accessibility. Stay away from the red parts of the slider to keep things in the safe range for your display. But, if you are feeling adventurous, give it a try, go crazy! If for some reason you find yourself in a bad state, you can always reset - either from the options panel, or by using Ctrl+U to reset the scaling back to default! Main Menu Messaging We know you want to know EVERYTHING about what’s going on, so we’ve added the ability to show you the latest and greatest Sims content on the Main Menu. You’ll be able to learn about free content, check out the latest updates on upcoming releases, pore over the newest blog posts, and more! New Clothing We have updated the Holiday Celebration Pack with some new children and toddler clothing! If you haven’t already added the Holiday Celebration Pack to your game, click on the icon at the Main Menu, and download the free pack! From there, head on in to Create a Sim and select the Holiday filter to find the new assets! Children have a new male top, female top, and winter boots! Toddlers have a new outfit for males, a new outfit for females, and some shoes! Or open up the Styled Looks, where SimGuruMorgan created some great new looks with the content! Music We have made the Hip Hop Radio Station available for everyone! This means that it is no longer exclusive to Get Famous. However, Get Famous specific music will still need Get Famous to be played. We added the following songs as part of this update: “BMO” Performed by Ari Lennox Written by Courtney Salter, Damon Coleman, Ron Gilmore, Jr., Anthony Parrino and Galt MacDermot Published by Ari Lennox Publishing Designee (BMI), Damon Coleman Publishing Designee, Ron Gilmore Music (BMI), Kobalt Music Services America o/b/o Elite That’s Me Publishing and Third Side America o/b/o MacDermot Music Contains a sample of “Space” by Galt MacDermot Recording courtesy of Dreamville/Interscope Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises and Third Side Music o/b/o Kilmarnock Records “Big Moe” Performed by Beau Young Prince Written by Jaimy Lageweg and Beau Young Published by Jailo Music and Rough Trade Songs Recording courtesy of Def Jam Recordings under license from Universal Music Enterprises “Dumbstruck” Performed by Ceraadi Written by Emaza Gibson, Saiyr Gibson and Troy Johnson Published by Emaza Gibson Publishing Designee, Saiyr Gibson Publishing Designee and Sony/ATV Tunes o/b/o Margetts Road Music/Noni Zuri Music Recording courtesy of Roc Nation under license from Universal Music Enterprises “Good Life” Performed by RDGLDGRN & Daniela Written by David Lichens, Pierre Desrosiers, Andrei Busuioceanu and Marcus Parham Published by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing o/b/o Fungai Music (BMI) and Warner Chappell Recording courtesy of RDGLDGRN “Block List” Performed by Rico Nasty Written by Maria Kelly and Mark Nilan Published by Kobalt Music Services America o/b/o Artist Publishing Group West (ASCAP)/Artist 101 Publishing Group (BMI) Recording courtesy of APG/Atlantic Recording Corp. by arrangement with Warner Music Group Video Game Licensing “Litest” Written and Performed by DJDTP Enjoy! FIXES & UPDATES The Sims 4

Sims that dislike Fruitcake no longer react negatively to all other food. On the other hand, Sims that like Fruitcake no longer will react positively to Poor Quality foods.

Grab Meal or Give Food for all ages will now fulfill the hunger needs completely. Hopefully it will help with the 100 baby challenge :)

Spoiled visual effect now will go away on servings from coffee and tea pots.

Sims will now place grilled food on the table appropriately instead of their inventory.

Terrain Manipulation brush and eraser cursor is now visible for all terrain tools in 32 and 64 bit mode on PC.

Fresh drinks are now available on the drink tray (for those who own Spa Day and/or Backyard Stuff). “Grab drink” from drink tray functions and will no longer give you an incorrect message.

Households populated in the “Other Households” tab in Manage Worlds can no longer be composed of just a Child.

Idle Sims will no longer drink water excessively.

Skin details no longer go away when randomizing Sim features other than the "Face" or "All" categories.

NPC Sims that are not Gardeners will no longer remove Wild Plants from lots autonomously.

Rare and uncommon harvestables will now be produced at higher rates when splicing.

Fixed an issue in which typing in the search field in Build Mode made the phrase “Text Field” appear erroneously.

Sims will no longer leave the dining table after they’ve started having their meal when using the “Call to Meal” interaction.

Fixed an issue in which Sims were not able to wash dishes or use the dishwasher if there were shelving units above the sink or the dishwasher.

Child Sims will not longer have their eyebrow color changed to Brown when they are set to Blonde.

Fixed an issue that made Adult Sims constantly change outfits while Taking a Shower, and then giving a Bath to Toddlers.

Fixed an issue where capturing screenshots with the Capture UI option enabled didn’t actually capture the UI.

Fixed an issue which made the option “Put here” not available when holding Pets and Toddlers.

Fixed an issue which made Paying Bills via Phone not be fulfilled if Simmers queued any other action before it would complete.

Simmers playing in Laptop Mode will now see improvements on the in game lighting.

Moving a wall will no longer delete objects on a separate shelf when bb.moveobjects cheat is used.

Fixed an issue in which Toddlers that had maxed out their skills were not receiving the Top Notch Trait when aging up.

Toddler Traits are no longer visible after aging.

Success Lineage Aspiration can now be completed once appropriate conditions are met.

Terrain Paints now persist when placing a lot from the gallery.

Assets yfBody_EP06DressFur_GoldGreen, yfBody_GP07DressWestern_FlowerOrange & yfBody_EP03TankStrappy_ElephantAquaCream were updated to look better with various shoe styles.

Vendors will no longer use your Sims’ fireplace as an imaginary portal to mysterious places.

Emotional sculpture thumbnail in sims inventory and world appearance are now visually the same.

“Get Married to..” whim now complete when you actually get married. Achievement Unlocked!

Sims now are more diligent in putting back their books in the bookshelf and/or bookcase.

Focused Sims can now go back to hacking work process when they reach level 6.

Sims that randomly decided to cosplay and have pointy ears have now revert back to their normal selves.

Nature’s Welcome Arch gate will no longer have metal gate audio.

Catching fish with excellent quality will now count toward the “Make 6 Great Catches” task of the Angling Ace Aspiration.

Creating stairs to the second floor of a raised block will no longer need a drop wall to support it for Sims to be able to route on it.

Sims are now able to route into their home after using terrain manipulation tools in their home lot.

Sims are no longer collecting items in their inventories without your permission.

Alien Disguises and Vampire Dark Forms uploaded to gallery are now properly flagged for packs and custom content used.

Sims will now autonomously interact with each other if one is sitting down and the other is standing.

Move lot will no longer inadvertently unhide stairs, specifically stairs above the first floor.

Updated Muslim inspired assets so clipping is not apparent below the Sims’ chin.

Updated Apron tops to look smoother.

Sims are now less considerate and do not congratulate their romantic partners when they find a new romantic partner.

Send Geo Council for collectables will no longer require you to send your computer with it.

Glass roof created on the ground should now be routable (as long as there is an entryway built into it).

Randomize Twin in Create-a-Sim will carry user-manipulated ears and nose over to the twin.

Fixed an issue that would cause interactions to get stuck in the queue.

Selling Normal quality Mystery novels will now give you money in return.

Copy interaction is now available on Cookbooks and Mixology books.

Sims that despise each other and have no romantic relationship will no longer greet each other with a passionate kiss. Seem normal to me?!

Child sit-to-stand transitions for toddler bed and lounge chair exhibit less clipping.

Perk and trait buffs will now persist through travel.

Drop walls from stairs will now fill in when terrain is manipulated below the stairs.

Sims’ Inventory will no longer reset and jump to the top while in use.

Hover Tip for Electrified Artist updated to proper text.

Fixed an issue in which railings were clipping into the walls.

Railings on extended landing do not have missing posts or different looking sections.

Drawn on eyebrow thumbnail will no longer show incorrect swatch.

Music artist names in the Music Game Options are no longer cut off.

Collared jean jacket will clip less with various hair styles.

Fence posts are now updated when terrain manipulation occurs.

Sims are now able to do Check Toddler interaction while swimming.

Steps in enclosed courtyard will no longer auto delete a part of your staircase.

Take a Vacation day and Call in Sick are no longer available options when Sims are already on vacation.

Teen Sims will no longer get adult Woohoo buff.

Park Cub table can now be put in the inventory.

Wall Height icon in the description text in Build Mode will now the appropriate wall height.

Fixed some issues which may cause Error Code 102 or Error Code 139 to appear during gameplay.

You can say the Fruitcake was the culprit, jury is still out on that one.

Objection! Maybe not…

They are now properly supervised.

They will now hydrate appropriately.

It was haunting.

Now both eyebrow and hair color will match as set by Simmers.

Though we would love to hold them forever.

Get to Work

Patient Sims that are referred to the surgery table will no longer leave in the middle of surgery.

Sims can no longer simultaneously have two occult types. Specifically Vampire and Aliens.

Get Together

Steam will no longer accumulate in rooms above indoor swimming pools, or natural pools, built with vents.

Book Covers do not change when you place them on retail display.

Club panel text field size has been increased to accommodate longer text.

City Living

NPC Sims that attend Festivals are not longer seen in not festival appropriate outfits.

Fixed an issue that Simmers with Outdoor Retreat and City Living didn’t have the “Ask to Cloudgaze” interaction available in San Myshuno apartments.

Fixed an issue that didn’t allow the camera to zoom in properly when looking at lots at their basement level.

Updating the pricing of counter and cabinets to be more consistent with the rest of the Build Mode catalog.

Updated rental options to not exist in Sulani..

Promote Cause Daily Tasks will now be fulfilled with the Promote Policies Interaction.

Cats & Dogs

Fixed an issue in which all stray dogs were large dogs. Now they can be all sizes.

Lighthouse Woohoo spot is back in business.

Sims are able to complete crafting pet medicine with Marketable trait.

Quickly Update your Dr. Magi-Heal’s Surger-o-matic 3000 with an instant upgrade.

A jacket blazer now layers better with bottoms

Dogs will no longer try to put the cat wand away when they can’t and stretch into a mystical form.

Clipping issues were improved with a pair of shorts and various tops, specifically the asset yfBottom_EP04Shorts.

Turning on view distance in option panels will no longer make a brick fence in the world completely white.

Seasons

Child and Teen Sims are now spawning to knock on doors during the holiday season with trick or treat.

It's less likely to rain at GeekCon festivals now, which should help keep those computers safe!

Fixed an issue in which Sims were able “Rake Leaves” in their Home Lot while Sims were far from leaves to rake.

Mix breed cat function in Create a Sim now works again. Yay!

Social events put in calendar are now functional and will trigger.

Simmers playing with Low Graphics settings can now see improved textures when Sims are wearing Scout uniforms.

Fixed an issue in which rewards from the Scout after school activity were not being awarded properly.

The reward will now appear in the Sims’ Inventory, instead of being unlocked in Build Mode.

Get Famous

Sims employed in any career will no longer be prompted to miss work, or end their shift early, when work hours coincide with visits from Sims that were given a residence key.

Have Sim Dance at the Same Time goal at the Fan Meet and Greet Event can now be completed when you have your Sims and other Sims dance at the same time.

Talent Showcase events will no longer sometimes occur on an invalid location.

Text was updated to hover tip for Action Vol 3 purchase book picker.

Tooltip text for Quality description of videos created by the video station is now colored purple.

Sims Radio too loud? You can adjust the radio volume now after listening to the music you created on the Mix Master Music Production Station.

Consistency!

Island Living

Uninvited Sims will no longer appear when attending Kava Parties on lots with the “Private Dwelling” Lot Trait.

Beach Venues lots can now be selected for Sims to go on dates.

Fixed an issue in which samples taken from Sulani to fulfill Conservation career tasks were disappearing from the Sim Inventory after analyzing said samples.

Fixed an issue in which the “Dried Scales” buff would not disappear after Mermaids fulfilled their hydration needs.

Fixed an issue with Mermaid Children that did not allow them to Take Baths INSIDE bathtubs.

Traditional Sarong asset will not clip with tops as much.

Fixed an issue that made aged up Mermaid Teen Sims have their Mermaid Tails disappear in Create a Sim and while Swimming.

Career Promotions for Conservationist can still occur after reaching level 10.

Bulldozing waterfront lots in Island Living will now not remove terrain paint.

Goggles no longer create an awkward shadow that does not make sense.

Sims can now store coconuts away in the fridge. Woot woot!

Human Sims no longer will think they are Mermaids by swimming like them when swimming laps.

Promotion task is marked completed when Sims have a diving knife.

Sims can now release the fish back into the ocean.

Sims with Master Chef Trait do not make spoil food anymore.

Sunkiss buff will now have the appropriate icon.

Rounded blocks will no longer have missing stilts

Blueprint placement for lots with floor lights will no longer place them underneath structure and float. Gravity is more realistic.

Stilt foundation shadows now appear properly.

Game will no longer crash when placing particular lots from The Gallery.

A TV stand missing in search bar will now appear. You didn't know what you were missing out on when using search… or you did know and now it’s fixed!

Penthouses from The Gallery will now place all available items properly.

Some furniture items that did not appear on the cursor from Build Mode will now appear.

Claiming a bed is now exclusive to one Sim. Now Sims can sleep in their own bed without disturbance or worry about another Sim using their bed.

Selected tattoos in Create A Sim will no longer automatically reapply clothing.

Hot and Cold outfit categories will no longer filter tattoos upon re-entry.

Jet visual effect will now display properly when streaming from a drone.

Burnt visual effects no longer appear on lot terrain when there is fire on homes with stilt foundations.

Configuring a U shape staircase to another floor will cause the stair cause to lose some steps no more!

Mermaid Sims will do their special swim idle when performing Mermaid interactions.

Mermaid Sims that have been turned into skeletons can now take a bath. Keep those bones clean.

Set favorite watercraft will now set correct one to favorite.

Plants placed on Suspended Modern from gallery will no longer place plants in odd places.

Island Welcome Wagon will now continue to hold Kava bowls to give to your Household instead of placing it on the ground when it rains.

It’s my party, and I don’t invite you if I want to.

Romantic!

Being used to the vastness of the Ocean, Mermaid Children were not happy being limited by a bathtub.

Dine Out

Fixed textures for a few Experimental Dishes.

Restaurant signs no longer have an odd bounding box shadow around it. It’ll be well rounded.

We apologize, our Glazed Heirloom Bamboo Roll, Space Taco with Pearled Egg Core, and Free Range Sixam Pit Beast did not look quite like what you actually ordered.

Vampires

Vampire Sims will no longer get scolded if they drink plasma from Sims even though they had been granted permission to do so.

Options from the Face category in Create A Sim are no longer missing for Vampire Sims when using the Change Sim interaction.

Vampires have adjusted to daylight savings now and are awake when you invite them to hang out.

Vampire Dark form uploaded to gallery are now properly flagging CC content and packed used.

Parenthood

Adult Sims are less likely to autonomously watch Kids Network if Toddlers/Children/Teens aren't nearby.

Realm Of Magic

Spellcasters with the Bloodline trait will no longer have their rank reset if they reach the Virtuoso rank.

Potions can now be sold for Simoleons.

Fixed an issue which allowed the Emotional Stability Potion to remove certain buffs from Sims unintentionally.

Fixed an issue where the Spellbinding Tile wall pattern was displaying duplicate swatch colors in Build Mode.

Cooking and Brewing in cauldron will no longer change sell price in build mode.

Drinking animation is performed by Sims when Sims drink potion of curse cleaning to remove curse.

Animation for the teleport is no longer getting cut off.

Orb Familiars will not pop and jump from their locations while following their Sims out of water.

Two necklaces were updated to improve capability with other Create a Sims assets.

Trouser texture will no longer appear on the top of a pair of boots.

Bicep bracelet is now shown properly in Create A Sim thumbnail.

Profit!

Cool Kitchen Stuff

Removed “Get Leftovers” option for ice cream since it was never intended, and who leaves ice cream for leftovers? Not me :)

Spooky Stuff

Spooky Party will now count towards the Party Animal Aspiration.

Moschino Stuff

Fixed an issue in which in some cases the game would freeze while in Photo Mode.

Sims that you have not met will no longer appear in the Sims selector when triggering Take photo of.

[edda-blattfe]

How would the house leaders react to being in our world?

Ohhoho! Now this is the kind of content I live to write, thank you for asking! I’m gonna make this a scenario as well, hope y’all enjoy!

Crowley: Alright everyone! Are you ready to take a little trip?...No? Too bad, you don’t have a choice! * magically shoves all seven of them through the giant mirror portal* ~Have fun kids!~

The House Leaders Reacting/Staying in our World

- Riddle is angry at first. He tries to get back through the mirror, when that doesn’t work he throws a hissy fit and starts banging at the glass...which ended up breaking the mirror...great. Thanks Riddle, now y’all are stuck there for the time being.

- Vil is already pretty pissed himself, but their only known portal getting broken pushes the Queen off the edge. He does the honors of chewing the little shit’s ass off scolding the little red hot for this transgression.

- Idia does not like. No. “Crowley... p-please bring us ba- *mirror shatters* ......*goes into emo corner* This is where I die.”

- The moment the mirror is gone, Azul and Malleus start discussing ways of returning home. Can they use another mirror? Would they be able to contact Crowley via communication spell? Are they even able to use magic at all in this world?! The answer is no, and they are /concerned/. After coming to that conclusion they start observing the area and learn what they can.

- Leona is...oddly calm about all of this. After a quick look around the area, he finds a decent place to lay down and chill while the others do their thing. He occasionally adds to Azul and Mal’s observations, pointing out something they might’ve missed or playing devil’s advocate.

- Kalim is like a kid in a candy store! A new world? Awesome!!! He’s too busy admiring everything and I mean EVERYTHING around them while the others handle Riddle. “Guys look at this grass!!! It’s so other worldly!” It isn’t. “Oh my gosh it’s a butterfly!!! A butterfly from another world, isn’t it great? And these rocks! C’mon let’s go look around!”

- It takes a little while to pacify Vil and capture Kalim bring everyone up to speed on the situation, but they managed it. Together the stranded students came up with a strategy to learn more about this world. They split up into teams and returned to their point of arrival at sundown to touch base.

- *cue “The Devil is a Part-timer” intro to earth life sequence, only with seven young men instead of two and they land a decent apartment, courtesy of Azul*

- Unsurprisingly, the sea witch, queen and young sultan quickly grow accustomed to life in our world. After all, it’s not too different from their’s and all three of them have the fortitude to get through any situation. They were even able to land decent jobs for a bunch of teenagers with no work history! Except Kalim. Kalim is a part-timer, but is really proud of himself for doing a good job.

- Riddle tried working part time with Kalim....it didn’t workout. He doesn’t understand the concept of good customer service or why it matters. The older house leaders (*cough* Vil and Azul *cough*) still insist that he try to land a job somewhere, anywhere! No luck though. Kid just isn’t suited for the workforce.

- Leona, Mal, and Idia are all home bound after a few run ins with people who thought they were cosplayers. Idia is perfectly content with this arrangement, even more so after Azul acquired a pretty good laptop for him don’t ask where it came from, just accept it and move on. Since then Idia has been able to get an online job that utilizes his tech skills quite well! The other two are supposed to be working on fixing the mirror and finding a way back home, but lion boy would rather laze around the apartment and leave all the work to Malleus.

- One day at work, Kalim was chatting away with a coworker and they happened to mention that they were planning on streaming a few movies on their day off and invited him to come hang out. Turns out his coworker is a Disney fan and had a Disney+ account. 😐 Three movies and a brisk jog through the rain later and Kalim is bursting through their shared apartment doorway, going on about the movies that totally twisted the stories of their seven house founders.

- The boys called in sick and spent the next day binge watching all seven of their respective animated films (and a few others, cause they had time. Kalim’s fav is Dumbo, btw). It was, for lack of a better description, an experience they can’t forget...no matter how hard they try... The stay at homers took it upon themselves to “study” this Disney’s apocryphal works while the others were at work (by study, I mean Leona spent 12 hrs on the couch watching tv while Mal and Idia actually looked stuff up on the internet).

- At some point, someone (*cough* Vil *cough*) decided to try googling their name. That’s when it happened. He found the Twisted Wonderland website. Vil didn’t know what to say, he just grabbed the nearest dorm leader and forced their eyes to the phone screen with his picture on it and let them figure it out from there. None of them had ever felt so exposed...so conflicted, mortified by the revelations detailed on the page. An existential crisis threatened to drown them on that day...

- But, they couldn’t stop there. They found us; they found the tumblr fandom.

- The “mature” leaders tried to argue that no one should be allowed to read or search into the subject anymore. But it was far too tempting, even for them! They looked; they read; they mocked each other and were mocked in return; they blushed so much, you would’ve thought they were watching hentai! In the end, they swore never to speak of it again.

- Crowley welcomed them home with that gaudy grin, asking how they enjoyed the trip. In full honesty, they didn’t think it was bad. Actually, sometimes, it was kinda nice not having to deal with their troublesome dorm mates. Of course they’d never admit that to him except Kalim who wouldn’t shut up about the snacks he tried and whatnot.

- They try not to let the information they learned while visiting in our world get to them. Then again, it’s difficult to completely trust those who could very well be destined to betray you....

The E-

WAIT!!!!!! This means Lilia, Rook, Trey, Ruggie, Jamil, Jade, and Ortho (by default) are in charge of the school dormitories for an extended period of time.

Wonder how they held up while the leaders were away... 😏

The End! -Maybe?

[freewheelshippin]

FIC: “be proud”

Let me indulge in the fantasy that I got to help, just a little bit, in making one of the only ballads on this earth I like. More “utapri characters that aren’t ranmaru” content than usual, especially Ai, since this is vaguely based on their Idol Songs album! 

Content warnings include an allusion to home invasion, Ranmaru’s usual backstory things (i.e. dealing with debt), and some eating/meal scenes. 

Ranmaru was surprised to receive the package, a fairly big box from someone he never expected to get mail from. Something in the pit of his stomach half-expected it to be everything he’d sent her, unused and returned to sender. 

For a second, he thought he was right. It was a similar array of trinkets and colors as the merch she’d designed for his album, but it quickly became obvious this wasn’t his merch, but hers. Trinkets from her shop, like patches and pins, and one of those handmade prints she liked making on weird paper. Candies he didn’t recognize, some American snacks he did, a little box of something that looked homemade with a hand-scrawled label on it. At the bottom, a shirt, printed with a cleaned version of an album art draft he’d especially liked but the agency didn’t approve. Folded within it, a note, written in English on one side and clumsy Japanese on the other. 

Yo, Kurosaki! 

I know I already messaged you thanks for sending me my comp copies of everything, but I wanted to return the favor! You really didn’t have to go out of your way get it to me like that, much less pack in all the other shit you did. But I’m glad you did! It arrived on the day I got another rejection, one I was really hoping would pan out. I got back all the time I would’ve spent feeling sorry for myself and instead just wanted to try again. That’s kind of the message I got from the sound of your album, so I guess it’s appropriate! 

Honestly, even if it was tough figuring things out sometimes, I had more fun on that job than any other one I can think of. You don’t have much to apologize for, I’ve survived way worse than some grumpy e-mails from a cool client, and you actually had pretty good feedback to offer. I think the end result was pretty metal. (Or well, rock, since it’s your shit, after all.) 

If you’re cool with it, I think it’d be fun to keep sharing our work with one another, outside of just being a client and artist. Get some fresh perspectives, you know? You know where to message me if you think so, too. 

-- M 

P.S. You’re the first person to get this custom pick I got designed. Be grateful (LOL). 

Taped to it, there was a pearlescent pick, red and black with white lettering. Ranmaru took it off, careful not to tear the paper, and ran his fingers over it. It wasn’t even close to the type he’d tolerate using if he wasn’t going to finger-pluck his bass. 

He clasped it in his hand, pausing for a moment, before he let out a ‘hmph,’ equal parts amused, relieved, and a little bit giddy. 

--------- 

“...Ranmaru,” Ai said, looking at him with those big saucer eyes. Sometimes Ranmaru felt like the guy never blinked, which made his curious once-overs scarier than he’d ever admit to. 

“What,” he growled back. 

“...according to every piece of data I know about you…” he started. He already didn’t like where this was going. “Nothing would point to you being the cell phone charm type.” 

“So?!” he barked, frowning at Ai as he self-consciously stuffed his phone into his pocket. It buzzed from a message notification, as if on disastrous cue, making a plasticy noise as it rattled against the charm. “What’s your data know about the real heart of people, anyway,” he continued, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. 

“It hasn’t been wrong about anything yet.” Ai tilted his head. “Why do you have a charm all of a sudden?” 

Because I saw she uses one of mine, Ranmaru answered frantically in his head, thinking back to the video chat they’d had where she showed it off. His hand was in his pocket, muffling his phone buzzing as more messages came in. He ran his fingers over the smooth pick, the subtle grooves where the letters were, the jagged hole he’d poked into it, the string that ran through it and knotted into a hole on his case.  Because she told me about how much she liked it, so I wanted to return the favor. 

“Why is this so goddamn important to you, Ai?” Ranmaru bristled. “Can’t we just get on with work already?” 

Ai stared at him a moment longer before shrugging slightly. “I’m simply curious. What would motivate you to act against your usual protocol seems interesting. But if you won’t tell me, I suppose there’s no use prying, especially when we have work to be done.” 

Ranmaru grunted back, leaning back to the table and looking over the notes. “We’re decided on what we wanna do for our duet, but we still have to decide on a direction for our solo songs on the album. Something that makes each of us stand out but doesn’t ruin the cohesiveness of the whole thing.” 

“You should do something slow,” Ai said, after a moment of thought. 

“Why should I?” Ai should know by now Ranmaru wasn’t about that sort of sound, especially when Ai already had the sad lullabies more than mastered. “Nothing about that’s very rock or wild. It won’t work with my image. Or do whatever that “gap” shit is that people like…” 

“Really?” Ai looked at him again. “Ballads are an intrinsic part of rock music, and wouldn’t it be ideal for communicating feelings that aren’t as energetic as your usual work?” 

“You should’ve just said power ballad in the first place,” Ranmaru grunted, but he had to admit it wasn’t a bad idea. “It’d work better with your usual style. And the duet, from how it’s going so far.” The biggest problem Ranmaru could think of was he couldn’t imagine what on earth he’d want to sing about in one. 

“Then it’s decided,” Ai said decisively. 

“...Oi, Ai, when did I say I agreed to this?” The kind of thing he’d rather shape into a ballad instead of his usual, urging style was a complete mystery, which Ranmaru didn’t like the idea of committing to in a partner project and on a deadline, even if it was months away. But like hell he’d admit that to someone else in Quartet Night, much less Ai, who’d just give him “logical” suggestions Ranmaru already knew he’d hate.  

“Was your reasoning not enough?” Ai tilted his head. Ranmaru met his eye. Something about the curiosity on that blank face felt less pointlessly prying this time. Now it was more like someone who just wanted to see something new. 

Ranmaru couldn’t fault him for that. And he was due to challenge himself in this way, anyways. 

“....Fine. Whatever. That means you can’t do your usual sentimental stuff. You should do something that’ll lift everyone up after the heaviness of the other songs.” 

“That sounds logical,” Ai replied. His eyes moved to Ranmaru’s pocket as it buzzed once again, but quickly turned back as they brainstormed ideas. 

-------- 

He wiped his eyes as he leaned back from the computer, surprised by how quickly and unbidden they came. He hastily tore up a strip of paper and hung it over the camera built into the laptop -- he knew it wasn’t on. This wasn’t a video call. But the idea of someone seeing him like this felt surreal and, frankly, too scary to confront right now. 

They chatted a lot more, now. It’d been about half a year since they’d started talking outside of work. It wasn’t just occasionally sharing art and music with each other anymore, either, it was a big stew of ideas, inspiration. A lot of breaking down what they liked in all the albums they shared with one another, and how they wanted to integrate all that in their work. Her siphoning gear and singing tips off of him, while she broke down expressions and visual composition to a science to help him out with modelling. And amid all that, something easygoing. Complaining about work, about weird clients, about shitty train rides, but also the nice parts of their days, too. 

He’d gotten short with her today, and she got frustrated with him. They argued -- for the first time since they’d tossed aside client-and-professional for friends-and-colleagues -- and it turned out she was as passionate a spitfire as he, assuming she got in the right mood. 

And in the middle of all that furious typing, she paused. 

M: You know, it’s kind of relieving to argue with you like this. 

Ranmaru was so startled, he forgot the point he was making. 

R: what the hell are you talking about?

M: oh, come on, we both know I’ve used diplomacy to handle your grouchiness before, and that worked fine enough then. But I just appreciate that I trust you enough to not take such a safe approach, for once, and the thing you’re most upset about is that I didn’t feel comfortable calling you out on your horseshit sooner.

Ranmaru didn’t have an answer for that as she typed on and off. He imagined if this were a verbal conversation, this would be the point where he’d just listen while she strung her thoughts together -- wordily, but getting to good enough of a point that it was worth letting her meander. 

Instead, she cut right to a point he wasn’t expecting. 

M: hey, I’m not taking back anything I said, but I probably should’ve asked sooner. Are you doing OK? You always get stuck in asshole mode for a reason. I don’t have classes to teach today, so you can bend my ear if you need to. even on voice chat, if you like, japanese or english. 

An uncomfortable wave of relief washed over him. He hadn’t told her about it, but things were the kind of stressful that pushed his stoic approach to its limits. Too many deadlines at work. Too many people there talking, too few saying anything he gave a damn about. Money was tight this month -- the debt collectors suddenly hiked up what he owed, and they’d banged down his door to “tell” him that. And another shitty argument with Camus, after he “freed” all his bananas for some ridiculous flambe parfait he just had to have for lunch on a day when Ranmaru couldn’t afford any. 

This was just how things were. Why was he upset about it now? He was beyond cursing how things had turned out for him. Making useless wishes when there wasn’t anything to do but work and survive until he didn’t have anything to lament. 

M: alright that’s a suspiciously long amount of time between messages for you when you’re riled up. are you OK? It’s fine if you’re not, and it’s fine if you don’t wanna talk to me about it, but i’m here if you want. If something’s really eating at you, that’s more important than me being mad. (for now, anyway)

It felt surreal as he leaned back to the computer and felt his fingers find the keys as he started finding the right words. 

R: it’s not a light subject R: and it’s not on you to deal with it M: LOL bro c’mon. M: I eat heavy for breakfast, and I said I’m here for you. M: lay it on me

He wiped his tears away with his sleeve. It’d been long enough since he’d cried that he didn’t even think about how it’d smudge his makeup and stain his clothes, but he didn’t especially care as he started to explain himself, the words coming out hesitantly until they coalesced into a small cascade of short, tight sentences, heavy with years of restrained sorrow he’d ignored so aggressively until now. 

--------- 

Recording Haruhana went well. Ranmaru expected it to, somewhat. Ai’s cold problem-solving could be annoying, but they never got in the way of the heart of his vocals. Their voices blended into an interesting harmony, and the acoustic guitar bridged their styles into a bittersweet sound they slipped into easily enough that recording sessions went uneventfully. 

“It does not surprise me, but.“ Ranmaru couldn’t bring himself to outright glower at Ai as they stopped recording and stepped away from the mics. “You’re very good at conjuring a strong, wistful image with your voice.” 

“Then why do you look surprised…” he grunted back, loosening and lowering the mic for whoever had it next. “...You do it well, too, but we already knew that.” 

“The heart of things you’re so obsessed with,” he said plainly. “It wouldn’t do if we couldn’t bring truth to the emotions we write about.” 

Ranmaru hadn’t given much thought to why Ai’s songs were so lamenting and sad, for the most part. He’d acknowledged they were genuine, had a tone color that suited him right, and made the fans happy. Truthfully, he’d only thought of those songs in the context of work -- Ai was a rival and a colleague he respected enough to sing with and not want to lose to, so he’d only looked at his songs from that standpoint, too. But Ranmaru realized better, now, just how good Ai was at sharing sadness that wasn’t so heavy it dragged people down with it. Wistfulness that grasped forward towards something, like a greater understanding. 

“How’s the ballad going?” 

Ranmaru clicked his tongue. “How’s your synthpop bubblegum bullshit going?” he shot back. 

“Well,” Ai replied, unfazed. “I have the chord progressions and kits mapped out.” 

“Good for you, then,” he grunted back. Great. So Ai was making good progress while Ranmaru hadn’t made any. 

“Are you struggling?” 

“Isn’t that the point of a ballad?!” Hopefully Ai couldn’t argue with that and would leave him alone from there.  

“Shouldn’t you defer to a composer or lyricist if you’re stuck?” 

Ranmaru glared at Ai. “If it’s a ballad, I should write it myself, not leave it to someone who’s just gonna put words and music I don’t mean into my mouth.” 

“Past data suggests you won’t back down about this,” Ai said smoothly, stacking the notes and papers they’d brought into the studio neatly. “I suppose I should wish you luck, in that case, and remind you this is my album, too, and it’s the fans who are most important.” 

“I know that,” Ranmaru spat, long done fussing with the mic. 

*************

R: you hate ballads, right  M: I sure do! :D  R: why  M: too slow for my tastes, sentimentality done like that isn’t my thing, don’t always feel genuine, you know   R: that’s literally every problem i have with the big project at work right now M: oh no you have to make a ballad?? Like….poppy enough for shining agency and all that? Oh boy.... R: what’s your advice to making a ballad you don’t hate, then  M: HMMMMMMMMMMMMM M: pass a kidney stone  M: WAIT RANDY COME BACK I’LL HELP FOR REAL  R: If you want to help why are you calling me randy?!  M: suffering is the root of all good ballads. I’m helping   R: can you at least remind me what the one ballad you like is  M: oh, turn on your light  M: judas priest M: it’s always judas priest  R: so why don’t you hate it R: other than it’s judas priest  M: oh, nothing big  M: my first gf just made me a mixtape and confessed with it is all M: and that was my entry point into western metal  M: sealing my fate forever as a queer metalhead and thereby forming the foundation of all my aesthetic, social, musical, and auditory sensibilities forevermore M: and some other stuff  R: oh is that all   “We are about to arrive at ____ station, please make your way to the doors if your stop is ____ station....” 

R: what’s the other stuff M: oh dw about it  M: it’s, you know, the stuff everyone brings to listening. the mushy baggage that lets ‘em connect with strangers. you know how it is

The train arrived right after that message went through, and he had to put his phone away over questioning her further. Recently, he’d felt more irritated with himself than usual. He knew he got this way when he felt he owed someone and hadn’t done his part to even the score. 

He was kind of in the same camp as she when it came to slow songs. Rock was about energy, passion, an urging sense of power, and even if he could understand why those slower songs were important, it didn’t mean they had to always resonate with him. He thought about their exchange. She dropped art into their chats a lot because, as she insisted, it helped having a musician look at her work, instead of another illustrator. And he liked her perspective for the same reason -- more personal than a fan, but more refreshing than everyone else at the agency. 

Really, it sounded like what made the ballad feel genuine was the context she could apply. It wasn’t just a song, but a personal gesture that singled her out from the millions of other people who’d hear the song and imagine it was for them. 

Ranmaru frowned as he exited the train station. The solution to his ballad problem was simple, so obvious he felt stupid for overlooking it. If he expected people to connect to his music, he had to give people something to connect to. All he had to do was what he always did -- just go for what his heart told him to. No frills, no fancy trimmings, just something he wanted to honestly express. 

He strung basslines in his head as he walked to his apartment. Let the music-making guide him, instead of demanding it follow rigid instructions. As he pushed the key into the lock, he caught the faint stain of his eyeliner on his sleeve. 

Don’t look at me … while I dry my eyes....

His stomach lurched a little, but moreso he felt his body surge with the truth of the song he wanted to write. The same rush of a surging venue, somehow, but with the kind of wistfulness and earnest desire he appreciated in Ai’s work more now. 

Tama had started to squeeze through the little crack in the door, investigating why Ranmaru had just stood there like an idiot for so long. 

“...c’mon, you little dope,” Ranmaru said softly, surprised how breathy he needed to keep his voice to get past the tightness in his chest. He squatted down, scooped the soft little creature up, and walked straight to his workspace. He did the once-over his apartment he’d gotten in recent habit of, seeing if anything had been seized by the collectors while he was gone, before depositing Tama on a cat tree where Mike was sitting. He hummed a melody that was quickly taking shape, his hands barely keeping up as he grabbed a scrap of paper, scrawling notes as fast as his hands would let him. 

*******************

Reiji looked up at Ranmaru in disbelief. Ranmaru scowled back. 

“If you don’t want it,” he growled, reaching for the box he’d put in front of Reiji. “I’ll fucking take it back.” 

“No! No no no, Ranran, I’m so grateful!” Reiji exclaimed, scrambling to slide it out of Ranmaru’s reach. 

“Humph! If I didn’t know of your peasant tastes,” Camus started from across the table. “I’d just tell you you’re better off skipping this slop.” 

“Oi!” Ranmaru pointed a spoon threateningly at Camus. “You don’t have to eat, asshole! You still owe me for ruining my bananas, and as far as I’m concerned this just means you owe me another meal!” 

“You think your pauper’s tongue deserves the fineries I’d select, I see,” Camus said challengingly, tilting his head and crossing his legs. Ranmaru was a hair trigger away from just throwing the box with Camus’s portion right at him. Maybe it’d ruin that stupid suit and he’d learn to shut up. 

“He-heeeey, Ranran, everything smells super good….I’m so excited to dig right in, but are those sauces I see?” Reiji interrupted. Ranmaru clenched his fist around the spoon as he turned his glower towards him.

He slammed the spoon down in front of Reiji. “Which sauce do you want, the spicy chili one or ketchup,” he managed through gritted teeth. 

“O- ohhh, wow! So gourmet! We have options!” Reiji cheered, in that singsongy way he did when he was trying to smooth over disasters. “Ranran, I knew you could cook, but I never knew you were so talented! I wonder what’s in ---” Ranmaru was losing his patience, and he grabbed the bottle of homemade chili sauce, hovering it above Reiji’s portion. The bottle sputtered as the air escaped, and Ranmaru’s grip threatened to explode the whole thing right then and there. “ -- I’ll have just a little bit of the spicy one, haha…” 

Ranmaru held his gaze a moment more before he focused back on the food, squeezing a reasonable amount onto Reiji’s portion. He opened the box with Camus’s, already dressed with a mountain of sweet chili sauce, stabbed the spoon into it, and slid it over. 

“Is this omurice?” Ai asked. Ranmaru handed him his own box.

“Is the rice in the omelet?” he grunted. “It’s just a stuffed omelet you eat with rice.” 

“Mm-mm! So good! I’ve never had spices quite like these! Is this a secret specialty dish you’ve been hoarding to yourself?” 

Ranmaru, at this point, just wanted to sit down and eat. “No,” he grumbled, hoping they’d get the picture. 

“I can’t recognize this preparation against any recipe I know of. Did you make it up yourself?” 

“It’s one from a friend, alright? She sent me a bunch of chilis and herbs and I had to make something to use them all up. If you don’t like it, then you don’t have to eat it. Stop asking questions and let me eat!” 

They ate quietly for a while, much to Ranmaru’s relief. Camus, of all people, was the one to end the silence. 

“Kurosaki,” he said, taking an odd tone for a conversation with Ranmaru. “....You will share the recipe for this sauce immediately,” he said, an odd hush to his voice. 

“And what if I don’t,” Ranmaru sneered back, feeling just a little smug. “You gonna pass out from a sugar crash and finally give me some peace?” 

Before Camus finished his reply, Ranmaru took a bottle from his bag and tossed it at Camus, who disappointingly kept his composure through the surprise. “Maybe you’ll learn to eat some meat, now that you’ve got a way to slather it in sugar.” 

The rest of Quartet Night all stopped again in surprise, the same way they did when Ranmaru said he’d made them all lunch for today. Their eyes burned on Ranmaru as he went back to his meal, and he tried very, very hard to not let it bother him. 

“...Ranran, you’ve been acting different lately. Did you--” 

“No,” he growled. “Whatever you think it is, no.” 

****************************** 

M: oh dang M: wow dude M: i really don’t know what to say 

Ranmaru stared at his phone in the dark, waiting as feedback from the other side of the world came in. 

M: you fucking nailed it. I don’t know how you did it, like a week ago this wasn’t anything. M: now it’s a whole new side of you i don’t think your discography’s shown off yet  M: the fans are gonna go apeshit 

The rest of the song came to him in the kind of exciting, passionate fervor where his hands couldn’t keep up with the ideas. The melody followed the bassline very naturally, peppered in by flashes of lyrics that slowly built and reorganized themselves. And from there, more instrumentation became evident. What he had now was just enough to make the soul of the song clear, finished late tonight in the studio. 

Already his head was filled with what more he could add, but they blended into blur of ideas he was too tired to separate. 

M: can I confess something? I mean, i don’t know why I’m asking, you’re probably already asleep  M: what you have here already made me cry a little bit  M: i don’t know what you did, but you made a ballad that works so well. It really feels personal and so full of the soul everyone loves you for, but there’s something really sad and kind in there that makes my heart squeeze.  M: and that’s even in the lyrics! (what i can understand of them, anyway haha) but you know how saccharine I find ballad lyrics most of the time!!!   M: then again, it is you. I don’t think there’s anything you could ever make that would feel disingenuous lmao  M: is it too late to ask if i can illustrate this album too....would Ai and the agency let me do that…. M: i can draw something that’s soft and rock as shit!!!!  M: anyways M: you’re probably dead asleep but just know this: good work, dude.  M: it really felt like you were saying something very heartfelt, even in this rough cut, and i think how personal that voice is is gonna make everyone feel such a feeling.  M: it sure made me feel one!

He locked his phone, tearing himself away from the slow stream of messages coming in. He laid on his back, phone facedown in the blanket, as he stared up into the dark swallowing the room back up again. Every part of his body felt like it was on fire, burning to get back into the studio. 

The lyrics weren’t complete yet. He wasn’t the poetic type, so it’s not as if he’d let himself overthink his words and lose their heart in too many revisions, but there were still blanks. The phrase that’d pull it all together, the words that summarized the message of the song, they still weren’t there, but he could feel himself getting closer. 

It was about paying an unspoken debt, and it was about shame, but above all, it was about pride. In himself, for letting himself reach this point, and in someone else. That was the sort of connection he could sing himself to tears with, whether on the stage, the studio, or the clean, edited album, and for that, he was proud. 

[experimentalmadness]

A Bad Bet

Heyo, back with more Harvey/Jacky one-shots. Y’all have been so nice in sharing and liking these little stories. Thank you! :D If you’re looking for more content with this bonkers OC you can check out her tag here. 

---

“What is it that you want to do, Jacky?”

She was busy cleaning off the espresso machine before getting started on wiping down the counter. Most of the lights were off except for the ones in the front. She could hear rain coming down from outside, one of those sudden summer downpours. The AC was on high in the bakery and it was a rare Gotham night that actually made her happy to live in this city.

“Break into this whiskey after I count out the till?” she smiled to herself, casting a glance at the one lone customer left in the shop.

Harvey Dent sat at a corner table, surrounded by papers, books, and a laptop. He’d been held up in that position since he’d come in from his office three hours ago. “That’s not what I meant,” he clarified, wagging a pen in her direction.

“You’re using me to procrastinate, Harv,” Jacky countered, ducking down to get at the cabinets below the register.

“C’mon, humor me.”

She grinned at the sound of his voice, even though she couldn’t see him. “I dunno,” she said as she cleaned. “Keeping this place together is about all I can handle.”

“You told me this was always your sister’s dream, and Miri’s clearly better at it.”

“Excuse me?” Jacky popped her head back up, glaring at the smug man across the way. “Who exactly has been making you coffee for the last few hours?”

Oh, the crimes she was capable of committing to get a smile out of that man. He’d been so stressed recently with the DA elections, the move to get Maroni behind bars, the only time she saw him now was when he was using her shop as a work space after hours. And then only because Gilda was already drowning in his paperwork that he left around their apartment, and he knew full well Jacky would ply him with better coffee than whatever he was getting in his office.

“Okay, alright, I’ve thought about going back to school sometimes. Not sure for what, but...nah it’s stupid.” Jacky shook her head waving off Harvey’s renewed enthusiasm at her answer. “When would I have time to do that, anyway?”

It took most of her extra funds just to keep the place running, not to mention Miri’s medical expenses. Something told her Falcone wouldn’t be too keen on funding his hitwoman’s college funds. Even the idea seemed absurd.

“I don’t think it’s stupid at all,” Harvey’s voice cut through the despairing thoughts rattling around in Jacky’s head. “Take some courses at Gotham U at night if you have to.”

Sure, only doing prime working hours. Jacky rolled her eyes, grateful she had the distance of the counter as Harvey came over. He had that conspiratorial look in his eyes.

“No way,” she said, poking him in the chest “And stop procrastinating so I can close up.”

Harvey pulled out the silver dollar he kept in his pocket. She knew instantly what he was going to do. That little coin flip routine of his was so incredibly cheesy. And charming. He leaned over the counter. “Make a little bet with me, Jacky.”

“Seriously, Harvey, I’m happy with the way things are,” she lied through her teeth as those blue eyes trapped her in place.

“Heads you’ll at least put in an application. Tails, you win and you can stay working in your sister’s place and I’ll never bring this up again. Ready?”

“You’re not getting any more free drinks from me, Harv,” Jacky teased, watching him toss the coin up in the air.

Harvey didn’t even watch the coin, opting instead to give Jacky a wink as he caught it one-handed. He kept his hand closed tightly around the coin as another devious smile stole across his face. “What do you want it to be, Jacky?”

The bell over the door to the shop chimed and Jacky’s good mood vanished as Carmine Falcone flanked by two of his men stepped into the shop. She dropped the rag and immediately straightened up, leaning away from the counter where she had been inches from conspiring with the new would-be DA. “Mr. Falcone, I was just about to close up for the night.”

Taking his cues from Jacky, Harvey also stepped aside. She watched an unnerving illusion steal across Harvey’s face, wiping away any visible markers of her friend. Those bright blue eyes went ice cold. The smile vanished into a thin, hard line. He pocketed the coin, but his hands were still balled into fists.

Falcone did not seem phased in the least. He assessed the other customer in the shop with a cursory glance and a civil nod before reverting his attention back to Jacky. “You’re closed now. Tell your last customer to get out.”

“Of course. Mr. Dent, I apologize for the inconvenience, but if you would—?”  

“Like hell,” Harvey snarled.

Oh no, not here, not now. Tension gave Jacky a spine of iron as she stepped around the counter. “Let me just help you gather your things.” Her voice was impossibly even, calm, and devoid of all emotion.

Harvey looked as if he was about to haul off and clock Falcone across the face. Jacky saw every outcome in between those seconds of her moving towards the table. The two men with Falcone would pull out their concealed revolvers and shoot Harvey, multiple times, even though they were good enough to kill him with one bullet. Then she’d be told to clean up the blood, and at this distance she’d be coated in it herself. Or, Harvey would swing, and they’d only kneecap him and she’d watch as he’d be dragged into the car that was no doubt out front. Then she’d be getting in. They’d go to a warehouse on the docks, somewhere secure where Falcone would tell Jacky to kill him. To make an example of him. Jacky could not make her mind imagine the look on Harvey’s face.

Mechanically she swept up the papers, closed the laptop, took the books and shoved as much as she could into his briefcase, all the while watching as Falcone and Harvey stared one another down. “Mr. Dent, if you would?” her teeth were going to break if she had to keep talking to him like this. “I’d hate to damage something valuable,” she held out the case.

A small line of tension released as Harvey took a step towards her, breaking contact with Falcone. He took the briefcase, grabbing her wrist at the same time. “Please,” Jacky whispered as quietly as she could, keeping her face neutral, impassive. She did not know this man, he was just a customer, and if Falcone so much as saw her twitch in recognition they’d both be dead tonight. “Go.”

Harvey’s grip tightened on her arm, his head gave a small shake. “Jacky…”

“Thank you so much for coming,” she pulled out of his grasp and opened the door for him. Every second he hesitated she saw new ways he’d die tonight. He hadn’t even been elected DA yet and every crime family in Gotham knew Harvey Dent. Falcone had been ranting about him for weeks. Even if they both did everything right tonight Falcone could still decide the timing was too perfect. He was alone. And Jacky was right there, and she had her gun under the counter. All Falcone had to do was give the word.

But Harvey was going to walk out of here tonight and she was going to see him alive tomorrow if it was the only decent thing she ever did in her life.

He walked slowly, mechanically towards the door. Murderous intent radiating with every step away from Falcone. In his eyes, she saw the promise of violence and worry, raw and palpable for her. He didn’t know this was only a surprise business meeting. He’d think the worst. On any other night, if it were any other scenario this city had to offer, Jacky would let that tug on already vulnerable heartstrings. The second he was beyond the threshold she slammed the door shut, bolting it. He lingered at the window while Jacky frantically tried to tell him to leave with only her eyes.

“It’s late, Mr. Falcone,” she said, turning back to her boss with a friendly smile. “I can still get you something if you’d like.”

He never came to the shop after hours.

He or his boys would come by during the day and Miri, smart as whip, knew it was in her best interest to keep them happy. She never questioned why Falcone’s men frequented her little bakery. It was Gotham.

“Take a seat, Miss Ripley,” Falcone gestured to her own table as he pulled up a chair.

This wasn’t a business meeting.

Jacky sat down as the two other men took up space on either side of her. She recognized them both, but they wouldn’t make eye contact. Falcone rifled through a briefcase of his own before he pulled out yesterday’s paper and laid it flat on the table. And Jacky felt real fear lock her limbs into place.

The splashy page six spread had a picture in black and white of her and Harvey Dent dancing at Wayne Manor. Jacky had cut a clip of it and stashed it in a shoebox under her bed in her room. She liked the woman in that photo, happy, carefree. She liked how the photographer managed to get the shot where Harvey was laughing at a stupid joke she had told. She liked how Harvey had been right and that getting her name in the Gazette had been leading to a slight bump in customers. It almost looked like a little window into a world where a girl like her belonged with a man like Harvey Dent.

“You’re moving up in the world, Miss Ripley,” Falcone said, reminding her exactly why a girl like her could never belong to a man like Harvey. “You’ve gotten some friends in rather high places.”

“Mr. Falcone, I had to accept that invite...it was good for the shop—”

“What have you been telling that lawyer?”

“Nothing! Jesus, sir, I wouldn’t do that after all you’ve done for me and my family. Look, he comes into the shop. We’re near the courthouse, what can I do? I gotta make nice when I’m helping Miri out.” Somehow Jacky managed to keep her voice calm while her heart hammered through her ribs.

“You see why this makes me nervous?” Falcone sat back, eyeing her with a look of disappointment.

“I do, Mr. Falcone,” she nodded a little too vigorously.

“And then I come in and see him here,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Jacky, what are we going to do about this little problem?”

“Look, you want him gone, boss, I’ll tell him he can’t come back to the shop.”

“I suspect that’s not going to work the way you think, Miss Ripley. Your knight in shining armor is still watching us.”

Jacky forced herself to turn around slowly. Sure enough, there was Harvey, looming in the rain-soaked night under the street lamp. What was the idiot thinking? “You know what that tells me, Ripley? It tells me you and Mr. Dent have a rather cozy relationship. And that’s what troubles me.”

“Mr. Falcone, have I ever done you wrong?” She was betting on a lot here, punching way above her weight.

“No,” he replied, settling back against the chair, folding his hands on his lap.

“Ever had a job go bad? Ever compromised your family?” Jacky turned back to face him, locking eyes with him, feigning something that tasted like bravery. Falcone shook his head to each of her questions. “Then why would I do something so phenomenally stupid now? He’s a customer, Mr. Falcone, nothing more.”

“While we’re keeping score here, Ripley, do me the courtesy of not lying to me.”

“Sir, I’m—”

“He’s not just a customer.”

Jacky’s impassive eyes went wide ever so slightly. It was enough. “...no…” she whispered.

“You’ve been quite friendly for...two years by my count. Now, Mr. Dent wasn’t much of a problem until his recent forays onto the political stage. I could overlook your dealings with a prosecutor because, as you said, your loyalty and work have always been impeccable. You’re a smart girl, Ripley. You know what happens next.”

Jacky sagged in the chair. “Don’t...don’t take it out on the shop, Mr. Falcone. This is Miri’s place, not mine. She’s been nothing but good to you and she doesn’t know...she doesn’t know, Mr. Falcone. Now look, I’ll sit here and take it. I know it’s business. I’ll fix this after, you know I will.”

Falcone stood up from his chair, rapping his knuckles on the wooden tabletop. “You see that’s why I’ve always liked you, Ripley. You have a sense of honor, however small,” he put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll leave the shop as is. Your sister’s a fine woman, none of us want to upset her, do we boys?”

The two men on either side of Jacky shook their heads. Falcone made his way to the door. “Your knight seems to have left you, Miss Ripley,” he remarked as he stared out onto the empty street. “If he comes back I’m afraid we’ll be revisiting upsetting that sister of yours. Good night, Jacqueline.”

***

It wasn’t as bad as she had thought.

The men had only broken one table.

And Jacky guessed they’d only broken two of her ribs. Fair deal.

She sat, slumped, against the wrecked table legs, blood dripping from a cut above her forehead. Her nose was broken. Again. She poked her tongue around her mouth. No missing teeth, at least. All things considered, she’d gotten off easy. She’d have a nasty black eye and a swollen jaw for a few days and the rest of Falcone’s crew would know exactly what happened to her next time they saw her. Lesson well learned.

She was just contemplating getting to her feet and cleaning the place up before Miri could come home when she heard a bang from the back door. It repeated in quick succession as Jacky hauled herself upright, on hand clutching her ribs as she hobbled to the counter for her revolver. This night just didn’t want to end. The banging turned frantic as the door suddenly crashed over, hanging off its hinges, leaning awkwardly against the baking trays stacked up on the sink.

Jacky already had the gun out. If it was Falcone’s men coming back for the actual jump, she’d fire first, beg forgiveness later. If Falcone wanted her dead he ought to have shot her while she was still sitting in the chair expecting a business deal.

She dropped the gun as Harvey Dent came careening into the shop.

He was soaking wet, panting, and looked about as unhinged as the door. Jacky had enough time to back up against the counter as Harvey lunged for her. “You have to get out,” she choked through gritted teeth.

Not even an hour ago she would have killed someone herself to get him to so much as accidentally brush a finger against her. Now he had a whole arm around her shoulders as he pushed her into a chair. “How in deep are you, Jacky?”

“Harvey, get out, go home, I’ve got this under control,” she waved his hand away as he reached out to assess her injuries.

Someone was probably still watching the shop. The lights were all one, the blinds open. Anyone could see right in.

“Falcone’s got most of the businesses in Gotham paying protection, you don’t think I know that? Why didn’t you tell me he’d gotten a hold of this place? Jacky, I can help—”

“Help me by going home and telling Gilda I have to cancel our plans tomorrow,” Jacky grunted. She wasn’t going to be making any outings anytime soon. And she still had to come up with a story before Miri got back from the movies with her friends.

Harvey fumbled for the cell in his pocket. “What are you doing?” Jacky groaned as he put in a call. “I’m not going to a hospital if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Hey Jim,” Harvey said, ignoring her, “Yeah I know it’s late, but I need a squad down on 9th and—”

Jacky surged out the chair, ribs screaming as she knocked the phone out of Harvey’s hands. “Falcone gets even a fucking whiff of cops around my place and you’ll have killed me sure as the gun he gets to off me.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this, Jacky,” Harvey retrieved the fallen phone, the call having already been ended, thank God. “I’m going to get them off these streets. Falcone, Maroni, I’m taking them all down.”

“Yeah, but not tonight,” Jacky sat back in the chair. She’d heard the speech before, but never with this much bite. She doubted this much anger would play well with voters.

“This is our city and we’re gonna show them exactly what happens when they go after what’s ours.”

Jacky didn’t think the knock she took to her head was that bad, but that did not sound like Harvey’s voice. It was a guttural growl, a nasty little threat that was league’s away from the man who had been teasing her about going back to college. He shook his head, a hand going up to his brow as if he was shocked by what he had admitted.

“Go home, Harvey.”

Those blue eyes were looking to trap her again, make her say things she barely cared to admit to herself. She’d never seen them look that helpless. Harvey had a plan for everything, had to help everyone, always ready with the magical solution making life seem easy. And in a perfect world if she was just a down on her luck working class gal who had made the wrong deal with the wrong guy she’d leap at the chance to have a man like him solve all her problems. But the solution here was that neat little jail cell she knew was coming. Selfishly, she just wanted a few more days where he looked at her like she was someone worth saving.

“I think you should come with me, we’ll call Miri, and you two can stay at Gilda’s and mine’s until—”

“You know what I think?” Her ribs hurt too much to start crying. “I think...maybe it’s better if you don’t come by the shop for a few days.”

“You can’t let that man dictate your life, Jacky,” Harvey took a step towards her as Jacky flinched back in the chair. If he touched her now she’d crack, fall apart like a house of cards and ruin everything.

“It’s not for my life that I’m asking.”

She let that hang between them as Harvey slowly nodded, turning to leave. “I’ll...I’ll, ah, get the door fixed for you.”

Jacky laughed so hard her chest heaved and tears fell down her cheeks. “Harvey?” His face was blurry in her washed out vision. “Just so you know...I really wanted it to be heads.”

[wordywarriorwrites]

Chapter 14: Vortex

Masterlist: The Boss of Brooklyn  A03 Story Link Author: @wordywarriorwrites Summary: When it comes to being The Boss, James Buchanan “JB” Barnes rules with an iron fist. For him, there’s no room for sentiment, and certainly no time for distraction, even if it is in the form of an old flame. Steve Rogers had bowed out of the life a long time ago, but a twist of fate brings him right back into the fold, and face-to-face with a man he once loved. When a game of cat and mouse turns into a matter of life and death, both will be forced to decide whether they’ll be loyal to the business, or faithful to each other. A/N: Bucky Barnes Mob Boss AU. Stucky. For: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan Star’s Multi-Fandom Follower Celebration with the prompt, “Why did you do it?” & @sherrybaby14 Sherry’s Fall Into You Challenge with the prompt, “Show me. Prove that you can handle me.” Warnings: Language, violence, drug use, alcohol, smoking, explicit sexual content, illegal activities. *Re-blogs are welcome. Plagiarism isn’t. *

The McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Glaring Cirque du Soleil posters, cheesy merchandise, overpriced grub, and soul-sucking slot machines.

Steve didn’t really much care for all the bells, whistles, and neon lights, but since he hadn’t quite decided where he was headed to next, he parked his ass at a bar, and ordered a drink. And when it was gone? Well, it didn’t take long for the bartender to pour him another. And another. And another.

The Families’ forefathers had never had a problem executing traitors. Theirs was very much a world of talk-shit, get hit, and people who stepped out of line were either put in their place or sent to their grave. Many generations had come and gone, but things hadn’t changed that much; there were some things that could not be ignored or forgiven, and they still dispensed brutal, bloody justice.

Nick had truly believed he possessed more than enough power and authority to guarantee nobody on his team would ever go rogue. He’d had a solid, profitable game going, but he wasn’t complacent, and he sure as hell wasn’t stupid. Maria may have had other people do the dirty work for her, but Fury would’ve eventually seen past the subterfuge, and the end result would’ve been the same.

All Steve did was make it happen sooner, rather than later.

Somewhere after shot number five – that’s when it dawned on him. None of it mattered anymore. Fury wanted to retire anyway, so, he’d walk, take his fortune with him, and more than likely collect on an annual finder’s fee from the Families. Since they didn’t like to waste talent or opportunities, the business and rest of the crew would probably be absorbed, and given Natasha’s propensity for turning shit piles into gold, she’d probably be sent in to run things.

At the end of shot number six, he realized something even more groundbreaking – he was truly free. For the first time in his adult life, he didn’t have to answer to anyone, and could do what he wanted. He could stop running and hiding, vacate his seat with the Families, and finally get out for good.

“Drinking to victory or drowning your sorrows?”

Steve groaned and sat his tumbler down, “How did you find me?”

Natasha perched on the stool beside him, “You forgot to toss your phone after you called Thor.”

He sighed, retrieved his cell from his pocket, and took out the battery. Steve also removed the memory card and snapped it in half.

“What do you want?” he muttered.

“You need to come back with me,” she said quietly.  

“No, I don’t.”

“This isn’t a request, Steve -- it’s an order.”

“I don’t take orders from you. And I don’t take orders from him, either.”  

Natasha attempted to argue her case, but he didn’t listen. Instead, Steve hailed the bartender, and asked for his bill. He put enough cash down to cover the tab and a generous tip, but before he could get to his feet, she placed a hand on his forearm, and held tight.

“Let go of me,” he bit out warningly. “Or I’ll break your fucking hand.”

“Hey, that’s no way to talk to a lady.”

As soon as he heard Sam’s voice, Steve closed his eyes, and forced himself to count backward from ten. He should’ve known Natasha would bring backup for the ambush. Steve considered trying to make a run for it, but he couldn’t escape them without causing a scene, and the booze he’d dumped down his gullet had made him a tad unsteady on his feet.

For the next five hours, Steve remained miserably sandwiched between. When they landed in Brooklyn, Bruce was there to pick them up, but whatever happened after the show got on the road was a complete blank. He must’ve either fallen asleep or simply passed out, because when he came to, he was no longer in the car, and had no clue where he’d ended up.

The only thing Steve knew when he woke was that he was still a little drunk, a lot pissed off, and whoever put him to bed had taken the trouble to undress him and cover him with a sheet. A clock on the nightstand revealed it was almost ten in the morning, and though Steve wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, he was hungry, and reeked of booze. The combination made him queasy, which prompted him to hobble out of bed, and weave his way to the adjacent bathroom.

An overhead light kicked on automatically, and when he entered, he found his clothes, which had been washed, primly folded, and stacked in neat a pile on the left side of the sink’s oversized countertop. Lined up in a row on the opposite side were a fresh towel, a packet of Tylenol, a bottle of water, a new toothbrush, and a box of toothpaste. After he utilized the facilities and the hangover kit, Steve fired up the hot water, and stepped into the shower stall.

On a recessed shelf beneath the showerhead was a bottle of shampoo and an unused bar of soap. As soon as the fog lifted a bit, he set about getting cleaned up, and when the scents of Oribe Signature and Côte d'Azur filled the air, he knew precisely where he was.

He finished up quickly, and as he dried off and got dressed, Steve clocked it all. The Sauvage cologne tucked behind a box of tissues; a rolled-up wad of what had to be at least five-grand in the medicine cabinet; the fully-loaded nine-millimeter behind the toilet tank; a switch blade hidden in a basket of haircare product; an interconnected walk-in closet filled to the brim with posh labels, custom tailoring, and an alarming amount of shoes.

Heady, menacing, and rich as fucking Croesus – yeah, he was in the King’s castle all right, and His Majesty was using the trappings and authority of his position to fuck with his head.  

Instead of waiting to be summoned, he headed back toward the bedroom, and out into the hall. He made it all of three steps when he heard Bucky’s voice, and the low-timbered tone was hard-edged and steadily rising in volume. When Steve entered the living area, he found Natasha typing furiously on a laptop, and the reason for her strained expression was revealed when Bucky began bellowing at the top of his lungs.

“Don’t give me that shit!” he roared. “You do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it!”

Steve rolled his eyes and headed to the kitchen. Situated in the middle of the island was a bowl of apples, and after he snagged one, he took it to the sink to wash it. Bucky carried on with his tirade, never once paused for breath, and it wasn’t until Steve took a seat at the counter that Bucky even realized he’d entered the room.

Even though the man was still busy ranting, Steve knew he was the one who had his full attention. Bucky had always had a bit of a knife kink, and he’d been using a paring blade to cut away pieces of the fruit, and eating the slices directly off the steel. When there was nothing left but the core and seeds, Steve opened his mouth, and very carefully dragged the knife from bolster to spine slowly along his tongue.

“Stop it,” Bucky barked curtly.

Steve jutted his chin, “Or what?”

Any challenge issued could not be ignored, and he did what Steve predicted he’d do; he hung up on whoever he’d been shouting at, and stalked toward him. Bucky tried to intimidate him by crowding him, but he didn’t balk; he simply quirked an eyebrow and waited for him to make a move.

Crisp, white dress shirt strained against heavy muscle; haphazard tie; disheveled hair; eyes bright and a little too wild. It would’ve been easy to assume Bucky was either strung out or about to take a swing, but the lust-blown gaze, flushed cheeks, and damp brow suggested he had something else on his mind.

If they were alone, Bucky would have tried climbed him like a fucking tree, and he knew it.

Steve vividly recalled the last time they’d gone at each other’s throats, and while Bucky was looking for a repeat, Steve wasn’t. He was trying to get out, not drawn back in, and there was just too much history, bad blood, and unresolved hostility between them. Behind the passion was a lot of underlying rage and ugliness; it had been left to fester like an unattended wound, and sex – no matter how mind-blowing – wasn’t going to heal it.

“Boss,” Natasha called out from the living room. “We don’t have time for this.”

Much to his relief, the subtle reminder was all it took for Bucky to come to his senses, dial it down, and take a step back. He ordered Natasha to finish making transportation and flight arrangements before he spun on a heel and headed toward his bedroom. A few moments later, the door slammed, and the sound made Natasha flinch.

“Is this what you dragged me back here for?” Steve wondered.

She walked into the kitchen and plopped down on the stool beside him, “They’ve negotiated Fury’s golden parachute, but there’s a problem.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, “Go on.”

“Scott, Carol, and Rhodey are skittish and don’t want an outsider running things. And even though they were all cleared of any wrongdoing, the Families refuse to let them promote from within.”

Steve didn’t need to hear anymore, because he knew very well where the conversation was headed, and what the Families wanted him to do. In order to keep their profit shares and maintain control, they needed someone to not only settle the waters, but also steer the ship.

It didn’t matter what he wanted – they were going to pull him back in and never let him go...

Natasha sighed and got to her feet, “They’re are flying out to today, and they expect you to be there to attend the meet and sign the paperwork.”

She didn’t wait for him to acquiesce or argue; she just handed him a cellphone and told him his boarding pass and itinerary were on it. When he brought to the screen to life and checked the destination, he couldn’t help but snort, because he now knew where he was headed to next.

Steve was being forced to go back to where it all began…

He was going back to Bermuda.

Chapter 15: Imperfect Union

Everything: @jennmurawski13​ @nerdy-bookworm-1998​

Steve Rogers: @patzammit @hearttoearth​ The Boss of Brooklyn: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @captain-rogers-beard

[wildmichaelflower]

Too Young, Too Dumb - College!SOS PT. 1

Word Count - 1.6k

Warnings - Slight swearing

Luke groaned as his alarm went off, interrupting the peaceful sleep he had been having. Sitting up, he turned it off before going to his select his outfit for the day. Once dressed, he went to go make a coffee to go, biting his lip when he was greeted by the sight of his roommate Michael slumped over the table, a cup of coffee gone cold in front of his laptop. Luke gave his shoulders a couple shakes and whisper-shouted his name, watching the other man grumble to life.

“Mike, it’s 7 am. How long have you been sitting here?”

“Well,” he yawned, “I got off work at ten, stopped at McDonald’s, got home by ten-thirty-ish.” He took a pause to rub his face, “I took a shower, then came out here, so eight hours?” He took a sip from his mug, immediately spitting the contents back out, “That tastes like shit..”

“Well, that’s eight hour old coffee for you,” Luke sighed as he prepared his roommate a fresh cup.

“Nah, more like five hours. I remember making some around two and everything after that is a blur. I passed out around four, I think?” He yawns again.

“How do you expect to pass classes if you can’t stay awake in them?” Luke sighed as he set the mug down.

“I think the bigger issue here is that you’re still expecting me to go to my classes.” Michael mumbled as he eagerly picked up the mug.

“Dude, come on,” Luke gave a hard look, “You’re on a full ride, do you want to throw that away?”

Michael groaned, not in the mood to have this conversation, especially this early in the morning, but he also had to acknowledge that Luke was right.

“Ok,” He sighed, “My first class isn’t until eleven so I’m going to sleep until ten.”

“And your homework is all done?”

“Yep,” Michael grinned sleepily and finished his coffee before placing the mug in the sink. He picked up his laptop and its charger before heading towards his bedroom.

Luke shook his head before continuing to make his breakfast, humming softly as he made his plate. He poured himself a mug of coffee, then sat down to eat his fried eggs and turkey bacon with a side of mixed fruit. He unlocked his phone and began to scroll through Twitter, keeping an eye on any important headlines to bring up during his night class. He got extra credit if the class discussed something he brought up, not that he wanted or needed it, he just thought the conversations were important. After screenshotting a few articles, he finished the remnants of his breakfast before going to load the dishes into the dishwasher. He decided against running it, not wanting to break the silence in case Michael wasn’t asleep yet. 

He quietly went to pack up his bag, making sure he had the appropriate books and chargers for his laptop and phone. Sure, he was coming back after his second class, but it never hurt to be prepared.

He headed back to the living room, grabbing his keys from the coffee table before slipping on his shoes. He left a note on the counter for Michael, reminding him to take his meds, before heading out. As he was locking up, he smiled as he watched his neighbor also lock her door. 

"Morning," he said, biting his lip as she jumped, "Sorry if I scared you." 

"Yeah, you did," she smiled sheepishly as she ran a hand through her hair, "Didn't think anyone else was crazy enough to be awake and moving at 8 am." 

He laughs and nods, "Yeah, it's not for the weak, but someone has to make sure the world turns. I'm Luke by the way," he sticks his hand out, smiling as she takes it.

 "Carina," she smiled as she introduced herself, shaking his hand, before pulling away and heading to the steps, "So what's your plan for keeping the world turning?" 

He grinned, "I work the front desk of the student union. Gotta make sure people have their popcorn." 

She laughed and nods in agreement, the student union desk sold other things, but popcorn was easily it's most popular product. 

"And what about you?" He smiled. 

"I work at the bookstore, where, once the semester settles, people buy anything but books."

Luke laughed at that and nodded understandingly, "Guilty." 

"Aren't we all?" She smiled and opened the front door to the building. 

They walked out together, and Luke grabbed his keys from his pocket when he noticed her leaving the parking lot. 

"Want a ride?" He asked as he unlocked his car.

Carina stopped and turned around, biting her lip.

"You seem nice, but how can I trust you? We just met." 

Luke bit his lip, he honestly didn't think she should walk to campus, but he should've known what it would've looked like. 

"I'll let you drive?" He offered awkwardly, smiling as she laughed. 

"And I was thinking I trusted too easily," she smiled, debating with herself on whether or not to accept the offer. 

Granted, she just met this guy, but he was cute, in an awkward but doing his best kind of way, and didn't seem to pick up any bad vibes from him. She would play a test on him, and if he passed, then she would get in with him. 

"Before I get in, could I take a picture of the license plate and send it to my friend?" She pulled her phone out. 

Luke nodded, "Of course, anything that helps you feel comfortable." He smiled before getting into his car.

Carina smiled to herself, thanking the internet for giving her the clever idea then took a couple pictures of the back of the car before updating her best friend. 

Getting a ride from school from my neighbor, never met him before today but he seems nice! Just in case, here's some info.

She sent the pictures before getting into the car, surprised by how clean it was.

"Offer still stands if you want to drive," he smiles. 

She laughs but shakes her head, "I don't think you're pretty face can handle the speeds I drive at."

He chuckled and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the campus. It wasn't a long drive, just a few blocks, but with the temperature dropping, Luke felt better giving rides to people.

"So, what's your major?" Carina asked. 

"Business economics," he smiled, "and yours?" 

"Social studies education, with a minor in political science. I'm guessing your minor is something like mathematics or international relations. That's a common one for you business majors, that or Spanish." 

He laughed, much to her surprise, but he was used to people assuming those kind of things out of him.

"Actually, my minor is gender and women's studies."

"Wow.. what made you choose that?" 

"Well I took one class freshman year about history and social structures from the perspective of women to fill the diversity requirement, and I was hooked." 

Carina nodded, smiling at this new insight of her neighbor.

"Your partner is very lucky."

Luke blushed and bit his lip, "I, um, I don't have a girlfriend." 

"Really?" Luke wasn't her type but she was surprised, he had a good heart, a good looking future. How could there not be anyone for him?

He shrugged, "College has kept me busy, but who knows, this could be my year." He smiled hopefully. 

Carina couldn't help but returning his smile, while also running through a list of her friends that might be a good match for her neighbor.

Luke made another turn towards the bookstore, stopping at the dead end next to the building. 

Carina got her bag and smiled, "Thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it." 

"Of course! With the weather dropping I don't mind giving people rides, I rather them be safe. If you want to make this a regular thing, you know where I live?" He winked jokingly. 

She laughed and nodded, "I'll let you know." She pulled her phone out and opened it to Snapchat, "You should add me." 

He nodded, pulling his phone out and snapping a picture of her code, smiling as the request went through. 

She slid her phone back in her pocket, "Cool, now we'll be best friends," she joked before getting out, "Thanks again for the ride!" 

She closed the door then started to walk to the entrance, smiling as Luke didn't leave until he was sure she was inside. 

Luke smiled as he made his way out of the dead end, heading to the parking ramp where he kept his car during the day.

Once he parked, he grabs his bag and travel mug then heads to work.

He greets his coworkers next to him in the printing shop as he set his things down before sitting at the desk. He then logged onto the computer and got the desk ready for the day. He knew it would be hours until the building would be busy, now it was just professors and a student or two waiting to grab coffee. 

Luke pulled his laptop out, his boss didnt mind when he or his coworkers did homework on the job, as long as they paid attention to customers. An email popped up in his notifications, reminding him that his night class would begin the final presentations that week. It's not that Luke was unprepared, his presentation had been ready since that weekend, but he had some nerves about speaking in front of the class. 

He made a mental note to go over his presentation one more time, then opened a word document to the paper he had been working on.

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (November 12th, 2019)

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game

UPDATE: 11/12/2019 – PC 1.58.63.1010 / Mac 1.58.63.1210

Happy Fall! We have a few new Holiday items available for you in Create A Sim to celebrate the holidays. Along with that a new Multi Story Column feature to help you build tall columns for a grand entrance or interior. UI Scaling is also available in the options panel to give you more options with our UI configurations. Want to know what Sims 4 content is out there? New Main Menu Message is now avail on load to easily help you find the latest and greatest content from The Sims 4. In addition, we’ve fixed bugs and community concerns to improve your Sims daily lives.

-SimGuruSteph

NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES

Multi Story Columns I’m not sure calling them multi-story columns is accurate. They are more like multi-height columns. Just go into the build catalog, place a column, grab the handle at the top, and drag it up and down to re-size. Some have a maximum size, others however… I think I topped out around 100 feet.

UI Scaling Now available in the Options menu – UI Scaling! Are you a 4k player with tiny user interface issues? Do you prefer your interface to be readable at distances greater than fifty feet away? Have you a desire to customize the scale to your personal preferences? Now you can! From the Options panel, open up Game Options, and choose Accessibility. Stay away from the red parts of the slider to keep things in the safe range for your display. But, if you are feeling adventurous, give it a try, go crazy! If for some reason you find yourself in a bad state, you can always reset – either from the options panel, or by using Ctrl+U to reset the scaling back to default!

Main Menu Messaging We know you want to know EVERYTHING about what’s going on, so we’ve added the ability to show you the latest and greatest Sims content on the Main Menu. You’ll be able to learn about free content, check out the latest updates on upcoming releases, pore over the newest blog posts, and more!

New Clothing We have updated the Holiday Celebration Pack with some new children and toddler clothing! If you haven’t already added the Holiday Celebration Pack to your game, click on the icon at the Main Menu, and download the free pack! From there, head on in to Create a Sim and select the Holiday filter to find the new assets! Children have a new male top, female top, and winter boots! Toddlers have a new outfit for males, a new outfit for females, and some shoes! Or open up the Styled Looks, where SimGuruMorgan created some great new looks with the content!

Music We have made the Hip Hop Radio Station available for everyone! This means that it is no longer exclusive to Get Famous. However, Get Famous specific music will still need Get Famous to be played.

We added the following songs as part of this update:

“BMO” Performed by Ari Lennox Written by Courtney Salter, Damon Coleman, Ron Gilmore, Jr., Anthony Parrino and Galt MacDermot Published by Ari Lennox Publishing Designee (BMI), Damon Coleman Publishing Designee, Ron Gilmore Music (BMI), Kobalt Music Services America o/b/o Elite That’s Me Publishing and Third Side America o/b/o MacDermot Music Contains a sample of “Space” by Galt MacDermot Recording courtesy of Dreamville/Interscope Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises and Third Side Music o/b/o Kilmarnock Records

“Big Moe” Performed by Beau Young Prince Written by Jaimy Lageweg and Beau Young Published by Jailo Music and Rough Trade Songs Recording courtesy of Def Jam Recordings under license from Universal Music Enterprises

“Dumbstruck” Performed by Ceraadi Written by Emaza Gibson, Saiyr Gibson and Troy Johnson Published by Emaza Gibson Publishing Designee, Saiyr Gibson Publishing Designee and Sony/ATV Tunes o/b/o Margetts Road Music/Noni Zuri Music Recording courtesy of Roc Nation under license from Universal Music Enterprises

“Good Life” Performed by RDGLDGRN & Daniela Written by David Lichens, Pierre Desrosiers, Andrei Busuioceanu and Marcus Parham Published by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing o/b/o Fungai Music (BMI) and Warner Chappell Recording courtesy of RDGLDGRN

“Block List” Performed by Rico Nasty Written by Maria Kelly and Mark Nilan Published by Kobalt Music Services America o/b/o Artist Publishing Group West (ASCAP)/Artist 101 Publishing Group (BMI) Recording courtesy of APG/Atlantic Recording Corp. by arrangement with Warner Music Group Video Game Licensing

“Litest” Written and Performed by DJDTP

Enjoy!

FIXES & UPDATES

The Sims 4

Sims that dislike Fruitcake no longer react negatively to all other food. On the other hand, Sims that like Fruitcake no longer will react positively to Poor Quality foods.

Grab Meal or Give Food for all ages will now fulfill the hunger needs completely. Hopefully it will help with the 100 baby challenge Standard smile

Spoiled visual effect now will go away on servings from coffee and tea pots.

Sims will now place grilled food on the table appropriately instead of their inventory.

Terrain Manipulation brush and eraser cursor is now visible for all terrain tools in 32 and 64 bit mode on PC.

Fresh drinks are now available on the drink tray (for those who own Spa Day and/or Backyard Stuff). “Grab drink” from drink tray functions and will no longer give you an incorrect message.

Households populated in the “Other Households” tab in Manage Worlds can no longer be composed of just a Child.

Idle Sims will no longer drink water excessively.

Skin details no longer go away when randomizing Sim features other than the “Face” or “All” categories.

NPC Sims that are not Gardeners will no longer remove Wild Plants from lots autonomously.

Rare and uncommon harvestables will now be produced at higher rates when splicing.

Fixed an issue in which typing in the search field in Build Mode made the phrase “Text Field” appear erroneously.

Sims will no longer leave the dining table after they’ve started having their meal when using the “Call to Meal” interaction.

Fixed an issue in which Sims were not able to wash dishes or use the dishwasher if there were shelving units above the sink or the dishwasher.

Child Sims will not longer have their eyebrow color changed to Brown when they are set to Blonde.

Fixed an issue that made Adult Sims constantly change outfits while Taking a Shower, and then giving a Bath to Toddlers.

Fixed an issue where capturing screenshots with the Capture UI option enabled didn’t actually capture the UI.

Fixed an issue which made the option “Put <Sim/Pet Name> here” not available when holding Pets and Toddlers.

Fixed an issue which made Paying Bills via Phone not be fulfilled if Simmers queued any other action before it would complete.

Simmers playing in Laptop Mode will now see improvements on the in game lighting.

Moving a wall will no longer delete objects on a separate shelf when bb.moveobjects cheat is used.

Fixed an issue in which Toddlers that had maxed out their skills were not receiving the Top Notch Trait when aging up.

Toddler Traits are no longer visible after aging.

Success Lineage Aspiration can now be completed once appropriate conditions are met.

Terrain Paints now persist when placing a lot from the gallery.

Assets yfBody_EP06DressFur_GoldGreen, yfBody_GP07DressWestern_FlowerOrange & yfBody_EP03TankStrappy_ElephantAquaCream were updated to look better with various shoe styles.

Vendors will no longer use your Sims’ fireplace as an imaginary portal to mysterious places.

Emotional sculpture thumbnail in sims inventory and world appearance are now visually the same.

“Get Married to..” whim now complete when you actually get married. Achievement Unlocked!

Sims now are more diligent in putting back their books in the bookshelf and/or bookcase.

Focused Sims can now go back to hacking work process when they reach level 6.

Sims that randomly decided to cosplay and have pointy ears have now revert back to their normal selves.

Nature’s Welcome Arch gate will no longer have metal gate audio.

Catching fish with excellent quality will now count toward the “Make 6 Great Catches” task of the Angling Ace Aspiration.

Creating stairs to the second floor of a raised block will no longer need a drop wall to support it for Sims to be able to route on it.

Sims are now able to route into their home after using terrain manipulation tools in their home lot.

Sims are no longer collecting items in their inventories without your permission.

Alien Disguises and Vampire Dark Forms uploaded to gallery are now properly flagged for packs and custom content used.

Sims will now autonomously interact with each other if one is sitting down and the other is standing.

Move lot will no longer inadvertently unhide stairs, specifically stairs above the first floor.

Updated Muslim inspired assets so clipping is not apparent below the Sims’ chin.

Updated Apron tops to look smoother.

Sims are now less considerate and do not congratulate their romantic partners when they find a new romantic partner.

Send Geo Council for collectables will no longer require you to send your computer with it.

Glass roof created on the ground should now be routable (as long as there is an entryway built into it).

Randomize Twin in Create-a-Sim will carry user-manipulated ears and nose over to the twin.

Fixed an issue that would cause interactions to get stuck in the queue.

Selling Normal quality Mystery novels will now give you money in return.

Copy interaction is now available on Cookbooks and Mixology books.

Sims that despise each other and have no romantic relationship will no longer greet each other with a passionate kiss. Seem normal to me?!

Child sit-to-stand transitions for toddler bed and lounge chair exhibit less clipping.

Perk and trait buffs will now persist through travel.

Drop walls from stairs will now fill in when terrain is manipulated below the stairs.

Sims’ Inventory will no longer reset and jump to the top while in use.

Hover Tip for Electrified Artist updated to proper text.

Fixed an issue in which railings were clipping into the walls.

Railings on extended landing do not have missing posts or different looking sections.

Drawn on eyebrow thumbnail will no longer show incorrect swatch.

Music artist names in the Music Game Options are no longer cut off.

Collared jean jacket will clip less with various hair styles.

Fence posts are now updated when terrain manipulation occurs.

Sims are now able to do Check Toddler interaction while swimming.

Steps in enclosed courtyard will no longer auto delete a part of your staircase.

Take a Vacation day and Call in Sick are no longer available options when Sims are already on vacation.

Teen Sims will no longer get adult Woohoo buff.

Park Cub table can now be put in the inventory.

Wall Height icon in the description text in Build Mode will now the appropriate wall height.

Fixed some issues which may cause Error Code 102 or Error Code 139 to appear during gameplay.

You can say the Fruitcake was the culprit, jury is still out on that one.

Objection! Maybe not…

They are now properly supervised.

They will now hydrate appropriately.

It was haunting.

Now both eyebrow and hair color will match as set by Simmers.

Though we would love to hold them forever.

Get to Work

Patient Sims that are referred to the surgery table will no longer leave in the middle of surgery.

Sims can no longer simultaneously have two occult types. Specifically Vampire and Aliens.

Get Together

Steam will no longer accumulate in rooms above indoor swimming pools, or natural pools, built with vents.

Book Covers do not change when you place them on retail display.

Club panel text field size has been increased to accommodate longer text.

City Living

NPC Sims that attend Festivals are not longer seen in not festival appropriate outfits.

Fixed an issue that Simmers with Outdoor Retreat and City Living didn’t have the “Ask to Cloudgaze” interaction available in San Myshuno apartments.

Fixed an issue that didn’t allow the camera to zoom in properly when looking at lots at their basement level.

Updating the pricing of counter and cabinets to be more consistent with the rest of the Build Mode catalog.

Updated rental options to not exist in Sulani.

Promote Cause Daily Tasks will now be fulfilled with the Promote Policies Interaction.

Cats & Dogs

Fixed an issue in which all stray dogs were large dogs. Now they can be all sizes.

Lighthouse Woohoo spot is back in business.

Sims are able to complete crafting pet medicine with Marketable trait.

Quickly Update your Dr. Magi-Heal’s Surger-o-matic 3000 with an instant upgrade.

A jacket blazer now layers better with bottoms

Dogs will no longer try to put the cat wand away when they can’t and stretch into a mystical form.

Clipping issues were improved with a pair of shorts and various tops, specifically the asset yfBottom_EP04Shorts.

Turning on view distance in option panels will no longer make a brick fence in the world completely white.

Seasons

Child and Teen Sims are now spawning to knock on doors during the holiday season with trick or treat.

It’s less likely to rain at GeekCon festivals now, which should help keep those computers safe!

Fixed an issue in which Sims were able “Rake Leaves” in their Home Lot while Sims were far from leaves to rake.

Mix breed cat function in Create a Sim now works again. Yay!

Social events put in calendar are now functional and will trigger.

Simmers playing with Low Graphics settings can now see improved textures when Sims are wearing Scout uniforms.

Fixed an issue in which rewards from the Scout after school activity were not being awarded properly.

The reward will now appear in the Sims’ Inventory, instead of being unlocked in Build Mode.

Get Famous

Sims employed in any career will no longer be prompted to miss work, or end their shift early, when work hours coincide with visits from Sims that were given a residence key.

Have Sim Dance at the Same Time goal at the Fan Meet and Greet Event can now be completed when you have your Sims and other Sims dance at the same time.

Talent Showcase events will no longer sometimes occur on an invalid location.

Text was updated to hover tip for Action Vol 3 purchase book picker.

Tooltip text for Quality description of videos created by the video station is now colored purple.

Sims Radio too loud? You can adjust the radio volume now after listening to the music you created on the Mix Master Music Production Station.

Consistency!

Island Living

Uninvited Sims will no longer appear when attending Kava Parties on lots with the “Private Dwelling” Lot Trait.

Beach Venues lots can now be selected for Sims to go on dates.

Fixed an issue in which samples taken from Sulani to fulfill Conservation career tasks were disappearing from the Sim Inventory after analyzing said samples.

Fixed an issue in which the “Dried Scales” buff would not disappear after Mermaids fulfilled their hydration needs.

Fixed an issue with Mermaid Children that did not allow them to Take Baths INSIDE bathtubs.

Traditional Sarong asset will not clip with tops as much.

Fixed an issue that made aged up Mermaid Teen Sims have their Mermaid Tails disappear in Create a Sim and while Swimming.

Career Promotions for Conservationist can still occur after reaching level 10.

Bulldozing waterfront lots in Island Living will now not remove terrain paint.

Goggles no longer create an awkward shadow that does not make sense.

Sims can now store coconuts away in the fridge. Woot woot!

Human Sims no longer will think they are Mermaids by swimming like them when swimming laps.

Promotion task is marked completed when Sims have a diving knife.

Sims can now release the fish back into the ocean.

Sims with Master Chef Trait do not make spoil food anymore.

Sunkiss buff will now have the appropriate icon.

Rounded blocks will no longer have missing stilts

Blueprint placement for lots with floor lights will no longer place them underneath structure and float. Gravity is more realistic.

Stilt foundation shadows now appear properly.

Game will no longer crash when placing particular lots from The Gallery.

A TV stand missing in search bar will now appear. You didn’t know what you were missing out on when using search… or you did know and now it’s fixed!

Penthouses from The Gallery will now place all available items properly.

Some furniture items that did not appear on the cursor from Build Mode will now appear.

Claiming a bed is now exclusive to one Sim. Now Sims can sleep in their own bed without disturbance or worry about another Sim using their bed.

Selected tattoos in Create A Sim will no longer automatically reapply clothing.

Hot and Cold outfit categories will no longer filter tattoos upon re-entry.

Jet visual effect will now display properly when streaming from a drone.

Burnt visual effects no longer appear on lot terrain when there is fire on homes with stilt foundations.

Configuring a U shape staircase to another floor will cause the stair cause to lose some steps no more!

Mermaid Sims will do their special swim idle when performing Mermaid interactions.

Mermaid Sims that have been turned into skeletons can now take a bath. Keep those bones clean.

Set favorite watercraft will now set correct one to favorite.

Plants placed on Suspended Modern from gallery will no longer place plants in odd places.

Island Welcome Wagon will now continue to hold Kava bowls to give to your Household instead of placing it on the ground when it rains.

It’s my party, and I don’t invite you if I want to.

Romantic!

Being used to the vastness of the Ocean, Mermaid Children were not happy being limited by a bathtub.

Dine Out

Fixed textures for a few Experimental Dishes.

Restaurant signs no longer have an odd bounding box shadow around it. It’ll be well rounded.

We apologize, our Glazed Heirloom Bamboo Roll, Space Taco with Pearled Egg Core, and Free Range Sixam Pit Beast did not look quite like what you actually ordered.

Vampires

Vampire Sims will no longer get scolded if they drink plasma from Sims even though they had been granted permission to do so.

Options from the Face category in Create A Sim are no longer missing for Vampire Sims when using the Change Sim interaction.

Vampires have adjusted to daylight savings now and are awake when you invite them to hang out.

Vampire Dark form uploaded to gallery are now properly flagging CC content and packed used.

Parenthood

Adult Sims are less likely to autonomously watch Kids Network if Toddlers/Children/Teens aren’t nearby.

Realm Of Magic

Spellcasters with the Bloodline trait will no longer have their rank reset if they reach the Virtuoso rank.

Potions can now be sold for Simoleons.

Fixed an issue which allowed the Emotional Stability Potion to remove certain buffs from Sims unintentionally.

Fixed an issue where the Spellbinding Tile wall pattern was displaying duplicate swatch colors in Build Mode.

Cooking and Brewing in cauldron will no longer change sell price in build mode.

Drinking animation is performed by Sims when Sims drink potion of curse cleaning to remove curse.

Animation for the teleport is no longer getting cut off.

Orb Familiars will not pop and jump from their locations while following their Sims out of water.

Two necklaces were updated to improve capability with other Create a Sims assets.

Trouser texture will no longer appear on the top of a pair of boots.

Bicep bracelet is now shown properly in Create A Sim thumbnail.

Profit!

Cool Kitchen Stuff

Removed “Get Leftovers” option for ice cream since it was never intended, and who leaves ice cream for leftovers? Not me

Spooky Stuff

Spooky Party will now count towards the Party Animal Aspiration.

Moschino Stuff

Fixed an issue in which in some cases the game would freeze while in Photo Mode.

Sims that you have not met will no longer appear in the Sims selector when triggering Take photo of.

[leeuwchen]

Can you write the 14 for Angst and Fluff for Ringsy? Thank you.

This one took a while but here it is (including minor spoilers)

“Can you shut up for once in your life?” –

“Am I your lockscreen?” “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

 If Easy Winter had to rate the different versions of Richard Beckmann, this one would be particularly difficult to put a number on. Sleepy Ringo for example is shockingly cute in 8 out of 10 times and therefore easily a candidate for a high score.  Hungry Ringo on the other hand is almost always unpredictable and can go from weirdly hot to downright annoying within a split second but would still nick 9 out of 10 points because he looks so content when being fed that one can’t help but falling in love with him all over again. And then there is Smug Ringo, like the one standing right in front of him inside the kiosk now, who is clearly meaning no harm but saying all the wrong things, nevertheless.

“Sorry, but can you please repeat, what you did to my place?”

“I reorganized it.”

Easy takes a look around and sighs.

“Reorganizing, you say? Reorganizing is putting the chocolate bars from the right-hand to the left-hand side because they are easier to grab for you from there but this…”

He has no idea how to finish the sentence without sounding too annoyed. There are new shiny price tags on all of his products and a plastic-coated list with new “buy together - combination deals” that Ringo probably would call improvised but is still looking more professional than most of the stuff Easy has put up here lately. It must have cost his husband a great deal of his working day to come up with this concept.

“How long did all of this take, Ringo?”

The tall guy in front of him shrugs nonchalantly.

“Ahhh, don’t worry about that. I had your numbers before-hand since I did  your taxes yesterday, so I knew your price calculation was a bit…”

“A bit what?”

Ringo furrows his brows tentatively.

“A bit… not so good?”

“Meaning?”

There is a long sigh coming from very deep-down Ringo’s chest before he calmly tries to answer the question, clearly feeling that they are at the verge of a fight now.

“Bärchen…”

“Don’t you Bärchen me now, Hase, I mean it. The kiosk is doing just fine without you meddling with my calculations.”

“Exactly, Easy. It is doing just fine. But it could do so much better. Here… take a look at today’s earnings and you’ll see what I mean.”

Ringo opens the cash register and yes – no need to count there – this is more than Easy would have made on an average Sunday, he has enough experience to see that right away. So why isn’t he happy about it? Why does he feel like picking a fight? He knows Ringo is the smart one… he always has been… and normally it doesn’t bother Easy. He knows Ringo is unchallenged at the moment, having no job and no real perspective for once in his life. He should just let him have this… but he can’t, and he doesn’t know why. Meanwhile, Ringo is still looking at the money he made proudly. “Oh”, he suddenly exclaims, “and Leni still owes us 2 more Euro since she didn’t have enough money to pay for her soft drink and chocolate sugar rush…”

“Leni doesn’t have to pay more than before… she’s family!”

“First rule when owning a business: No family favours!”

“Bit rich coming from someone who never pays.”

Ringo chuckles softly and helps himself to some wine gum.

“Okay, let’s say I am the one exception you are allowed to make.”

“Allowed to?”

There is a warning in Easy’s voice but Ringo seems completely oblivious to it. In his world, showing his husband the money clearly is enough to prove himself and his arrangements right.

“Well, I won’t write a penalty scale or something like that but you should really listen to me. I’ve studied business administration after all. I know how to avoid suboptimal calculations. Just don’t worry about it if you are not interested in doing the mathematics yourself. It’s peanuts to me, really. And you know what else? I must admit… I never thought of this place like that, but it does have some potential. If only you would - ”

“Can you shut up for once in your life?”

The words are out of his mouth quickly and they are not even true. Sure, they both can get wordy at times (who in this street can’t?) but they are also good at finding the exit, giving the other one some space and getting back to their respective points calmly after a while. So, this whole shut up for once-stuff is hell of an unfair thing to say and Easy knows that but it’s too late now as Ringo has indeed shut his mouth and nods silently before turning around to leave.

“Honey, I…”

But his husband is out of the door already and for a moment, Easy waits for the door of the kiosk to slam shut behind him but it doesn’t and somehow he doesn’t feel relieved by the silence.

                                                        *

“Sorry, but I think, you gave me too much change. The tag says 2.50 - There.”

The young woman points at one of Ringo’s new signs and shows Easy the money in the palm of her hand. He raises his shoulders defensively.

“No, no. It’s still 2.25, forget the sign. My new temp mixed up some of the prices.”

She smiles at him.

“Okay, cool. I was just wondering and didn’t want to trick you.”

“Don’t worry. Everything around here stays the same.”

The woman walks away and grinning Leni steps up to the window holding up a coin.

“So, I don’t have to pay you the 2 Euro?”

“Of course not… just forget it, please.”

Leni puts the money back into her pocket and takes the wine gum Easy is handing out to her. “Good, but don’t forget to tell, Ringo”, she says while chewing, “out of all of my dads around here, he is the strict one.” Easy smiles.

“He didn’t mean it like that. He just wanted to help my business.”

“And did he?”

Sighing Easy helps himself to a chocolate bar and narrows his eyes thoughtfully.

“He did.”

“But?”

“He might have been a little bit… overachieving.”

“I’m shocked and surprised… since normally he is known as such a laid-back person.”

Easy chuckles quietly.

“I know, I know… you can’t hand him a project and expect him not to act on his business instincts. But you know what’s really bad?”

“What?”

“I acted like a complete asshole.”

Reaching through the window to get some more sweets Leni eyes him suspiciously.

“Well, now I’m really shocked. Shall I set up a fake photo shooting a bit outside of town to get you two to talk things over or would it be enough to take over your shift here so you can go and apologize?”

“Would you do that?”

“What do you think?”

                                                         *

 Tobias and Vivien are standing in the kitchen cooking together when Easy enters the flat share.

“Oh, hi. Is Ringo in our room?”

Tobias shakes his head while putting his hands around his girlfriend.

“Do you really think your hubby would voluntarily stay away from food? Unless… were the two of you fighting?”

“No! Well… not proper fighting… I… I said a pretty stupid thing. Really, really stupid.”

“Well, then”, Tobias says calmly and points to the ceiling with his index finger, “I would have a look around the roof top terrace if I were you and hope that my brother hasn’t picked up a hot blonde on his way up there… hey.” He rubs his rip cage with indignation as Vivien has forcefully pushed her elbow there. “Don’t be an ass!”, she tells her boyfriend who gently puts his face against her shoulder holding her closer and with a small trace of jealousy Easy leaves them alone, heading to the roof.

Ringo is sitting in the small hut, his laptop in front of him. Carefully, Easy knocks on the door frame.

“Can I come in?”

Ringo looks up from his work.

“Well, there is an entrance fee but since you are family I am not allowed to take it - so be my guest.”

His words don’t sound like a real invitation so Easy decides to lean against the door frame instead.

“I’m sorry I told you to shut up when you weren’t saying anything wrong… and even if you had been saying something wrong that wouldn’t have been an acceptable way to handle a dispute.”

Ringo nods and hums approvingly.

“I only wanted to be helpful and the new prices weren’t unreasonable. They were still fair offers.”

“I know”, Easy mumbles and pushes himself away from the hut’s frame to slowly walk inside.  “It’s me, really. I am really emotional when it comes to the kiosk, you know?”

Ringo chuckles.

“I might have noticed. But I meant no harm. Nothing would have happened to it.”

Strolling around the inside of the hut, Easy tries to find the right words.

“As a photographer I do like all the different locations, the weird customers, the constant change… the challenges… but when it comes to the kiosk, I want everything to stay the way it is. The same people coming back there every day buying the same stuff, having a nice chat, mostly about the same two or three topics. It’s home. Well, no… you are home… but it’s still something very emotional and to me the kiosk doesn’t need to do more than provide for a fair living so when you made all these changes it felt like you were belittling what I have built there and that striked a nerve. I’m sorry, I know you only meant well.”

He is looking down at the man sitting on the old worn-out sofa. Ringo is looking grave, fumbling around his nose bridge with one finger for a few moments before clearing his throat.

“I see. Well… we all have our soft spots, I guess. You see, whenever you tell me that I meant well it reads to me that I may have meant well but still acted like same old evil Ringo.”

“Wait? What?”

Easy is sitting on the couch next to his husband before even realising.

“That’s not what it means. Not at all. We have left that behind for good, okay? You don’t need to prove yourself to me and you are allowed to make mistakes like everyone around here does without being judged harder because of stuff you did in the past and it wasn’t even a mistake, it was… wait… Am I your lockscreen?”

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

With a swift movement Ringo pushes the screen of his laptop down but Easy is still grinning at him when he turns around again.

“Why am I your lockscreen? I thought your lockscreen was supposed to be something you envision for your future or something you identify with like this ridiculous picture of a shark Huber has put up in his office.”

“I think, you kind of answered your question yourself”, Ringo mumbles softly, putting an arm around Easy’s shoulder, pulling him closer to his side.

“Getting rejections to all of my applications isn’t the nicest experience so from time to time I like to look at something that makes me feel better about life… myself… the future.”

“And that’s me?”

Ringo rolls his eyes.

“Now that’s fishing for compliment but yes – if you must hear it – it’s you. Always you… well, almost always. I sometimes have a look around Saskia’s bakery webpage to decide which pastry will cure my poor unemployed soul but I guess that’s the kind of cheating we both can live with, right?”

Smiling, Easy nudges his nose against the soft skin of Ringo’s neck.

“Maybe. But better not tell me too much about it, I can be unreasonably at times and I am again very sorry for how I acted today.”

He gently kisses his husband’s cheek, waiting for Ringo to turn around for a proper kiss but the other one just sighs and lets his finger run through some of the curly dark hair in Easy’s neck.

“Don’t worry about it anymore, okay? It gave me a business idea after all.”

“It did? Well, let’s hear it then!”

Easy frees himself from Ringo’s hug and sits up excitedly. Ringo seems to be a bit unsure for about one second but when Easy nods at him encouragingly, said insecurity vanishes visibly.

“Well, I thought… not all small businesses are against change… and there have to be tons of people who just started or took over a business and don’t adapt numbers as quickly as I do so they would be thankful for someone going over their calculations pointing out flaw- I mean, not so well designed strategies. I have already emailed someone I know from university about it who went into that direction in Frankfurt… not that I really need the advice.”

“Of course not, you are Richard Beckmann after all.”

“So, what do you think?”

Ringo is looking positively excited now and Jumpy Ringo is a solid 10 in 10 out of 10 times so Easy can’t help but kiss him hard before he answers his husband’s question.

“It does sound like the perfect thing for you to do.”

“You really think so?”

“I do.”

There is a sigh of relief coming from Ringo and his upper body kind of slums back against the sofa’s backrest.

“Oh good, because I wasn’t sure if I might be losing it.”

Contently, Easy rests his head on Ringo’s chest, putting his arm around his slender waist.

“I really think, you would do well as a freelancer. Huber was always holding you back and claiming the glory for all your hard work.”

“Yeah, getting some appreciation would be nice for a change.”

For a while they are sitting there in silence, huddled together until suddenly Ringo’s cell phone beeps and he wiggles around a bit helplessly because Easy is not willing to give up his comfy sleeping position on his chest. When he finally manages to get his mobile and checks the message, he chuckles triumphantly. “What is it?”, Easy inquires drowsily and the telephone’s screen is pushed in front of his nose showing a picture of Leni who has put up today’s earnings in little towers of coins on the kiosk’s desk. “You have to read her message as well”, Ringo demands. Easy scrolls down to the picture’s caption. 

“RICHARD BECKMANN, BUSINESS GOD!”, he reads proudly.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic: 07 Mar 2020 (audio from Canada Reads Kelowna, gig economy spreads Covid-19, Intel's security chip is insecure, Barnes and Noble gets a savior)

Today's links

Audio from last night's Canada Reads event in Kelowna: Thanks to Sarah Penton for being such a great interviewer!

Gig economy drivers won't get sick-pay if they have covid-19 symptoms: Your Instacart driver is being incentivized to handle your food through his fever-sweats.

Compromise threatens Intel's chip-within-a-chip: A bug in the Management Engine threatens five years' worth of Intel systems.

The savior of Waterstones will turn every B&N into an indie: James Daunt has opened 60 profitable stores in his career.

This day in history: 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Audio from last night's Canada Reads event in Kelowna (permalink)

Last night I sat down for an interview and lively Q&A at the Kelowna Public Library with the CBC's Sarah Penton as part of the Canada Reads national book prize, for which my book Radicalized is a finalist. Courtney Dickson was kind enough to send me raw audio from the board and to give me permission to post it. It was a genuinely wonderful night, with great and thoughtful questions, and I'm really glad that I get to share it with you!

https://archive.org/download/canadareadskelownadoctorowpenton/Canada_Reads_Kelowna_Doctorow_Penton.mp3

Gig economy drivers won't get sick-pay if they have covid-19 symptoms (permalink)

The gig economy workers who deliver your @amazon packages are not entitled to sick pay if they think they have covid-19 and want to stay home, rather than delivering contaminated boxes to you.

https://onezero.medium.com/keep-your-car-clean-gig-companies-offer-little-support-during-coronavirus-outbreak-cf6c55cca8a8

It's not just Amazon Flex drivers who are being tacitly incentivized by rapacious, giant corporations to show up for work sick. Your Lyft and Instacart drivers are all being given a stark choice: work sick or go broke.

As Sarah Emerson speculates in her One Zero piece, this depraved indifference is likely an epiphenomenon of gig economy companies' urge to preserve the fiction that their workers are contractors, not employees. Contractors don't get sick leave, after all.

"[Amazon is ] basically threatening that I'll be out of work if I have any symptoms of being sick, coronavirus or not, but no protections and no offers for help in the event it happens" – Jeff Perry, Amazon Flex/Uber driver, Sacramento

Lyft's advice to drivers: "disinfect your car" and avoid passengers who appear sick.

As outrage over this policy went viral, Uber reversed its earlier stance and announced that it would offer up to 14 days of "compensation" for some drivers.

https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1236126626028507136

Compromise threatens Intel's chip-within-a-chip (permalink)

A new showstopper Intel bug compromises the Converged Security and Management Engine, the computer-within-a-computer that Intel uses for a variety of purposes, some beneficial (detecting malware), some terrible (shutting out free software).

https://blog.ptsecurity.com/2020/03/intelx86-root-of-trust-loss-of-trust.html

The Management Engine has long been controversial. It's designed to reach into your RAM and tinker with it in a way that, by design, the CPU can't detect or prevent. This is deliberate: it lets the management engine monitor and disrupt malware.

https://boingboing.net/2016/06/15/intel-x86-processors-ship-with.html

But of course, if your Management Engine itself is compromised, then – by design – the part of the computer that you control can neither monitor it, nor prevent it from doing malicious work. In 2017, a ghastly ME bug showed how risky this was.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/05/intels-management-engine-security-hazard-and-users-need-way-disable-it

It's especially bad because ME security is, in part, security through obscurity: Intel barely documents ME function and doesn't permit outside auditing. To make everything worse, there's no way to fully disable it. So ME bugs keep on surfacing, each worse than the last. Here's 2018's:

https://press.f-secure.com/2018/01/12/intel-amt-security-issue-lets-attackers-bypass-login-credentials-in-corporate-laptops/

Which brings me to the new vuln: PT Security shows an early stage attack on the boot ROM, that allows for recovery of a master key that is used to generate all the other keys in the system. It's a deep bug that could potentially compromise all the downstream operations. It's only a partial attack (so far). The key needs to be decrypted to be usable, but the researchers say it's only a matter of time – and they point out that the key is shared across years' worth of Intel processors.

This compromise (when it comes) has profound implications for DRM, which is intrinsically brittle in that it's "break once, break everywhere." Once content is extracted from a DRM wrapper on a compromised system, it can be shared and played back on intact ones. DRM system designers try to address this with tactics like "renewability" and "selectable output control" that allows DRM systems to detect which systems they're running on and refuse to operate if they believe they might be compromised.

This is a thermonuclear option that could make DRM unviable forever. It means that if you had the misfortune to buy an Intel system during the five years that they were manufactured with this defect, you could lose the ability to play content you've already paid for.

Not because you hacked your system, but because you could. DRM is and always has been a timebomb, ticking down to the moment that execs in a distant boardroom decide to nerf or brick your property. The temptation to downgrade your customers' property to up your profits is irresistible.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/09/what-hp-must-do-make-amends-its-self-destructing-printers

But customers don't like getting punished for "doing the right thing." If media companies cancel playback for purchased content on affected Intel systems, they won't be targeting pirates (who get their media DRM-free), but people who deliberately chose to pay.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, we don't get fooled again." -GWB

Punishing legit customers to get at pirates is a surefire way to make more pirates.

"Might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb."

The savior of Waterstones will turn every B&N into an indie (permalink)

A great hero of British bookselling is James Daunt, the founder of Daunt Books, whose flagship store is literally the most beautiful bookstore I've ever been to.

https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shops/marylebone/

Daunt took over Waterstones in 2011 and rescued it. The chain now runs as a string of indies, with no co-op promotion – instead, the booksellers in each shop choose which books they promote based on local taste. Corporate HQ chooses a book of the month and a book every year for chainwide promotion, but they do so on the basis of their enjoyment of the book – not because a publisher pays them for promo.

The new Waterstones stores are spectacular. There were always some great ones (the Waterstones in Bradford rivals the main Daunt books for beauty), but the vibe and experience of shopping at a post-Daunt Waterstones is a million times better than before. And new shops like the one in Tottenham Court Road really embody what a bookstore can be. The event I did there in 2017 with Laurie Penny was one of the best I've ever done in the UK.

https://www.waterstones.com/events/cory-doctorow-in-conversation-with-laurie-penny/london-tottenham-court-road

The good news is that Daunt is now running Barnes & Noble, which has been struggling and worse – pulling desperate moves like laying off all their most experienced booksellers to lower payroll costs, which is obviously a catastrophic mistake. And Daunt's public plan for BN – America's last major chain bookstore – is to replicate what he did with Waterstones. Let the stores run like indies, with local control by experienced booksellers who know and care about their customers' tastes.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-03-04/barnes-noble-wants-to-be-more-like-an-indie-bookseller

He's ending co-op promotion, featuring books that the booksellers choose, not books that publishers pay to promote. He's reversing the focus on non-bookstore SKUs (sunglasses, puzzles and scented candles) in favor of, you know…books. They're shrinking CDs and DVDs and expanding kids' books, laying the ground for a new generation of readers, and they're cleaning up, repainting, and generally repairing years of neglect that have given some of the stores the vibe of an abandoned K-Mart.

They're also opening new stores, targeting places that don't have any bookstores (as opposed to places where indie stores have kept the faith and continued to serve their communities). He's shooting for 1,500 stores nationwide. It's superb news for a nation where bookselling has been imperilled for decades. On every tour stop, I always insist that my media escort take me to every B&N in town to sign stock and meet the booksellers. As a recovering bookseller myself, it's one of the great pleasures of the tours. Bookstores are community hubs, and were key to my own literary upbringing. This is just delightful news.

(Image: RachelH_, CC BY-NC)

This day in history (permalink)

#5yrsago Improving the estimate of US police killings https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-new-estimate-of-killings-by-police-is-way-higher-and-still-too-low/

#1yrago Ajit Pai has been touting new broadband investment after he murdered Net Neutrality, but he's been relying on impossible data from a company called Barrierfree https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/ajit-pais-rosy-broadband-deployment-claim-may-be-based-on-gigantic-error/

#1yrago The EU hired a company that had been lobbying for the Copyright Directive to make a (completely batshit) video to sell the Copyright Directive https://twitter.com/Senficon/status/1103582295523553280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

#1yrago The "Tragedy of the Commons" was invented by a white supremacist based on a false history, and it's toxic bullshit https://twitter.com/mmildenberger/status/1102604887223750657

#1yrago It's on: House Democrats introduce their promised Net Neutrality legislation https://www.cnet.com/news/democrats-introduce-save-the-internet-act-to-restore-net-neutrality/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: The Verge (https://www.theverge.com), Wired (https://wired.com), Slashdot (https://slashdot.org).

Hugo nominators! My story "Unauthorized Bread" is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Museums and the Web: March 31-April 4 2020, Los Angeles. https://mw20.museweb.net/

LA Times Festival of Books: 18 April 2020, Los Angeles. https://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/

Currently writing: I'm rewriting a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I'm also working on "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel afterwards.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: Disasters Don't Have to End in Dystopias: https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/01/disasters-dont-have-to-end-in-dystopias/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.