#to me i need to have both. theyre critical to one another like a sun and its orbiting planet

[peejsocks]

casual - bam margera x f!reader

a/n: hi!! this is my first fanfic ever! english is not my first language and i wrote this all in one night so be nice but im also fully open for criticism!! i currently have 3 parts written for this, and i modestly believe theyre a fun read, so let me know if you guys would like to read the rest.

i guess disclaimers: bam is a little more serious in this, id say. also this chapter is very mild in the smut spectrum, but parts 2 & 3 really make up for it

summary: reader will not admit she has a crush on bam. they keep their distance and it’s better that way. until bam makes a suggestion and everything changes fast. NO Y/N

Finale

Part 4

Part 3

Part 2

PART 1 - A proposal

You couldn't complain. Starting with a cheap camera, taking pictures of your friends skating or drinking milkshakes at some dingy diner, you wouldn't have foreseen becoming a photographer for Big Brother magazine. Let alone joining a group of overgrown reckless teenagers looking to get hurt in front a camera, your camera. Well, yours among others, such as Rick's. Even more surprising, people wanted to see these men get into all sorts of bullshit. Again, not complaining, it was a fun way to get a much needed paycheck. And the boys were all very nice. Except for Bam, that one was a total brat.

Fine, maybe he wasn't so bad and was indeed nice. Still, a brat. What a shame for you, then, that you seemed to like loud whiny restless boys. Didn't help that he had the look you tend to go for. Dark hair, striking eyes, wide smile. Oh, and the tattoos. My god, the long hair was nice, very, very nice...You mentally slapped yourself for being so predictable. He may not be your favorite of the guys, but he sure was a fan favorite, especially among young women who watch MTV. He was cute, and they didn't have to suffer through working with him, so you got it.

As per usual, today was a full day. The group was all on site, shooting or watching. You stood to the side, holding a turned off camera as Pontius and Preston set up a big stunt a few yards in front of you. Suddenly, a southern slurred drawl calls you from behind. You turn to see Bam displaying his unique smile on his face and a skateboard on his hands. He was shirtless. Cool.

"Get this." He said, before putting his skateboard down and diving belly first on top of it, going down the hill you stood on. It was uneven terrain, with holes. Needless to say, it was pathetically disastrous.

He ran back up to you. His abs very much for show, glistening with sweat under the hot sun. He adjusted the snapback on his head. "Did you get it?"

"Didn't think it was worth wasting the battery." A little mean, but he also didn't give you time to turn on your camera. He frowned, so you quickly added, "But I saw it. It will live forever in my memory, and I'll cherish it so much. Trust me."

"Back in West Chester we don't appreciate sarcasm, you know?" He stood right in front of you now, holding his skateboard vertically with both hands, leaning on it a bit.

"What a lie. I've seen your show, maybe the rest of the town doesn't but you certainly do." You had seen it, it was popular.

"What are you, a fan?" You scoff and tell him no, your friends just always put it on when you hang out. "Any of those friends cute?"

"Gross." You simply walk away, making sure to bump his shoulder on the way to where Jeff stood. He wanted a wider shot of the stunt Pontius and Preston were participating in, so you were tasked with just getting the guys' reactions with your hand held camera. As the two men made another body of water their victim, Johnny, who wasn't part of the stunt, rudely ruined your footage by asking if you wanted to join them at a club they were going to later. Your immediate thought was 'I need a hot shower, good food and sleep, so no' but then he mentioned girls didn't pay to get in before 10pm. You got him to promise he'd pay for your first round, as he owed you for another night, and now you were in.

That was the night this whole circus started.

Just in time to get in for free, you arrived alone, getting word from Johnny that they were already there. That being him, Ryan, Chris, Dave, Jeff and Bam. You couldn't really see the youngest in a club, didn't seem like his scene, but if Ryan was there he sure would be too.

Planning to start drinking immediately - turns out clubs were not really your scene either - to calm you down, as soon as you spot the group and say your hellos, you pull Knoxville towards the bar.

"You look good." You thank him briefly, not wanting to give even the smallest thought to the tall man complimenting you. You were not capable of handling it, you had decided a long time ago, just not worth it.

A doubleshot of vodka later and nursing a Rum and Diet on your hand, you return to the rest of the boys. They stood comically hidden in a corner, monopolizing a booth in the surprisingly already crowded club. As handsome as they were, you couldn't say many good things about their taste in fashion, most of them wearing either what they did all day long or a t shirt and some jeans. It made you feel a little better about your old sleeved black dress, tight where it counted, accompanied by your trusted black platform converse.

Bam surprised you, however, standing up in front of the round table, wearing a plain white shirt, a black blazer on top with black jeans and a single dog tag chain. No hat. Rings on fingers on both hands. You remembered once telling the guys in a night of drinking that you thought rings were sexy but not all men could pull them off. Bam could pull it off. Good for him. Annoying little brat. You always liked his style, mostly black clothes, very skate park fashion. God, you sound like you're sixteen, not a woman in her early twenties.

When you finally look up at him, he's staring between you and Knoxville, who's sitting to your left in the booth, leaving you on the edge of the seat. Your eyes lock. He quickly turns to continue to talk excitedly to Ryan, but moves to sit next to you, asking you to scoot over so he can hear his friend better.

Laughing along with whatever stupid story about Dave was being told by Jeff, you finish your drink and decide you could go for another shot, why not. As if he could hear your thoughts, Bam says he's goint to get himself another drink.

"Mind if I join you?" You blurt out, not really meaning anything by it, just not wanting to go all the way to the bar alone.

"Are you sure you're not a groupie?" He laughs as he gets up, thankfully the other boys don't hear what he said, so you simply roll your eyes and get up after him.

As you walk together, you wrap one of your hands around his forearm to avoid losing him in the crowd. He tenses up and looks back at you briefly, making sure you're good. You shoot him a shy smile, which he returns and that small interaction leaves you a little too warm inside for your liking. Oh, now you sound like a stupid little girl.

At the bar, he suggests tequila with a challenge in his tone. You narrow your eyes and repeat it to the bartender.

"I've seen you cry because of stomach pain before. You don't even know if I can or cannot hold my liquor." You stare him down.

"If Knoxville's gonna buy you drinks all night, you better be able to keep up." Bam looks away.

Sensing a shift, you say softly "He isn't."

Too many tequila shots later, he finally asks "Why not?". It takes you a minute to get the callback, you're buzzing a little. You stop laughing at whatever stupid joke he had made just a second before, feeling lost. Explaining that the leader of their posse owed you a round and that was that, you straighten up a bit, nervous.

"He would cover you, if you pushed. You're pretty, he's Knoxville, not hard to see." That dark hair is pushed back a little, allowing his eyes to bore into you intensely.

"Not interested." You respond curtly, slightly pissed off, for reasons unkown. At this he shakes his head, as if to imply you're stupid for not taking advantage of his friend and your looks. "If you want to auction someone off to Johnny, be my guest, but leave me out of it. I need to pee." Abruptly, you leave to the ladies room, leaving Bam alone at the bar. As you're getting in the bathroom, you see him sit down back at the table.

You stay in there a little too long, not able to climb down from the rage you were currently feeling. Luckily, the bathroom was empty so you could hold back angry tears in front of the mirror in peace. I mean, the audacity to imply you should use Johnny, who was your friend too, to get free drinks was ridiculous, and juvenile! How stupid does one have to be to think that's something you should say to someone who works with you? You weren't even friends! He really needs to learn boundaries and maybe figure out what consequences are. April and Phil Margera were lovely people, but you didn't mind teaching their son one or two things they couldn't.

You were about to step out when the door swings open.

Surprised to see Bam, you take two steps back. To put you even less at ease, he turns around and starts messing with the lock with what you assumed was a hairpin. You hear the door lock. "What are you doing?"

"You've been here a while, wanted to check if everything is okay." He says, nonchalantly.

"The door, fuckface, why did you lock it?" He feigns offense at the insult, instantly laughing it off.

"Potty mouth, that's rude." Bam, who was leaning on the door, starts slowly walking towards you. "Are you okay? You seem...rattled."

Eyes narrowing and nose scrunching, you burst "Ha! Yeah, let me see, you suggested I should sell mysel-"

"No, no, no. I told you it could happen, if you wanted." He cuts you off, standing closer now. "Consensual."

You don't say anything. Maybe you exaggerated, he just has the ability to set you off so easily.

"Whatever, we should go back." You say, motioning to move past him. Bam stops you.

"I have a real proposal, this time." His hand is on your stomach, keeping you in place. "If you say yes, I think we could both be very happy. You could let out all that stress you're always holdin’ and I get you to say nice things to me for once."

"What's your idea?" You ask, looking up at him through your eyelashes, sceptical.

"We should be fuck-buddies." His smile is so wide it throws you off more than what he actually said.

Assuming he's just fucking with you, you decide to play along, "Wow. Took you long enough to suggest it, didn't know you had it in ya, kind of always saw you as a bit of a pussy."

His whole face falls and his jaw clenches. You laugh wholeheartedly, and tell him you really should go back now, trying to move but he stops you once again. Looking up, you see he's not even smiling. "Bam?" Swiftly, he pushes you towards the sink in the poorly lit bathroom with black walls. Before you can process much, his hands are grabbing your face and his lips forcefully pushing your mouth open. With a premature and unexpected moan, you let his tongue slide across yours again and again. It's rough, your back is gonna bruise from how hard it's pressed against the counter, and it's absolutely delicious.

When he steps back, he's panting. There's a determined, ambitious look in his now darkish blue eyes. You glance towards the door, remembering he locked it. This is what he came in here for. Well, you were not gonna let all that be for nothing now. You were gonna let Bam Margera fuck you in a shitty club bathroom, with absolutely no dignity or respect for yourself. What are those good for when his hard dick is already pressing your inner thigh?

[clareguilty]

By Your Side

Hello i wanted these two to smooch bc i think theyre very cute alsdjaldjasl

Arthur Morgan/Kieran Duffy Rating: T | No Warnings Word Count: ~2100

 It was weeks before Arthur was on his feet again. Abigail said the wound in his shoulder must have gotten infected, that his body was overworked enough as it was. She threatened to tie him to the bed.

 He was never alone for too long. The girls took shifts, sitting with him, reading to him, feeding him. Lenny, Hosea, even John. They were all there for him.

 Marston, damn him. Sat there for hours, arms crossed and brows pinched. Hardly said a word, just groused and grumbled and looked at Arthur like he couldn't decide if he wanted to hit him or kiss him.

 Arthur had felt the same way after John nearly got eaten by wolves. The bonds of brotherhood or something like that, he figured.

 And then there was Kieran. Duffy boy. Not an O'Driscoll. Skittish and quiet, only ever coming around when no one else was nearby.

 Even though Arthur was laid up with a bum shoulder and battered ribs, Kieran was afraid of him. Always looked ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

 But he kept coming around. There was something pushing him to fight that meekness.

 Arthur finally found out late one night. It was dark, and all he could see of the boy was the silhouette of his unkempt hair. But he was there.

 "I know how Colm can be," Kieran said. Quiet. Apologetic. "No one deserves that. Especially not you."

 Arthur was quiet for a moment. So that was it.

 "You don't deserve it either."

 Kieran's breath hitched, like no one ever told him that before. Arthur's heart ached. He had been cruel to the boy, and he regretted it.

 "You hear me, boy?" Arthur asked. "You're too good for this. You deserve better."

 Kieran sniffled and was gone in an instant.

 He didn't stop coming around. Continued to spend his nights sitting quietly near Arthur. It was nice, not being alone.

 "Duffy," Arthur hissed one night.

 "Yea?"

 "How's my horse? I want to see her."

 "She's just fine Mr. Morgan. I've been spoiling her these past few weeks for you."

 Arthur huffed. At least the beast was in good hands. Arthur preferred the company of his horse to most everyone, and he hated being away from her for so long. But he trusted that Kieran was taking good care of her.

 "How far can you walk?" Kieran asked.

 "I dunno, Abigail never lets me get very far." Arthur had been confined to a very small radius the past several weeks. Every time he tried to sneak away from his bed, someone caught him and turned him back around.

 "Well," Kieran said slowly. "She's asleep right now. Grimshaw too."

 Arthur was already pushing himself up, groaning in pain. Kieran was at his side in an instant. "Here, Mr. Morgan. Lean on me."

 Arthur was heavier than Kieran anticipated, even after his infection had weakened him. Still, the two of them stumbled and staggered towards the horses. It was slow going, but Arthur was determined.

 The horse looked fine -- cleaner than ever before. Kieran must have brushed her every single day. As soon as she saw Arthur, she stomped her hooves and tossed her head.

 "Hey there, Old Girl," Arthur reached for her with his good arm. "I've missed you."

 Kieran huffed and wheezed as he shouldered Arthur's weight, but it was worth it to see the way his eyes crinkled. Arthur looked happier than he had in a long time. They made their way back to Arthur's bunk, laughing as Kieran nearly toppled them both.

 -

 Abigail gave him hell for walking, but Arthur didn’t mind too much. He shot a wink at Kieran while she ranted and raved about “rest” and “saving his energy.”

 And damn if Kieran didn’t blush bright red, nearly tripping over himself. It made Arthur’s heart swell.

 -

 Teasing Kieran was far too satisfying. The poor boy wore his heart on his sleeve. Arthur constantly ribbed him.

 “You’re too young to be drinking that, boy.” Arthur snatched a bottle of shine from his hand. Was Abigail going to chew him out for getting drunk? Probably. Was it worth it to see the way Kieran’s eyes widened as Arthur licked a stray drop from the lip of the bottle? Definitely.

 -

 Finally, finally finally -- Arthur was strong enough to get back to work.

 There was no chance of him going out. He could hardly walk the length of camp without needing to sit down for a while, but he itched to work, to be useful. The girls enjoyed the company, teasing Arthur for his shoddy sewing skills and unevenly cut vegetables. As long as he didn’t have to spend another minute trapped in that damn bed he would take as much criticism as Susan could dish out.

 His strength came back, and he could carry crates and bags of feed and bales of hay. So he took to working with the horses alongside Duffy boy. He was easy company, and even easier to tease. They were both quiet, good with the horses, content to spend long afternoons sitting in the sun, Arthur sketching quietly in his journal and Kieran sprawled out in the grass letting his mind wander. Arthur often wondered what went through the boy’s head. He was too sweet for his own good, foolish. Not terribly bright but certainly filled with plenty of ideas under his ratty old hat.

 “You’re awful kind for a killer, Mr. Morgan,” he remarked one day out of the blue.

 Arthur bit back the first words that flew to his tongue, an empty threat that would send the boy running with his tail between his legs. Instead he chewed his lip for a moment, considering.

 “I don’t just kill anybody. I tend to try to leave more alive than I do dead -- when I get the chance that is.” Arthur shrugged.

 “Like me?” The boy was looking at him with those wide, pleading eyes. Arthur could never quite figure out if the kid wanted something from him or if he just looked like that.

 Again, he had to hold himself back. He no longer took pleasure in scaring the boy shitless, and he had to fight the reflex in him that always wanted to growl and threaten. It was okay to let his guard down. As much as he hated to say it, he trusted the boy.

 “Yeah, like you,” Arthur shook his head. “Who else would humor me like this? Certainly not Bill.”

 “You think I’m funny?” Kieran’s head cocked to the side. He looked puzzled.

 “Yeah,” Arthur said flatly. “Hilarious.

 The boy pouted. Arthur had to admit it was effective. “You’re teasing me again,” he whined.

 “You make it too easy.” Arthur reached out and ruffled his hair. Kieran practically melted under the touch. He flushed bright pink, a dopey grin spreading across his face before he ducked away, skittering off like he always did.

 -

 The boy cowered and ran under any kind of attention, so Arthur had to hide his staring. He didn’t care who else saw him as long as Kieran didn’t know he was being watched.

 He liked watching Kieran. He was sweet and eager and gentle. From what little he had gathered of Kieran’s past, he had every excuse to be just as bitter and angry as the rest of them. Arthur was a selfish fool, he knew, but he wanted as much of that sweetness as he could get.

 “What’s with you and the O’Driscoll?” Marston asked, sitting down directly in Arthur’s line of vision and effectively blocking his view of Kieran and Mary-Beth sitting together with a book

 “He’s not an O’Driscoll,” Arthur grumbled.

 John’s grin turned sly. “You’re too easy to read, Morgan.”

 Arthur took another drink from his beer. Since he couldn’t watch Kieran, he enjoyed the way the afternoon sun played off of the surface of the water. “I will drown you in the lake,” he said coolly.

 “Then you’d have to deal with Abigail bein’ sore with you. I’m pretty sure she wants the privilege of drowning me.” John looked far too pleased with himself. He thought he was so damn clever.

 “We’ll do it together then.”

 Marston let out a loud, raspy laugh, banging the table with his fist. Arthur almost wished he would go back to sulking and whining about his scratches.

 “I’ll leave you to your staring then,” John shook his head, still chuckling, and wandered off.

 -

 Arthur felt like he was stumbling. Unsure of himself and out of his depth. There were many things he could do: kill, rob, steal, ride, shoot. He did not know how to be sweet. But he wanted to. He wanted to show Kieran the same kindness and consideration that he had shown Arthur. He wanted to make up for how cruel he had been to the boy.

 When was finally feeling well enough to ride into town, he stopped by the general store to refill his satchel with supplies. The barrels of taffy would normally have never caught his eye, but he remembered how excited Kieran had been when Mary-Beth broke off a piece of her chocolate for him. Kieran liked sweet.

 Arthur bought two bags.

 Jack was thrilled to get a bag of candy. Abigail thanked Arthur for his thoughtfulness and eyed the second bag with a gleaming curiosity. It felt like everyone in camp was conspiring against him.

 Kieran smiled so brightly when he noticed Arthur heading his way. He hadn’t even given him the damn candies and he was already beaming. Arthur did his best not to fumble his words.

 “Finally managed to get to the store, and I picked these up for you. I noticed you liked sweets and I was already getting some for the boy-” Arthur cut himself off with a shrug, awkwardly holding out the bag of candies.

 They were both blushing fools. Kieran took the bag, holding it delicately as if it were the most valuable thing in the world. “I can’t wait to share them with you, Mr. Morgan.”

 And Arthur knew he was done for.

 -

 Kieran was filthy. Covered in mud and dust, hair unkempt and unwashed. It had stormed recently, and everyone was covered in dirt to some degree. Somehow Kieran had attracted the worst of it.

 Arthur frowned at the boy. One of the mares hadn’t taken too well to the weather, and Kieran hadn’t left the horse’s side since. He was breaking of small pieces of oatcake and waiting patiently for the horse to eat. He lit up with a smile every time, and Arthur wanted to kiss him so badly.

 But the boy was covered in mud.

 Arthur waited until the horse had finished eating before striding over and hauling Kieran up by the scruff. “Come on, Duffy. We’ve got to get you clean.”

 Kieran was taken by surprise, tripping over his own feet as Arthur dragged him along. “It’s no trouble Mr. Morgan. I’d just wind up dirty again tomorrow anyways. The ground’s not dry yet.”

 “Then we can wash you again tomorrow,” Arthur said. He led them through the trees towards a nice stretch of creek, running water, about waist deep. It was a nice spot to bathe when he couldn’t make it back into town.

 “Strip,” Arthur was already tugging his own boots off, digging a bar of soap out of his satchel. Kieran only hesitated a moment before shrugging out of his clothes. Those would need to be washed too, but Arthur was too busy dragging the boy into the water with him to care.

 Kieran didn’t protest as Arthur lathered up the soap and began scrubbing mud and dirt off the both of them. He had always craved Arthur’s touch, and the scrape of the callouses of his palm against bare skin was almost more than he could handle.

 He hadn’t expected Arthur to dig his fingers into Kieran’s side, causing him to yelp and jump away. Arthur was grinning, looking far too pleased with himself. Kieran smiled back and splashed half-heartedly at Arthur.

 They wrestled in the creek. Arthur easily overpowered Kieran, dunking him under the water a few times and tackling him into the silt. Kieran howled with laughter and clung to Arthur for dear life.

 And then Arthur kissed him. Already breathless and panting, he dragged Kieran in and pressed their lips together. It was clumsy and awkward for a few moments as Kieran froze in shock, but he kissed back eagerly once he found himself again.

 Arthur pulled away with a contented sigh, shaking water out of his hair and chuckling to himself. “Been wanting to do that, but you’ve been sleeping in the damn mud for three days now.”

 Kieran turned pink and then red, clearly overwhelmed. Arthur pulled back a little to give him some space.

 “What if-” Kieran started and then lost his courage. It took him a few tries to get through his words. “What if I slept by you instead?”

 Arthur wanted nothing more.

[dreammutual-remade]

high school!donghyuck

request: idk if you’re taking reqs but i really like ur highscool aus so if u want to write one abt hyuck ill be :^))))))) - anonymous

word count: 5.1k

a/n: oof its been awhile unnies!!!! ive had exams for the past two weeks and I still have exams now so im sorry for not posting anything but reblogs with headassery in the tags!!! we are continuing the high school series n renjun is next!! since I got like 3 requests for him !!!!! hhehhehehheheh its gonna b cute <3 anyways hope u enjoy this I love my lil duckie baby

masterlist

mark, renjun, jeno, donghyuck, jaemin, chenle, jisung

big oof i’m gonna cry while writing this

i’m running out of creative ways to say let’s dive in

let us take the plunge

okay!!!!!!!!!! so you’ve been an editor/writer for the school paper for pretty much all of your high school career

you’re not super well known though because you don’t try to take any credit for anything and always sign your pieces like “- the daily newspaper team” or smth 

anywhom you’ve always loved writing about the stuff around you or making up little short stories

one of your hobbies is just going people watching and trying to write down a brief description of people you see and what you think they’re on the way to do

you’ve befriended the baristas at your favorite spot, lucas and mark, and they always beg to read them but you never let them because mark is too nice to tell you it’s shit and lucas is too dumb to at least say it nicely

you’ve got at least 6 notebooks FULL of these little stories but you’ve never really ? showed anyone because wow showing others your work is Scary

criticism ???/$&/&:&:&:

it’s midway through the first semester of the school year and you’ve been super busy since it’s football season and you gotta write about all the games

and you haven’t had much time to write your cute little stories for yourself and you miss it a lot :/

this weekend though the chance of rain is SUPER high so the football game is cancelled and you have plenty of time to yourself !! :D

there is, a setback tho

THUNDER!!!!! IS SO SCARY !!!!!!

u fckin softie

you decide to tough it out though and get suited up in some polka dot rain boots and a rain jacket and set off to find somewhere to chill

as you’re walking to the nearest lil greenhouse/cafe thing it starts raining ,, ,,, hARDER

when you started it wasn’t rlly raining it was just like that weird tension in the air right before the air pressure drops and it starts to rain and you were already on edge OOF

but then it’s raining so you clutch your notebook to your chest and dash

usain bolt had nothing on you girly you were ZOOM ZOOM

broom broom- doyoung

unfortunately you don’t make it though because with you head down to keep the rain out of your eyes you run RIGHT into someone’s CHEST !!!!!!

hehe u know i’m a sucker for these god damn TROPES

your notebook goes flying and and the arms attached to the Chest That Caused Your Grief come up to catch you by the arms

“oh gOD sorry are you okay ??? i wasn’t looking and i was trying to keep my journal dr- MY JOURNALSDJDDD”

you fling yourself out of this boys arms and pick up your soaking wet journal sadly

:((((((( you had so many stories in there wtf

“oh shit i’m sorry do you uh want me to buy you another one ???”

“no that’s okay it wasn’t your fault :( and it’s just a journal i’m only sad because all my stories are gone :(((((“

you finally look up from your Ruined journal to see , the prettiest boy

you can’t tell for sure cause his hair is soaking wet but it’s a bright red that looks a bit faded and his skin is tanned and golden like HONEY OOF

he meets your eyes and awkwardly smiles and he looks so GUILTY AW

“no really it’s fine don’t feel bad!!”

“okay but i feel bad what can i do to make it up to you?”

“hMMM you could come help me think of wacky stories about people who walk past”

“well if you INSIST m’lady”

“aw, never mind”

“IM JUST KIDDING SJDJJD”

so in the pouring rain you both walk to cafe and find a little corner to people-watch in

on the way there he tells you his name is donghyuck but his friends call him hyuck

“dude that’s the sound goofy makes when he laughs your friends are terrible”

“oh my god i don’t even think they know what they’re saying HsjdjHEHHS”

after a couple minutes of bad goofy impressions you decide to call him duckie instead because ,,,, GARSH MICKEY 🤠🤠🤠

also because it’s cute

you didn’t hear this from me but he uwued so hard rip his street cred with the Boys

anyways right before you settle in you’re like hey uh did you have somewhere to be like weren’t you heading places

and he was like nah i like the rain it’s nice to just walk around feels GOOD

your eyes widen so big and he snorts because what’s so ridiculous about that

and you’re like uh UH NO NOPE NO SIR I DONT FUCK WITH DEMONS

your dramatic ass tries to get up and LEAVE but he grabs your wrist and is like noooo we haven’t even written any stories yet why do you hate rain so much ??

you explain how thunder is the work of the devil and that lightning could strike you down where you stand at any moment and storms are EVIL

he chuckles and side eyes you

“aW you big wimp you’re afraid of thunderstorms aren’t you”

“yES. like any sane person would be”

“you know a lot of people actually like storms”

“like i said, SANE people do not”

and then you change the subject right quick because your face is getting RED with embarrassment

you n donghyuck spend like 2 hours just sitting in the corner and writing little scenarios on napkins

“oh shit that girl over there with the french braids is TOTALLY gonna marry hipster beanie guy in two years. mark my words”

“idk y/n she lowkey has the hots for the barista”

“ ew you mean mark??”

“yeah. now THAT man is a work of art”

MARKHYUCK RISE

“god what is wrong with you maybe you should buy me another book”

“too late now we’re FRIENDS and i don’t owe you ANYTHING”

“being friends doesn’t work like that at all but, okay”

at the end of the day you’ve got a stack of napkins with scribbled notes on them

(one of them has donghyuck’s number on it skdkkfjd)

he leaves you with a bright smile and you’re in awe this boy is so golden and lovely

oof and when you were still in the cafe his hair had dried to the unnatural red color that he ? somehow made look good ugh not fAIR

and it was a lil curly and fluffy and looked very soft :(((((

as you walk home you drift along the sidewalk with a stupid smile on your face wow please get a little less obvious hunty

when you get home the sun is setting and the rain has cleared and you are so Happy that was the best day !!!

you weren’t even scared of the thunder because whenever the sky would fckin CRACK OPEN hyuck would subtly try to keep your attention and distract you with questions

the sky: AAAAAAAAAAA

duckie: oH Hey uhhh so hOW do you even come up these stories ?):$:$ theyre so good

such a sweet boy uwu

when you get home your mom eyes you suspiciously as you drift down the hall towards your room but doesn’t comment

she didn’t need to though because you immediately return and tell her everything !!!

she encourages you to befriend him at school and see where it goes from there ;))) or just TEXT HIM

so you do

both of those things !!!

you: hey!! it’s y/n btw

duckie: hey! u make it home alive without the sky cracking open and killing u

you: stOP MAKING FUN OF ME

you send him memes and he sends , even better ones back this boy is Husband Material

the next couple weeks you realize that hyuck is actually in like a lot of your classes

and he’s like yeah i don’t blame you for not noticing since your nose is always in one of those Damn Journals

can’t believe u smh

anywhom

you start actually interacting with people in class

and by people i mean donghyuck and any of his friends who happen to be there

you literally get thrown into their friendgroup like one day you know donghyuck and have vaguely heard of jeno since he’s on the soccer team

and then the next you’re a part of the group message and jaemin begs for your math homework during lunch ????

“jaemin just dO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK FOR ONCE ???”

“ugh but i don’t know how”

“hey you know what maybe if you didn’t sleep in class you WOULD”

“IM TIRED GOD DAMN IT”

this is usually when duckie interjects with

“hey now girls, you’re both smart <3”

“i know im smart but , jaemin , i don’t know about him 😔😔”

poor jaemin leave him alone :(

jisung is , extREMELY awkward around you because he’s a Baby Freshman and you’re a Female Senior hsjdjf it’s so cute

and chenle is the complete opposite he IMMEDIATELY latches onto you and is always like

“y/n !!!! wanna watch this video of me singing and playing the piano when i was thirteen on live national television !!!!”

“y/N !!!!!!! can you drive me n jisung to get ice cream plEASE !!! we won’t even play PSY this time”

“okay,,,,, pinky promise?”

his pinky hooks around yours at an incredible speed as he jumps up and down with excitement

“pinky promise !!!!!!!!!!”

hyuck overhears and insists upon coming with for , unknown reasons

renjun and jeno keep snickering to each other across the lunch table too uGH

sneaky bastards !

after school you wait in the parking lot for the Babies with hyuck who looks rather flushed considering his skin is pretty tan and it takes a lot for him to visibly blush ??

“hey duckie boy you good?”

“haha yEAH uh just wondering where the boys are hhhh”

“oh yeah ! they should’ve been here like 10 mins ago”

your phone buzzes in your pocket and you go to check it to see a text in the group message

lele: hey y/n~ me n jisung can’t come we totally forgot we joined a frisbee team and there’s practice today !!!

blueberry: yeah ! have fun w/ hyuckie tho

moominluvr96: sjdjd i’m so proud of them

jenomunomunomu: absolute legends have fun at ur frisbee practice my sons

you: 🅱️ro i wanted to go home and SLEEP

blueberry: sorry ! xoxo :*

duckie: chenle my son ? how could you 🅱️etray me this way???

you: ur dead to me

you: literally what’s a chenle ?? sounds like a poisonous fruit

lele: NO IM SORRY

but tbh you’re just being Silly you don’t mind just going with Sunshine Boy

hyuck has only gotten redder as the texting went on though what’s his deal 0.0

you agree to take his car !

actually you insist because you don’t wanna drive but, let’s say you agreed

you find out that hyuck exclusively listens to hipster bands and the occasional troye sivan song because we love a gay legend

actually his music taste is ALL OVER THE PLACE but we r still boppin ladies

you roll the windows down even tho it’s Chilly and let your hand float in the breeze until your fingers start getting numb and you pull your hand back in and roll up the window

okay maybe that was a Bad Idea your fingers almost hurt they’re so cold and you’re rubbing the feeling back into them when hyuck clears his throat

you look up at him and he tilts his chin toward the hand he stretched toward you

you’re confused bc like ? i don’t have anything to give u duckie

he sighs anxiously

“just. give me your hand. mine are warm because i didn’t try to be cool and stick my hand out the window like this is a teen coming of age movie”

“have you ever just been nice and not followed it up with a weirdly specific insult”

“nope. now gimme”

you cautiously placed your hand in his and felt heat bloom all over your cheeks and trail up to your ears and down your neck

he gulps and interlocks your fingers and tucks them in the pocket of his hoodie

you have to lean against the console in between you a little so that your arm isn’t strained but it’s,,,,, Warm and Nice

you’re quick to continue the conversation like normal but your voice sometimes goes in and out since he is subconsciously rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand or tapping his fingers against yours

when you arrive you awkwardly pull your hand from his grip to get out of the car and he cringes a lil :(

you decide to be bold for once in your life and run around the car to catch up with him and shove your other hand into his

“this one’s cold too”

he ducks his head and smiles but gives your hand a lil squeeze :3 uwu

eventually though you do have to let go and enjoy your ice cream

you just make small talk with him about the newspaper and whatever homework is due the next day when a man walks in wearing BRIGHT RED CLOWN SHOES

the weirdest part though is the fact that other than the clown shoes the man is dressed like a body builder and has the hulking mass of one

and also there is a PARROT ON HIS SHOULDER ???

you and hyuck whip to face each other and then look back at the man

without looking away you slide your notebook to the middle of the table and flip open to where you’ve bookmarked the next available page

needless to say you both have a field day making up storylines for this man

“hey hyuckie i missed this it’s been forever since it’s been just the two of us and my journal”

“me too, sunshine”

“heY now you’re the sunshine in this relationship”

both of you choke at your use of the term “relationship” but continue with the conversation JSKSK

“alright but then you have to be the rain”

“aw you know i don’t like the rain”

“yes i know that’s why YOU are sunshine”

“kay but you are so much more like sunshine than i, an Emo”

“how bout i be sunshine since you like sunshine and me, and you be rain since i like rain and you”

OOF ????????

you blush for the Millionth Time and nod shyly and duckie is about to turn purple YIKES

you leave the ice cream shop and climb back in the car and the whole atmosphere is very Tense

you sigh because you miss holding his hand and then turn up the song on the radio which just happens to be, Walkin On Sunshine

THE !!! IRONY !!!

you giggle into your hand and he snorts and you both break into laughter

you plug your phone into the aux

“alright time for some Real Tunes”

“i swear to GOD if you play Bad Boy one more time i’m gonna LOSE IT”

“fuck you red velvet are LEGENDS”

“the only reason you know who they are is because mark tells everyone with a pulse that one of them is from canada just like him”

“okay and ??? i can still appreciate that they produce iconic songs only”

“LISTEN I LOVE RED VELVET TOO BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”

you playfully bicker the whole way back and when you get back to the school to pick up your car you realize you never even got to play your song

“for your information, i was in fact NOT going to play bad boy i was going to play the bop of the century, what is love by twice”

and then, with heavy sarcasm

“well gee why didn’t you just sAY SO”

“IM SICK OF YOUR GIRL GROUP SLANDER LEE DONGHYUCK”

then he giggles and grabs your hand to keep you from getting more than halfway out of the car

“okay okay you know i’m just messing with you”

“yes but leave my gorls out of it”

he releases your hand with fake disgust and wipes it on the passenger seat headrest

“ugh go home, gru”

“it’s a good meme and you can’t even deny it duckie boy”

you blow him a half serious half playful kiss as you bounce over to your car and climb in

you play bad boy and roll the windows down as you drive by his car just to spite him and he laughs good naturedly

it’s only when you get home that you’re like heyyyy nOW

WAS THAT A DATE ??????

you tell your mom about it and she’s like uHHH sounds like a DATE to me ???

but you’re Unsure so you don’t say anything to the others or hyuck just the usual goodnight texts and whatnot

although it could be argued ,, that goodnight texts are a little, relationship-y

it could also be argued , that you do have his contact name as , duckie☼♥

but those can be discussed another time

you continue to hang out with the boys although you refuse to allow them to sit with you at football games because they’re so DISTRACTING

jeno and jisung just fckin yell the whole time while you try to jot notes down to turn it into a story later for the paper

but you can’t concentrate or even figure out wtf is goin on because they’re scREAMING and jumping and messing you uP !

so you sent them elsewhere although,,, hyuck stayed with you

he always does “just in case you get cold or smth”

ur not fooling anyone hyuckie baby

and would you look at that time has FLOWN and it’s time for homecoming !!!!

you plan on going in a big group with hyuck and all The Boys and jaemin has even scored a date !!!

it was highkey through trickery but that’s okay

chenle and jisung are gonna wear matching shirts because they’re headass like that

you’ve already bought a dress and you haven’t ….. shown hyuckie……. just in case……… he asks you

since he…… hasn’t …… YET

renjun keeps assuring you that you don’t need to find a date and that everything is covered but ???? inch resting how duckie has done nOT ONE THING

alright the day of the dance you wake up feeling a little off but go through your normal saturday routine of eating a waffle and absentmindedly watching old gossip girl reruns

but later in the day you feel SHITTY

you’re flushed and your head hurts and it takes so much EFFORT just to get up and get a glass of water

you , comrade, are sick :-(

you text in the gm to let your boys know you can’t come

chenle thinks you’re faking until he calls and hears you sniffling and how rough your voice sounds

“hEY THOT I KNOW UR FAKING BC U DONT HAVE A DATE”

“chenle if it didn’t hurt to speak i would yell at u but my eyes are watering please just text me”

“oh,,,,sorry love u”

and then he hangs up real fast lmao

so you decide to just wallow in despair in your bed and rent overpriced movies on demand

there’s a half drank mug of tea that has long gone cold that contains the medicine you’re supposed to be taking but,, you can’t be bothered tbh lifting your hand is so hard

after a few movies and the sun setting there’s knock at the door ???

you barely hear it since you’re in your room with the door closed but /sigh/ you gotta go answer

you drag yourself out of bed and stumble to the front door and open it, immediately slumping against the frame

this whole time you have still not opened your eyes because light hurts a lil and you know your house well enough

in hindsight that was probably dumb considering you don’t know who’s at the door

you try to open your eyes but they only turn half lidded and droopy so you can just barely make out donghyuck looking Concerned on your front porch

“duckie? what are u doing here?”

“uhhh i uh came to take you to homecoming ??”

he then holds up some flowers and smiles awkwardly

“duckie. baby. sunshine. did u not read the texts i sent ? also it is VERY late to be asking me to homecoming. also, i am a little high on cold medication”

“srry princess, can i come in? you look like you need company and soup and possibly some Sarcastic Banter”

“sounds good duck”

“okay duckie was already incorrect please don’t shorten it to duck”

“you know i didn’t have to let you in”

“so what kind of soup do you want? :-)”

he busies himself attempting to make soup while you have melted into a chair at the dining table with one eye cracked open to watch him

he is very obviously Struggling so you wobble to your feet to stand behind him at the stove and maybe lean a little too much into his back to prop your chin up on his shoulder and reach a hand around him to turn the heat down on the stove

you’ve reached the point of I Don’t Give A Shit and have given up on trying not to be affectionate with him you’re too tired and sickly to restrain yourself and his heart is just steadily beating faster and faster

after your soup you drag him into your bedroom to force him to provide you warmth while watching another movie

but he digs his heels into the floor and tugs on your hand to turn you around

“since you’re missing homecoming….. wanna dance?”

“in my bedroom. while i’m dying. with no music.”

“i’ll take care of the music. cmon don’t be difficult”

“i’m not being difficult i’m just-

you’re cut off by him pressing a finger to your lips and going shhhhhh

you open your mouth to curse him out bc hOW DARE HE

but then he gently pulls you by the waist into his chest and does his best to tuck you under his chin

you’re too comfortable like this so you don’t bother admonishing him for earlier and just settle into his embrace

you loop your arms around his neck as he starts to sway you back and forth

after a couple seconds he starts humming, quietly at first and then louder

and then he starts singing and it’s so sO SWEET AND SOFT

you can feel each breath he takes under your hands and the vibrating of his vocal chords against your forehead and you just close your eyes and press closer to him

you’ve literally never been this content in your whole life binch

he is so warm and ever so often smooths a hand up and down your spine whenever you shiver a little or shift in his arms

when the song finishes you keep swaying with him a little while longer

you’re leaning against him so hard that like the majority of your weight is on him yikes

“babe are you asleep”

“mm”

“no?”

“mmm”

“pretty close though?”

“hm”

“alright”

he chuckles and presses a barely there kiss to the top of your head and sort of waddles the two of you over to the bed

you don’t even have to ask him to climb in with you that was The Plan, Stan

(that’s a saying and also i’m calling u a stan wow queen of puns)

as soon as he settles in you tuck yourself under his arm and throw an arm over him to play with the fingers of his other hand

you’ve got the breakfast club on and it’s Real Nap Hours

hyuck’s arm falls asleep pretty soon tho so instead you switch to laying on your sides facing each other with your face pressed into his neck and your arms draped over each other

right before you fade into unconciousness, he tilts his chin down and nudges his nose against yours to get your attention

your eyes flutter open and you look up at him while he smiles gently down at your sleepy expression aWE ???

“hey wanna be my date when you’re not on your death bed?”

“god, what a romantic. is that a shakespeare quote?”

“shut up and say yes”

“alright fine”

“with more enthusiasm!”

“YES!! GOD DAMN IT”

he shakes his head but then leans down to press a lingering kiss against your cheek before tucking you back against him and evening out his breathing

you fall asleep and dream of boys with beautiful voices who love to dance in the rain

a couple hours later you wake up to a forehead smooch and your Boy whispering bye angel

you sit up and whine and he’s like bby i have to go it’s like midnight n my momma wants me home :(((

you pout and he giggles and taps your lips with his index finger

“go back to sleep and i’ll text you something nice to wake up to yeah?”

you nod and grab his hand to kiss it before flopping back down and passing The Fuck Out

the next morning you wake up still feeling a bit shitty but smiling anyways bc you’ve scored the cutest boy in the universe uwu

he even kept his promise and left you a cute message to wake up to ;((((

duckie☼♥: good morning bbg i hope ur feeling better today and that the sun shines all day for u !!!

you: JEKDKDJ DUCKIE IM STILL SICK BUT TAKE ME ON A DATE RN

you: 💗💗💗💕💌💞💞💗😤💖🤧😔💗😔🤧😔🌺💐🌺🌺🌸💐😔💛😔💛💐🤧💐💐💖💖

duckie☼♥: noooo ur gross

you: you ruined it :(((

duckie☼♥: i mean noooo u gotta get better

you: okay :)))

you finally get over your cold like 4 days later and insist you’re fine to be Taken Out And Treated Like A Princess

he tells you to dress warm except gloves bc he wants to hold youR HAND CAN YOU BELIEVE

you’re weirdly not nervous ? like you thought you would be but you’re just excited and very happy !!!! uwu

he picks you up about an hour after school and reveals that he’s gonna take you to all the cafes in town to people watch and write stories which is !!! your favorite activity !!!!!!

“is it lame??? oh god you think it’s lame i’m so sORRY”

“nO!!! no i love it you did good”

“are you sure?”

“yes duckie”

“okay good i mean i knew you’d like it”

“but you just-“

“hm?”

“,,,,, nevermind”

you both hike around town until it gets late and you’re tired and you end up on a bench in the local park with his head in your lap and your fingers in his hair

you lightly scratch his scalp and hum and he practically PURRS like a cat

(furry ????? it’s more likely than you think)

his eyes are closed and you trace your fingers over his features lightly until it tickles and he scrunches up his nose aw bABY !!!!!

then, without opening his eyes

“so when are you gonna man up and kiss me?”

“first of all, i will never man up i prefer being female thanks. sECOND WHY DO I GOTTA DO IT”

“i asked you on the date !!! you gotta do something!!!”

“i held your hand first!!”

“after i literally offered my hand to you”

“uGH fine come here”

“no i’m not gonna ‘come here’ you literally just made a disgusted noise at the thought of kissing me”

“it wasn’t at the thought of kissing you it was just at you”

“this isn’t helping at all”

you roll your eyes playfully and then yank him up by the collar of his shirt to press your forehead against his

“does this help?”

aND THEN YOU LAY ONE ON HIM ??????:$&:&;&;

QUEEN OF CONFIDENCE

he sighs against your lips and sits up a little more so he can reach you better, smoothing a hand up to cup the side of your jaw and neck

you pull away and his eyes are still closed

“hmmm,,, yeah”

you scoff and drop him back to half laying on your lap

“you’re such a dork”

“yeah but i’m your dork now so it’s embarrassing for both of us”

“aw i wouldn’t have it any other way <333”

“is it just me or was that sarcasm”

“just you <3333”

renjun, who has been rOOTING FOR YOU GUYS THIS ENTIRE TIME

screams when you call him that night lol

literally SCREECHES

chenle happens to be with him and screeches eVEN LOUDER

basically the whole group screams simultaneously they’ve been shipping it since day one

hyuck is a bit prideful so when you guys are out in public he’s not super affectionate but ,, when you’re not out

he’s wrapped around you like a koala and will never let go

you have to go pee? hold it

you’re dehydrated and dying? you can live off of his Love

your favorite activity to do together is BAKING because it never goes well no matter how hard you try

and although it usually ends in DISASTER it’s also a good time and afterwards duckie lets you curl up between his legs on the couch and nap uwu !

dating really didn’t change the dynamic between you two other than affection you still read each other to DUST on the regular  lmao

no one gets too harsh tho bc you love each other and whatnot

ugh love ruins all the FUN doesnt it :/

donghyuck makes it his business to know exactly when it will rain and makes sure to be with you when it does

at the first sight of clouds he is in your house with board games and movies and snuggles to distract you !!! what a sweetheart

on days when it’s really bad you just climb into bed and bury your face in his chest while he talks about whatever comes to mind and distracts you

he also takes to slumping down and falling asleep on your shoulder whenever you have movie nights together and it’s so CUTE

his little heart shaped lips and his cheeks always end up smushed and he just looks adorable wow rip you

he’s obsessed with your cheeks he loves to cup your face while he talks to you and press gentle kisses to them during Sleepy Time or when you part ways in the school hallways

if he’s excited he’ll bound up behind you and wrap his arms around you and kiss your cheek real hard and then start babbling about whatever’s got him so worked up

basically, hyuckie is a boy full of sunshine and passion and sarcasm and he’s the best boyfriend you could ever ask for :’-)

[d-noona]

BARTERED BRIDE

SUMMARY: Kim Namjoon is a ruthless financier used to buying and selling stocks, shares and priceless artifacts. But now Namjoon has his eye on a very different acquisition – Y/N L/N. Left destitute by her father’s recent death, Y/N walks into Namjoon’s bank looking to extend her overdraft. As Y/N needs money and Namjoon needs a wife, he proposes the perfect deal: he’ll rescue her financially if she agrees to marry him. But in this marriage of convenience can Y/N ever be anything more than just a bartered bride?

WORDS: 1928

Kim Namjoon x Reader

M.List | Ch. 02

CHAPTER 01 - THE ACQUISITION

Expecting him to be a middle-aged toad, Y/N was surprised when the man who rose from behind the large orderly desk was a tall, dark, middle twenties, very handsome, with dimples on top. Man was he handsome.

“Miss L/N, please sit down.” He gestured to the chair on the outer side of the desk and waited until she was settle before resuming his own sit. She knew nothing about him, except that his name was Kim Namjoon and he occupied a large office on the highest floor of a prestigious office block in the City. This area of Seoul was one of the world’s great markets. Judging by his discreetly luxurious surroundings, this man was one of the market’s moguls. To Y/N, until very recently, money has been something she spent with careless extravagance on clothes for herself, presents for others and anything else she wanted. Now the supply she had dried up. That was why she was here in the formidable presence of this well-built, 5’11 tall, whose physique didn’t match her mental image of a top-level financier. All she knew about him was that Mr. L/N, her late father’s lawyer, had said that Kim Namjoon wished to see her and -might be able to help her and her mother out of their predicament.

Predicament being the understatement of the year, Y/N thought wryly, leaning back in the comfortable leather chair and automatically crossing her legs, remembering a moment too late that this was a no-no in the books of advice on how to impress interviewers. The movement caused Mr. Kim to shift the focus of his cold brown gaze from her face to her shapely knees and then to her ankles. Y/N accustomed to men admiring her legs furtively or openly according to temperament. Kim Namjoon belonged to the latter group, but whether his frank appraisal was appreciative, critical of indifferent it was impossible to tell. He had the most deadpan expression she had ever come across. It made her nervous.

And Y/N wasn’t used to being nervous. She didn’t like it. The appraisal didn’t last long, perhaps not more than three seconds. Leaning forward, his forearms resting on the edge of his desk and his long-fingered hands loosely clasped, he returned his gaze to her face. “You’re in trouble I hear.”

Lacking any regional of social accent, his voice gave no clue to his background. Self-assured and brisk, it was a voice she could imagine giving decisive orders people would jump to obey. Had she met him in surroundings not indicative of his occupation, and had been asked to guess it, she would have assumed that he held a senior rank in one of the special units of crack fighting men called to the world’s trouble spots when drastic action was the only solution. He had an air of contained physical power. A man of action rather than a desk-bound number-cruncher. “Yes,” she agreed, “we are. Since my father’s death, my mother and I have discovered that instead of being comfortably off were extremely hard up – virtually penniless.”

“Not penniless,” he said dryly. “The watch you’re wearing would pay the grocery bills of an average family for several months.” She looked down at her Cartier watch her parents had given her for her eighteenth birthday “I won’t be wearing this much longer, but I don’t mind that. I can cope with the change in our circumstances. It’s my mother I’m worried about. She’s not young. She’s never worked. She –“ He interrupted her. “Nor have you, I understand. The press described you as a playgirl”

“The press put labels on everyone…not always accurate. It’s true I’ve never had a job. There was no point. My father was rich…so we thought. I wasn’t brainy enough to train for one of the professions. I don’t have any special bent. The most useful thing I could do was to help keep other people employed, not take a routine job someone else needed” as Y/N attempts to explain her situation. “You do not have to explain your butterfly existence to me Miss L/N. but without any work-experience, you’re not going to find it easy to start supporting yourself, particularly not at the level you’re accustomed to.”

“Presumably you didn’t ask me here to tell what I already know,” she replied, with a flash of irritation. There was something about his manner that put her back up.  He hadn’t smiled when he greeted her. Beyond standing up when she was shown in by his secretary, he hadn’t done anything to put her at ease. “Why did you send for me?” she asked quirking at eyebrow at the man.

Rising, he picked up a file lying on top of his desk. He walked round to hand it to her.  “Have a look through that.” He strolled away to a window looking out on a vista of rooftops. He stood with his hands behind him, the right hand clasping the left wrist. The file held plastic pockets containing illustrations taken from magazines and the glossier kind of catalogue. Mostly they showed pieces of sculpture, paintings and other objets d’art. There were also several photograps of horses, an aerial view of an island off Scottland and a picture of a small French Chateau. Half turning from the window, he said “Theyre all things that caught my eye over the last few years.  Some of them are mine now I’m in the fortunate position of being able to indulge my acquisitive impulses…as I expected you did before your father died.”

Shaking her head “Not on this scale,” said Y/N. She couldn’t see where the conversation was heading, as she glanced at him, Kim Namjoon returned to his desk, resting one long hard thigh along the edge of its polished surface and folding his arms across his chest. “There’s one picture in there that you’ll recognize. Carry on looking.”

Intrigued, she obeyed, turning the pages more rapidly than before. Suddenly, with indrawn breath of surprise and puzzlement, she stopped. She hadn’t expected to see a photograph of herself. It had been taken at a party of socialites. She was wearing a figure hugging dress of black crushed velvet and showing a lot of sun-tanned cleavage, having recently returned from a winter holiday in the Caribbean. “What am I doing here?” she demanded, baffled. “You, I hope, are going to be my next major acquisition, Ms. L/N” For the first time a hint of amusement showed in the hard steely-brown eyes and flickered at the corners of his wide, chiseled mouth.

Inconsequently, it struck her that his mouth was at variance with the rest of his features. It was the mouth of a sensualist in the face of a man who otherwise gave the impression of being self-disciplined. But it was the meaning of his extraordinary statement, rather than the contradiction between his mouth and his eyes that preoccupied her at the moment. “What do you mean?” she said warily.

“I need a wife. You need financial support. Do you understand the word fortuitous?” says Namjoon. “Of course I do,” she retorted, her long lashed – brown eyes sparkling with annoyance at the implied aspersion of her intelligence. It was true she had been considered a dunce by most of her teachers and had never done well in examinations, but that was because she hadn’t been interested in the things they wanted her to learn…grammar, maths, physics and incredibly tedious bits of history, all of them taught in a way guaranteed to send the normal teenagers – particularly the sort of restless, hyperactive teenager she had been…into well…boredom. She said, “It means happening by chance…especially by a lucky chance. But I can’t see anything luck about my father dying of massive coronary in his middle fifties, with his business on the rocks and his wife destitute,” she added coolly. Matching her coldness, he said “In my experience, most people make their own luck. Your father’s lifestyle wasn’t conductive to a long healthy life. As a business man, he took too many risks for a man with responsibilities.”

“Did you have dealings with him?” she asked. She knew nothing about her father’s business life. Since her late teens he had spent little time with his family. It was years since he and her mother had shared a bedroom. Y/N knew there had been other women. “Not directly. But after seeing that picture, I made a point of finding out more about you. I was on the point of making a contract when your father died and I put the matter on hold. In the light of subsequent events, I’ve adapted my original plan to deal with things more expeditiously. If my information is correct, you have no relationships with men in train at the present time?”

“How did you find that out?” she said baffled. He said coolly, “I had you investigated…a reasonable precaution in the circumstances. Marriage is a very important contract. When people are buying a house, they have searches made by surveyors and lawyers. I had you checked out, very discreetly, by a private detective. You may want to run a similar check on me. For the time being my secretary has prepared a file which will give you most information you need.”

Retrieving the file she was holding, he placed another slimmer folder on the edge of the desk in front of her. “I can’t believe I’m even hearing this, I thought this was a merchant bank…not marriage bureau.” Y/N’s eyes were both perplexed and angry. He didn’t look like a crazy person. In his expensive suit and diagonally striped tie, perhaps the emblem of one of those old boys’ networks which still wielded so much influence, he looked eminently sane and sensible. But he must be out of his head to believe he could buy a wife as casually and easily as everything else in the file he was putting away in a drawer. “It’s a bank and I am its chairman,” he said calmly. Y/N cocked her head to the side “You wouldn’t be much longer if your shareholders heard what you’re suggesting. They’d think you were out of your mind. You can’t buy a wife.”

“It isn’t the usual method of acquiring one,” he agreed, going back to his chair. “But these are unusual circumstances. I have neither the time nor inclination to follow traditional course. You are in urgent need of someone to straighten out the financial shambles you find yourself in. if you agree to marry me, your mother won’t have to move and you won’t have to worry about her future. I’ll take care of that. Think it over, Y/N. when you’ve had time to assess it. I think you’ll agree it’s an eminently sensible plan.” For some reason his use of her first name detonated the anger which had been building inside her. It was rare for Y/N to lose control of her temper. But she did now. Jumping up, she said fiercely “I don’t need to think it over. Nor would any sane person. I’m furious you’ve made me come here, thinking I’d hear something useful! This trip to Seoul has been a complete waste of time. I’ve damned good mind to write to you board of directors and tell them they’ve got a nutcase in control.” Without waiting for his reaction, she marched to the big double doors of solid mahogany and yanked one of them open. Glowering at the startled secretary at his desk in the outer sanctum, she slammed in resoundingly behind her and returned to the private lift which brought her up to this rarefied level of the building.

[cocona]

hey! i wanna at least try to get into kpop, to see what all the fuss is abt, and youre the first blog that comes to mind abt that stuff. do you have any recs!? or comments?? anything really, i'm interested in what you have to say

i have recs!!! first of all ty for asking me abt it hdgfs !! i’ll make u a list !! i will try to stay concise but i have bolded n linked the most important stuff since i tend to blabber a lot! there r groups i purposely didnt recommend! also! i advise you to look up who did what if you want to know why idcs abt certain artists that r big in kpop (like big//ba//ng, su//ju, bl//ock//b, ma//ma//moo & so on) tl;dr: kpop basics (spotify) + @tearera (my kpop sb)

i’ll start w some RECS but jsyk kpop as u might have heard of it is mainly composed of groups! which is why i’ll start w groups then soloists! of course u can check out most of them on spotify (u can listen to their playlist of the most famous songs atm!). please notice that the kpop industry is very ‘classic’ when it comes to concepts (cute r for gorls! badass r for boys!) so um. yeah. yikes. if i had to argue abt all the things i find wrong in this industry this post would become a manifesto, u can always pm me if u want to hear me complain lmao 

GIRL GROUPS

honestly…. TWICE are the first one that came to my mind when i thought of ggs to rec. they’re a 9 member group labelled under jyp entertainment n have debuted in 2015 with the bop like ooh aah… that u can listen to! their genre is mainly cute songs but dont be fooled!! they have extremely powerful songs & lyrics as well! some good starts with their music are LIKEY (2017, a bop, great melody, great rapping, one of their ult feel good songs, played @ the olympics), TT (2016, queens of halloween!), and also their most recent song WHAT IS LOVE (2018, iconic!! gay!! bop!! sweet!! great album!!). as twice are the kind that can set you off by their cuteness and playful vibes, i recommend you to check out some of their side tracks. personality wise, the girls r very fun and sweet! they’re all angels and i love them all THIS MUCH!! if u want to know, sana & dahyun r my favourite members!         

also queens, but from sm entertainment this time, Red Velvet are a 5 member gg who have debuted in 2015 with the song Happiness (at that time they were only 4 but the youngest member, Yeri, joined later on!). some very famous songs of theirs are… basically all their title tracks but i’d mainly recommend Russian Roulette, Dumb Dumb (also my fave rv music video!!), Peek-a-boo (what’s better than lesbians witches slaying men and eating pizza), Bad Boy (honestly… one of their best songs… title track of their repackaged album…good shit if u will). of course! there are some side tracks i will recommend! i will frankly say that i listen to a lot of their music and they’re my favourite musically! some faves in no particular order are automatic, cool hot sweet love, huff n puff, something kinda crazy, about love, kingdom come, little little and talk to me! they have very versatile genres and have two main themes of music, the red and the velvet, though these mix often! rlly! their music really good. they have amazing choreographies too!!!!

the third gg i will rec are one that have not debuted yet, it’s LOONA! get ready bc they are a 12 member group with one girl for every month. each girl was revealed every month staring from 2016 with a single album composed of one song and one side track that usually features another member! as this group has yet to debut, i cannot show you anything with all twelve members but! they work with units, there are three: loona 1/3, odd eye circle, and yyxy (tune in for their debut scheduled for may!) that each have an album. 1/3 r more of a cute girly concept, while odd eye circle have played strongly on the girl crush & rnb concept. we have yet to see what yyxy has for us n im frankly v excited!!! my fave singles are Around You (hyunjin), Let Me In (haseul), Singing in the rain (jinsoul, best girl), Eclipse (kim lip), and Heart Attack (by chuu!! also best girl). they have already released a lot of music so go ahead & listen to it! their music videos have a plot and it’s one of those theories fandom (loonaverse)! the positions that all the members will have wasn’t been revealed yet!

then here’s a list of ggs that’s not as detailed bc it would be too long: clc (they r…the girls….), exid (vocals, social criticism, sexy), blackpink (5 songs out but theyre all top notch), f(x) (v good music! bring them back from the war), gfriend (cute & refreshing concepts! v tight choreographies! sweet girls!), aoa, & many more! groups i dont rec bc i dont stan but that u should know of: snsd, 2ne1; that have disbanded but shouldnt have: sistar

BOY GROUPS

ok i stan two boy groups so that’ll be quick! i’ll also rec plenty of music!

the main group i stan is BTS aka the bangtan boys and yes… they’re everywhere… they deserve it tbh… so theyre a 7 member boy group and they’re the first kpop group i ever stanned! they have released a lot of songs already but i’ll just mark something! bts are known for their cinematography and plot in their music videos as well as their politically/socially engaged songs. they debuted in 2013 with the youth-conscious song no more dream and um. forget the mv. the message is what’s important. secondly! my favourite eps & albums are DARK&WILD (forget abt war of hormone), The Most Beautiful Moment in Life pt2, WINGS, and Love Yourself 轉 Tear (which will be released on May 18th so stay tuned!). here’s a beginner’s list to bts & their music videos: spring day, blood sweat & tears, run, fire, i need u, and intros: singularity, serendipity. i cannot recommend bts songs bc i’d be unable to pick some, but here is my bangtan favourites playlist and spotify’s This Is BTS! n their most known song atm, still on charts, DNA. another thing!! they dabble in a lot of genres! there is a constant symbolism in most of their songs and music videos, which is why there are theories! also, here are my fave choreos (x x x) & non-official releases (x x x)! also! j-hope recently released a mixtape! check it out! it’s v good! the bad thing is that the fandom is massive n it is filled with young fans so a lot of fan-created content is cringey. apart from that! theyre lovely as a band n i’m not ashamed to say that they bring me most of my joy these days!

then there is… NCT. ok, let’s dive into them. nct is the acronym for Neo Culture Technology, they’re currently an 18 member boy group but hey! don’t be scared! they too work in units and have only released one song which features all 18 of them! it is likely that the band will expand later on & that the name NCT will become a brand (like akb48 u know). so far! there are three units! NCT DREAM (based on age, with the youngest members who r still minors), NCT U (the first unit to have debuted, aka nct united, a rotative unit with no fixed genre or members list) and NCT 127 (seoul based unit, fixed, with 9 members). they’re known for their experimentative and diversified sound, which goes from ballads to… this. while each unit have their distinct genre and vibe, they’re all under the same label of nct! and um, check out spotify’s nct playlist if u want! here r some songs that are basics! bolded r the faves! jsyk i hated their music & their clothes @ first bc it’s so unique so dw if u dislike them! 

127: cherry bomb, limitless (gross hair but spectacular song), touch, back to u, 0 mile, sun & moon, angel

dream: my first and last, we young, go, dunk shot, trigger the fever, la la love

u: the 7th sense, boss, baby don’t stop, without you, yestoday

solo tracks/sm station: dream in a dream & new heroes (ten), around (taeyong)

the last group i’ll present in length n that u should know about is SEVENTEEN. they’re a 13 member boy group & work in units as well but mainly promote w all the members! they’re the fun, sweet, talented, heartfelt refreshing boys we all love tbh! so! seventeen debuted in 2015 with the bop adore u and since then it’s been great song over great song… they also have great choreos! they’re the easiest group to listen to imo bc their songs are mostly light and very similar to what you can hear on teen top radios! then, they get stuck in your head very easily! here are some songs u can listen to that will make your day! mansae, very nice, pretty u, clap, don’t wanna cry, change up, n there are many more! some of my faves are when i grow up, trauma, still lonely, rocket, crazy in love, lean on me, and uhgh rlly all of their songs tbh! three units better known as teams: hip-hop, performance and vocal, with a leader in each. they put up great performances!!

then there is shinee, mostly nicknamed the kings of kpop, i’d make a very long desc but! i suggest you to see for yourself as the fandom is v helpful!

here are some boy groups that i rec but wont go in length with: pentagon (i stan!), monsta x (edm, powerful dances), shinee, exo (great vocals, great choreos, v good music), astro (bubblegum but v heartwarming! vocals), day6 (rock band, great songs), wanna one & many more! rlly um bgs arent the thing that’s lacking in kpop! 

a bit in the middle: KARD (mixed group!!! great music & genderless, breaking the usual hardcore is for boys & cutesy is for girls concept)

SOLOISTS

more of a solo person? check out artists like hyuna (ex member of both wonder girls & 4minute), iu, heize (a personal fave!), sunmi (ex member of wonder girls), taemin (member of shinee), amber liu (current member of fx! also released a mixtape recently!) hyolyn or dean… tbh there r many! these r just the ones i can think off the top of my head! theyre honestly easy to listen to so just look up their names on yt & u should find some good things!

if u read all of this!! uhh kudos to u!! it was v long n i didnt expect it to be that long!! 

[jaron360]

every 5th!

okay so im gonna list an aviators and tanuki song for each prompt (because theyre my FAVS) but also a song by another artist. also gonna put a read more as this is a little long

5:A song that needs to be played LOUD

Aviators - Bleeding Sun: BADASS song about a cyborg created by the elite of society to protect them and their property, but she turns against them and begins hunting them down when she realizes how they oppress the other citizens

Tanuki - Your Friendly Local Arsonist: that chorus is just so addicting, and the song is also about how people are silenced by those in power iirc 

The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell: this song helped me a ton in getting through high school. i would feel so overwhelmed and exhausted all the time and this song would help keep me going

10:A song that makes you sad

Aviators - I Don’t Want to Hurt You: about a father who exiles himself because hes afraid his addiction will make him hurt his daughter, sung during his last hours before death

Tanuki - The Fire . The Fear . The Fall: i dont know exactly what its about but its definitely about suffering and carrying heavy burdens in some way, and its just saturated by emotion

Porter Robinson & Madeon - Shelter: holy shit such a beautiful song and music video i cried listening to it multiple times back when it first came out

15:A song that is a cover by another artist

i dont think tanuki has covered anything before so yeah lol

Aviators - Hurt: covering nine inch nails. i loooove the tritones in the verses, and the chorus just feels so warm and heartfelt

Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence: covering simon & garfunkel. such a grand piece, feels like something you would sing floating in the sky to the ears of the entire world

20:A song that has many meanings to you

yeahhh i pretty much settle on one meaning for like every song i listen to, but ill do my best

Aviators - Constellations: ive always thought this song was about feeling a connection with others across the world who want for something more, but i guess it could also be about missing someone youve lost

Tanuki - Choke: while this song has a specific personal meaning for aleks about his disdain for a person who used their religion to criticize him, i sort of adopt it as an anthem for lgbt people struggling against bigots.

and yeah cant really think of anything else for this one

25:A song by an artist no longer living

lmao aviators and tanuki are both definitely alive so another exception

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody: like come on honestly god shouldve made freddie mercury immortal

30:A song that reminds you of yourself

Aviators - Psychoactive: because its about rly liking sex lmao

Tanuki - Release: about filling our lives with things to distract us and give us an escape from suffering and make our lives feel more meaningful, which is something i empathize with big time

Owl City - Fireflies: this song radiates this sense of wonder and awe that i relate to a lot regarding like being autistic and having special interests

thank u! omg that took a really long time my moms probably gonna be mad. but it was fun!

[0mint-tee]

bc im bored

1. What do you like about your Sun Sign and what don’t you like? I like that im independent, don’t mind making the first move, dont let em take advantage of me, im strong, opinionated.. and i dont like that im quite too reactive, always expecting people to do what i’d do, i tendo to get angry and stressed, insecurity 2. What are the positive and negative aspects of your Sun Sign that you display? same 3. Like about your Moon Sign and dislike? aries moon: too reactive, childish, egoistical... but i like that im caring, passionate, strong, affectionate 4.Positives and negatives of your Moon Sign that you display?  same 6. Do you get along with people who share your Sun Sign? yes!! 7.What are your relationships like with those with Signs opposite to you? i had a libra friend, he was alrite, but kinda boring and just meh 8. What Sign do you get along with best? sagittarius, aquarius and scorpio for some reason. also gemini but just for fun. maybe cap too 9. Worst? cancer, virgo, leo, pisces 10. Favorite Sign in Sun? sagittarius, aries, aquarius maybe capricorn 11. In Moon? taurus, aries 12. Rising? aquarius, aries, taurus, sagittarius i guess 13. Venus? gemini, leo,libra, taurus, scorpio maybe.... 14. Are you interested/do you believe in Synastry or Astrological Compatibility?  YASSS 15. What’s your Astrological OTP? mmmh never thought about this one xd I think Pisces and Capricorn, Sagittarius and aries 16. What pair do you think is the worst? Taurus and Aquarius OR Aries and Virgo 17. What Sign have you had the most success with romantically? Leo (to say something lol)...and right now scorpio 18. The least? virgo and cancer 19. Are you attracted romantically to a certain Sign? Sagittarius and Aquarius..maybe Taurus 20. Platonically? Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces 21. What do you like about your Venus Sign? In gemini...the good part is sharing info and talking for hours, laughing a lot, wanting to know everything 22. Dislike? well the bad part is sometimes u dont really know what u want in love and u go around flirting with everyone.. 23. If you could have any Venus Sign what would it be? taurus...maybe leo...or pisces or scorpio 24. Have you ever compared your chart to another’s to see if the two of you were compatible? YAS 25. Were there any surprises for you in your birth chart? mmmh yes..few..but at that time i didnt know much bout astrology so 26. If you could change any part of your charts what would it be? neptune in first house! taurus mercury...and moon in aries 27. What are the Signs of your friends? What is the dynamic like? right now pisces and scorpio (wonder why so many water..mhh im lacking it in my chart) 28. Your parents’ Signs? scorpio father and aqua mother What is the dynamic like? he was dominant and abusive, total mess of a scorpio and she was cold and dependent of him, zero self-steem totally weird for an aqua woman! 29. Your current or most recent partner’s Sign? last ‘’partner’’..virgo What is the dynamic like? HORRIFIC, he wasso pathetic, so critical of me, we could never understand each other, it was hell till i decided to cut it off 30. Do you believe gender influences Astrology? not..quite? not sure 31. Are you interested in Western, Eastern, and/or Vedic Astrology? vedic yeah bc it’s famous 32. What House placement has helped you the most in life? i think...taurus mercury and aquarius rising..and sun in aries!!! 33. Hurt you the worst? neptune in first square my sun and moon... mars conjunt sun, moon in aries, sun conjuct moon 34. Do you believe Astrology determines our destiny or that we still have free will? we always have free will its up to us to work on ourselves 35. Do you believe in Astrological Soulmates? yeah 36. How seriously do you take Astrology? VERY 37. Have you ever felt skeptical of Astrology? not really 38. Do you worry about Retrogrades? i try to work with them and pay attention, i worry about mercury retrograde HAHA 39. Do you consider Astrology when planning for your future? yes,very but not so much ahead mostly bc i live in hte present, but when i cut my hair, get hair dye, have to talk to somebody, go out an stuff like that i always have a look at my transits and when its not the right time i will NOT do it 40. Do you feel like people take Astrology too seriously or not seriously enough? mmmhh..well theres peoplle for everything in this world. but both sides are a consequence of egoism. ones who take astrology VERY serious need to consider what they really expect from it like, to save their lives or something bc astrology will not, that’s just a part which can help us grow then u have to experience ur own life like..astrology just a guidance...not everything!! and thos ewho think astrology is fake are afraid to see whats there for them, theyre comfortable thinking they are good just the way they are, they think improving is soooo hard to do, its a way of being lazy so...whatever!up to them 41. Is Astrology a large part of your life? YAS 42. Can you relate better to your Dominant or Sun Sign? ......yes sigh 43. What Element is Dominant in your Chart? FIRE sigh 44. Are you the type who always asks for other’s Signs? ALWAYS 45. Feelings on Ophiuchus? i think they took it away bc they’re not interested in them, but actually ophiochus is very cool, very interesting story, people should check it out bc it makes a lot of sense, dont just run away from it bc they already have theyre structures! and theyre scared 46. What do you like and dislike about the tumblr Astro community? i like that i can learn a lot and theres interesting facts, Q&A, memes... but i dont like that theres too much of it like..TOO much and some blogs do not do a favor to astrology they just post random things, unaccurate stuff... 47. Do you have a favorite Astro blog? few 48. What do you think about Zodiac stereotypes? those are cool for understanding the signs but theres much more to them 49. What’s your Astrology forte? Relationships, careers, etc. mmm...i think personl growth, but relationships have always been very important to me to grow up 50. Do you believe in any other “pseudoscience”/occult practices? everything that could there be,,,

[relationshipadviser-blog]

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

New Post has been published on https://relationshipqia.com/must-see/is-sex-the-answer-to-your-relationship-woes/

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Sex

Inner life

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Amelia Hill

@byameliahill

Sun 21 Jan 2018 01.00EST Last modified on Sun 21 Jan 2018 09.52EST

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Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, says Michele Weiner-Davis. Illustration: Andrea De Santis/Observer

How does it make you feel when your partner is cold and distant? Or when theyre critical and prickly? Does it make you want to rip their clothes off, order in a vat of whipped cream and install a chandelier to swing from?

No? Well theres your problem according, at least, to Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor whose Ted talk explaining her unconventional advice to warring couples has been viewed almost 3.5 million times online.

Her advice couldnt be simpler: shag. Do it even if you dont want to, do it especially if you dont want to and, most important of all, do it frequently whether you want to or not. To make it even clearer, shes borrowed one of the most famous advertising slogans of recent times: Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, she explains from her clinic in Colorado. Its a win-win situation for both of you!

Weiner-Daviss self-confessed zealotry for marriage has its roots in the moment her mother blew her teenage world apart by announcing that her seemingly perfect marriage had been a sham for its 23-year duration. She was 16 at the time, and says she wasnt the only one who didnt recover from the bombshell: her mother never remarried and her two sons rarely speak to her.

The experience, says Weiner-Davis who states that her greatest achievement is her own 40-year marriage was transformative. She became a staunch believer in the fact that most divorces can be prevented; that the relief of a post-divorce life is temporary but the pain of divorce is permanent; and that if couples put enough work into staying together, they can fall back in love and live happily ever after.

Over the years, Weiner-Davis has honed her message. Shes now stripped it back to what she believes is the essence of a successful marriage. Gone is any therapeutic consideration of a couples history; of their emotional travails; of cause and consequence. Now she is entirely one-track minded: no matter how appalling the state of a marriage, she believes that kind, generous and frequent sex can bring it back from the teetering edge of collapse.

Her realisation was hard-won. For decades, I was in the trenches with warring couples, she says. But there were times when I was not too effective. I realised that there was a pattern to the times Id failed. There was always one spouse desperately hoping for more touch and because that was not happening, they were not investing themselves in the relationship in other ways.

Weiner-Davis stopped focussing on the couples difficulties from an emotional angle and addressed them exclusively as sexual problems. that when the so-called low-desire partner who is, she is at pains to emphasise, just as likely to be a man or a woman was encouraged to have sex they didnt particularly want, not only did they end up enjoying themselves but the high-desire partner became a much nicer person to be around.

I heard the same story from my clients so often that I did some research, she said, and found several different sex researchers who confirmed what I was finding: that for millions of people, they have to be physically stimulated before they feel desire.

Armed with this new theory, Weiner-Davis began encouraging her low-desire clients to be receptive to the sexual advances of their high-desire spouse, even if they werent feeling up for it. I found that unless there was something a lot more complicated going on, she insists, there were usually substantial relationship benefits to making love with your high-desire partner.

She rejects any suggestion that shes advocating a sexually subservient, anti-feminist, lie back and think of England approach. In fact, she says this is the embodiment of female empowerment.

Its not just telling women to spread their legs, she insists. This is not just about sex. For a high-desire spouse, sex isnt usually about the orgasm: its about someone wanting to feel that their partner desires and wants them. Im hoping that women will feel empowered that they are getting their own needs met through understanding their partner.

No still means no, she says. But it helps to not just say no. Instead, explain why you dont want to make love, suggest a later date and ask whether theres something you can do for your spouse right now instead. But heres the deal, she adds: There had better be a whole more Yess or Laters than Nos because if the Nos win, it leads to the problems I have been talking about.

Weiner-Davis points out that while its commonly accepted that couples should make all their important family decisions together, when it comes to sex, who ever has the lower sex drive makes a unilateral choice for them both. And, just to rub salt in the wound, she adds, the disenfranchised, high-desire one is expected to stay monogamous. No wonder, she says, they get cross.

I mention Weiner-Daviss theory to some female friends of mine. The overriding response is: Oh God, not another thing for my To Do list! Weiner-Davis is quick to condemn this response. Imagine if, when a woman said she wanted to have more intimate conversations or a date night, her husband said: Its just one more thing on my To Do list! For a high-desire spouse who experiences love through touch instead of quality time, its exactly the same impact. Ive had grown men crying in my office, crying about the sense of rejection they feel from their low-desire wives.

I then regale her with the experience of a friend whose husband had started his own business which quickly went catastrophically wrong. The family finances were in peril and he couldnt cope. His wife stepped in. Alongside her own job and while juggling the childcare, she worked late into the night for weeks to stabilise their security. During this time, she was scrupulous in not blaming her husband, either explicitly or implicitly.

With crisis narrowly averted, the stressed and sleep-deprived wife realised her husband was being snippy and sulky. When she asked what was wrong, he exclaimed: We havent had sex for weeks! Surely, I ask Weiner-Davis, this shows that not all demands for sex should be met with her Just Do It ethos.

Not at all, she says. This woman knew his ego needed to be protected and tried to do that by not blaming him for his mistakes. But it sounds like the bigger statement for him was: Am I still a man and do you still desire me?

But its the selfish, uncontrolled behaviour of a spoilt child, I insist. Weiner-Davis doesnt disagree. Women often say that they feel they have three children instead of two children and a husband, she admits. But the fact that this husband was telling his wife what he was feeling sad about is a really good sign: some people throw in the towel.

Is the deal explicit, I ask, does the low-desire one say: OK, well make love more often, but then you have to turn your iPhone off every once in a while so we can actually talk?

Yes and no, Weiner-Davis says. This isnt about keeping score. Relationships are not 50:50. Theyre 100:100. We have to take responsibility for doing everything that it takes to put the relationship on track even if youre not getting the response you want initially. Thats really hard.

Its about asking yourself, she says, when he or she speaks and acts badly, whether its because you have not had sex for four weeks. Is their anger actually about feeling hurt and rejected? If it is, the low-desire spouse needs to be more sexy even though they will not want to do this. And the other one needs to ask themselves when the last time the couple spent quality time together.

On the other hand, Weiner-Davis admits there is a limit. Id say that after several weeks, if nothing has changed in terms of reciprocity, then the couple do need to sit down and identify whats missing in their relationship for each of them and what they would like to have.

Michele Weiner-Daviss cure for a sex-starved marriage

If you have a low sex drive try to adopt the Nike philosophy and Just Do It!, even if you feel neutral towards having sex at that moment.

If youre the one with a high sex drive, try to discover the way your partner wants to receive love. Its typically through quality time, words of affirmation, thoughtful, practical acts of caring and material gifts.

If you dont want sex at a particular moment, explain why and suggest another specific time – and ask whether you can do something else physical at that moment for your partner instead.

If you have a higher sex drive than your partner, try to empathise with them and accept they might never want wild or creative sex, but see the increased level of intercourse as a gift showing their love.

Remember theres no daily or weekly minimum to ensure a healthy sex life. As a couple you need to work out together what works for you.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

[mysteriouslyzealouspandalov-blog]

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

New Post has been published on https://relationshipguideto.com/must-see/is-sex-the-answer-to-your-relationship-woes/

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Sex

Inner life

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Amelia Hill

@byameliahill

Sun 21 Jan 2018 01.00EST Last modified on Sun 21 Jan 2018 09.52EST

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Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, says Michele Weiner-Davis. Illustration: Andrea De Santis/Observer

How does it make you feel when your partner is cold and distant? Or when theyre critical and prickly? Does it make you want to rip their clothes off, order in a vat of whipped cream and install a chandelier to swing from?

No? Well theres your problem according, at least, to Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor whose Ted talk explaining her unconventional advice to warring couples has been viewed almost 3.5 million times online.

Her advice couldnt be simpler: shag. Do it even if you dont want to, do it especially if you dont want to and, most important of all, do it frequently whether you want to or not. To make it even clearer, shes borrowed one of the most famous advertising slogans of recent times: Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, she explains from her clinic in Colorado. Its a win-win situation for both of you!

Weiner-Daviss self-confessed zealotry for marriage has its roots in the moment her mother blew her teenage world apart by announcing that her seemingly perfect marriage had been a sham for its 23-year duration. She was 16 at the time, and says she wasnt the only one who didnt recover from the bombshell: her mother never remarried and her two sons rarely speak to her.

The experience, says Weiner-Davis who states that her greatest achievement is her own 40-year marriage was transformative. She became a staunch believer in the fact that most divorces can be prevented; that the relief of a post-divorce life is temporary but the pain of divorce is permanent; and that if couples put enough work into staying together, they can fall back in love and live happily ever after.

Over the years, Weiner-Davis has honed her message. Shes now stripped it back to what she believes is the essence of a successful marriage. Gone is any therapeutic consideration of a couples history; of their emotional travails; of cause and consequence. Now she is entirely one-track minded: no matter how appalling the state of a marriage, she believes that kind, generous and frequent sex can bring it back from the teetering edge of collapse.

Her realisation was hard-won. For decades, I was in the trenches with warring couples, she says. But there were times when I was not too effective. I realised that there was a pattern to the times Id failed. There was always one spouse desperately hoping for more touch and because that was not happening, they were not investing themselves in the relationship in other ways.

Weiner-Davis stopped focussing on the couples difficulties from an emotional angle and addressed them exclusively as sexual problems. that when the so-called low-desire partner who is, she is at pains to emphasise, just as likely to be a man or a woman was encouraged to have sex they didnt particularly want, not only did they end up enjoying themselves but the high-desire partner became a much nicer person to be around.

I heard the same story from my clients so often that I did some research, she said, and found several different sex researchers who confirmed what I was finding: that for millions of people, they have to be physically stimulated before they feel desire.

Armed with this new theory, Weiner-Davis began encouraging her low-desire clients to be receptive to the sexual advances of their high-desire spouse, even if they werent feeling up for it. I found that unless there was something a lot more complicated going on, she insists, there were usually substantial relationship benefits to making love with your high-desire partner.

She rejects any suggestion that shes advocating a sexually subservient, anti-feminist, lie back and think of England approach. In fact, she says this is the embodiment of female empowerment.

Its not just telling women to spread their legs, she insists. This is not just about sex. For a high-desire spouse, sex isnt usually about the orgasm: its about someone wanting to feel that their partner desires and wants them. Im hoping that women will feel empowered that they are getting their own needs met through understanding their partner.

No still means no, she says. But it helps to not just say no. Instead, explain why you dont want to make love, suggest a later date and ask whether theres something you can do for your spouse right now instead. But heres the deal, she adds: There had better be a whole more Yess or Laters than Nos because if the Nos win, it leads to the problems I have been talking about.

Weiner-Davis points out that while its commonly accepted that couples should make all their important family decisions together, when it comes to sex, who ever has the lower sex drive makes a unilateral choice for them both. And, just to rub salt in the wound, she adds, the disenfranchised, high-desire one is expected to stay monogamous. No wonder, she says, they get cross.

I mention Weiner-Daviss theory to some female friends of mine. The overriding response is: Oh God, not another thing for my To Do list! Weiner-Davis is quick to condemn this response. Imagine if, when a woman said she wanted to have more intimate conversations or a date night, her husband said: Its just one more thing on my To Do list! For a high-desire spouse who experiences love through touch instead of quality time, its exactly the same impact. Ive had grown men crying in my office, crying about the sense of rejection they feel from their low-desire wives.

I then regale her with the experience of a friend whose husband had started his own business which quickly went catastrophically wrong. The family finances were in peril and he couldnt cope. His wife stepped in. Alongside her own job and while juggling the childcare, she worked late into the night for weeks to stabilise their security. During this time, she was scrupulous in not blaming her husband, either explicitly or implicitly.

With crisis narrowly averted, the stressed and sleep-deprived wife realised her husband was being snippy and sulky. When she asked what was wrong, he exclaimed: We havent had sex for weeks! Surely, I ask Weiner-Davis, this shows that not all demands for sex should be met with her Just Do It ethos.

Not at all, she says. This woman knew his ego needed to be protected and tried to do that by not blaming him for his mistakes. But it sounds like the bigger statement for him was: Am I still a man and do you still desire me?

But its the selfish, uncontrolled behaviour of a spoilt child, I insist. Weiner-Davis doesnt disagree. Women often say that they feel they have three children instead of two children and a husband, she admits. But the fact that this husband was telling his wife what he was feeling sad about is a really good sign: some people throw in the towel.

Is the deal explicit, I ask, does the low-desire one say: OK, well make love more often, but then you have to turn your iPhone off every once in a while so we can actually talk?

Yes and no, Weiner-Davis says. This isnt about keeping score. Relationships are not 50:50. Theyre 100:100. We have to take responsibility for doing everything that it takes to put the relationship on track even if youre not getting the response you want initially. Thats really hard.

Its about asking yourself, she says, when he or she speaks and acts badly, whether its because you have not had sex for four weeks. Is their anger actually about feeling hurt and rejected? If it is, the low-desire spouse needs to be more sexy even though they will not want to do this. And the other one needs to ask themselves when the last time the couple spent quality time together.

On the other hand, Weiner-Davis admits there is a limit. Id say that after several weeks, if nothing has changed in terms of reciprocity, then the couple do need to sit down and identify whats missing in their relationship for each of them and what they would like to have.

Michele Weiner-Daviss cure for a sex-starved marriage

If you have a low sex drive try to adopt the Nike philosophy and Just Do It!, even if you feel neutral towards having sex at that moment.

If youre the one with a high sex drive, try to discover the way your partner wants to receive love. Its typically through quality time, words of affirmation, thoughtful, practical acts of caring and material gifts.

If you dont want sex at a particular moment, explain why and suggest another specific time – and ask whether you can do something else physical at that moment for your partner instead.

If you have a higher sex drive than your partner, try to empathise with them and accept they might never want wild or creative sex, but see the increased level of intercourse as a gift showing their love.

Remember theres no daily or weekly minimum to ensure a healthy sex life. As a couple you need to work out together what works for you.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

[samanthasroberts]

12 more things in Fallout 4 they don’t tell you, but advanced players need to know

More tips on how to survive in the radioactive wasteland, including how to fight Legendary enemies, hide goodies and carry more stuff

Fallout 4s rich and varied landscape is built for lackadaisical roaming the player characters nicknamed the Wanderer for a reason. The experience isnt about just racing through the main questline or finding the best gear, but assembling your own story from all of Bethesdas tiny interlocking parts.

The Commonwealth is a harsh mistress, however, so we could all use some help and none other than our grizzled survivor Corbyn has heeded your call. Weve already covered the 12 key tips for beginners, so now its time for some more advanced instruction. Lets really get those Super Mutants quaking in their boots.

1. VATS tricks

Fallout 4s Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (VATS) mechanic slows time down to a crawl, and allows you to target specific body parts of enemies and displaying the chance of hitting them in a percentage. This is all many players use it for but there are several kinks to the way VATS operates that can make all the difference in a tight spot.

Our Fallout 4 character Corbyn is probably overdoing it by Crit-ing a bloodbug. Photograph: Bethesda

The obvious ones first: use VATS when your guns empty and, for the AP cost of that shot, youll get both the shot and a free reload. Critical hits build up over time in VATS and can then be stored until you want to use them yes these do great damage, but much more importantly theyre guaranteed to hit even if your normal shot only has a 1% chance. This is useful but in fights against enemies with specific weak points, such as the fusion core on power armour, save that Crit and zoom into VATS the second their model turns sideways 1% chance is all you need for the shot that ends the fight.

Crits are also useful for taking out the combat inhibitors on the back of mechanical enemies.

But it doesnt end there! One of the most useful functions of VATS is that your aim will be centred on any enemy you shot at after youve exited VATS. Think of this as at least one free shot and, thanks to the shonky enemy AI, usually many more if theyre still alive after using VATS, just spam that trigger.

2. Fraggle Rock!

Messed up that grenade toss? Always throwing it just a second too late as the Raiders scarper? Worry ye not my wasteland friend, for there are two magnificent tricks to frags that will turn your throwing arm into the envy of Shane Warne.

First one is obvious when you think about it: a well-placed bullet will prematurely detonate your grenade. Hit the VATS button as soon as you throw and youll find you can target the grenade, though depending on its location your shot chance will be different (this is another great opportunity for using the guarantee of a Crit.) And boom no more legs for your luckless foes.

As you can see, no enemies have yet noticed my explosive presence. Timing grenades is especially useful against crowds of weaker enemies.

The second trick, however, is even sneakier. A glitch in Fallout 4s way of slowing down game time during VATS means that, if your grenade has landed and you then target and shoot an enemy using VATS, the grenade will explode during the VATS shots. That is, you dont need to target the grenade at all if its in the right place, just target the enemy in VATS and it will explode near-instantaneously.

3. Getting legless

This one can be a lifesaver for when youre just out on a relaxing stroll and run into a randomly generated tough-as-nails Legendary enemy. Many of these enemies, after taking roughly half damage, will mutate into a tougher form and regain their lost health. What a joke.

This is how I like my Legendary enemies legless and toothless. Now cough up that loot! Photograph: Bethesda

The one thing that doesnt regenerate, however, is limb damage. When fighting Fallout 4s normal enemies you dont really need to target limbs so much so its easy to forget about this tactic, but it is absolutely the core part of my strategy against Legendaries. If its a Legendary Super Mutant, where were worried about their weapon, focus on the arms if they mutate, youve crippled the arm by that point and their accuracys dived. If its a Legendary Ghoul, blow off the legs, and then the mutated second stage can only look up in abject apology as you line up the combat shotgun.

4. Radical Stags

The greatest enemy in Fallout 4, the bane of every player, the most despicable sentence in the Commonwealth: Youre carrying too much and cant run!

God I hate it. There are several common workarounds: load up your companion, use the Solo Wanderer/Dogmeat glitch and so on. But when youre stuck in a lovely loot zone and just need that bit extra to get outdoors and fast-travel home, you want Grilled Radstag.

OK it doesnt LOOK very appetising, but when your other options are mole rats or Spam …

You see Radstags everywhere, usually in groups of two or three. Make a rule of slaughtering these defenceless creatures, and grilling them up at a cooking station because it adds +25 carry weight. Eat that and youll feel the benefit for an hour, but why not wash it down with a bottle of alcohol (+10 carry weight) and have an extra 35 on your weight limit. Because no trinket should be left behind.

5. Sleep well

What do you mean you never sleep? True, you dont really need to but occasionally a nice rest is just whats needed to heal up and see the sun again. One aspect of sleeping that is possible to overlook, however, is where the bed is.

If you really want to maximise XP gain, do this before handing in quests youve already completed. Photograph: Bethesda

Sleep in a bed that you own (in a settlement for example), or rent a room for the night and your character not only heals but gains a Well Rested bonus that gives 10% extra XP for eight in-game hours.

6. Sticky business

You could write a whole article about Fallout 4s crafting system, but one thing everyone needs more of is adhesive. Luckily theres a simple solution waiting in the cookery pot: have your settlements farm corn, mutfruit and tatos for subsistence. Perfectly respectable foods, but you can use these stores to pick the bottom option at a cooking stove and make Vegetable Starch each one worth a whopping five adhesive.

Vegetable starch goes into your junk inventory, so always remember to transfer it to storage before taking off.

7. Pick up named junk

This ones simple to the point of obvious: youll sometimes come across otherwise standard loot that has a modifier in the name, for example Rich Stantons beer. This means it is an exceptional beer for an exceptional man or, in other words, a key item for a quest you havent yet picked up. So pick it up and, down the road, youll be able to hand in that quest immediately.

The jazzy Hubris Comics office has plenty of interesting stuff, and make sure you take a close look at the props.

You may not actually make it through youor birthday if you eat this revolting morsel. However, it has a special name which means it could well be part of a later quest. Grab that sucker.

8. Hazmat and Hat

Two items of clothing I keep on me permanently are a Hazmat suit and a hat that grants +3 Charisma. The utility of the first is obvious: everywhere in Fallout 4 is more or less radioactive, and youll find some nasty spots. Its not convenient to fetch Power Armour for every little cubbyhole, so a Hazmat suit just always makes life easier.

Among the games weather effects are radiation storms which, if they catch you in the open, can be trouble but not with the humble Hazmat. Photograph: Bethesda

Hazmats are around theres one on sale in Diamond City but this is where I stumbled across mine relatively early on. Photograph: Bethesda

The hat I combine with some Grape Mentats (make at any cooking station) for when I need to sell a lot of gear or buy something big. Why not get your moneys worth?

9. Use it, dont lose it

Advice from bitter experience: dont just jump into the water willy nilly while wearing power armour. It sinks and, while most bodies of water in the game have a way out, some of them dont and youll have to abandon it there. Also, dont ever get rid of a companion wearing power armour by sending them back to a settlement my snazzy Flames set is still out there somewhere.

You can repair damaged power armour with steel but even without it the basic frame provides some protection and the suits usual abilities.

Finally, dont get out of it in a non-settlement area without removing the fusion core. Even if you cant see any enemies. Theres nothing so humiliating as getting out to stretch your legs, waking up a nest of raiders, and watching open-mouthed as they hijack your beautiful suit.

10. Mystery Meat

OK, I said I wouldnt be too specific but this is too good to pass up. On the far east of the Commonwealth (shown in the image) you can find Longneck Lukowskis cannery. On entering youll see a short exchange between two characters and can then offer to help with a pest problem in the building.

Looks delicious though, as ever in Bethesdas post-apocalyptic worlds, no-ones cleaned up for 200 years.

This kicks off a short-but-sweet mission, but the reason its great to visit here is that theres an office at the top of the building containing both the Barter bobblehead which permanently decreases buying prices by 5% and an issue of Tales of A Junktown Jerky Vendor, which applies its own discount depending on how many copies you have. Basically youre walking out of there after a 10-minute mission with everything in the Commonwealth 10% cheaper.

This is where youll find Longneck Lukowskis cannery, an essential visit for the savvy scavenger.

Bonus points: in the final confrontation, you can make your opponent surrender if you get them low enough, and make a very … interesting choice. Oh, and do apply the earlier tips about Legendaries and frags when youre exploring. Wouldnt want to end up in a can now, would we?

11. Give them a Minute, man

The Minutemen are rather worthy and dull sorts, all about helping out ones neighbour and looking out for each other. Blah blah blah, point me to the bad guys right?

Some people like Preston, but he constantly moans when youre hoovering up junk so I think hes a circle button. Photograph: Bethesda

The Castles replaced Sanctuary as my main settlement, because a half-destroyed castle looks cooler than half-destroyed bungalows.

Me too. But its worth zooming through the early Minutemen quests, which are all very easy, just to reach the point where you re-take a location called the Castle. First of all, when youre doing the quests beforehand, take Preston as your companion because completing each one depends on reporting back to him.

Take the Castle, go off and do something else, and soon enough someone will turn up looking for you. Go to see her and within 10 minutes youll bag a Fat Man portable nuke launcher, an absolute ton of ammo and a great armour set, and unlock artillery positions for every settlement.

12. And … smile

Though Ive loved much of my time with Fallout 4, it is a game filled with bugs and glitches that can on occasion really ruin your day. Ive lost hours of progress through annoying problems with the save system, seen my companions fly into the sky and disappear, even failed a mission because of an NPC that decided to walk to the bottom of a lake.

But its worth remembering that, for all the frustrations it brings, the janky side of Bethesda games can have real charm too. Use Corbyns tips wisely, comrades, and enjoy these dancing Mirelurks.

12 things in Fallout 4 they dont tell you but you really need to know

Fallout 4 review spectacular, messy and familiar

Fallout 4: the first 10 things to do in the apocalyptic wasteland

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/12/07/12-more-things-in-fallout-4-they-dont-tell-you-but-advanced-players-need-to-know/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/12/07/12-more-things-in-fallout-4-they-dont-tell-you-but-advanced-players-need-to-know/