#these are based off of enjoyment and how quickly i was sucked into the characters' stories

[fruittt-punchhh]

useless

Synopsis: you were called in for the night shift unexpectedly, and now have to spend the next - 5 hours - with the on-shift manager, Sukuna. based on this ask.

Characters: Sukuna x reader. Other jjk characters mentioned, but not a major point in the plot.

Content: Minors Do Not Interact! smut, afab! reader, fem! reader, manager! Sukuna (sorry, no four-armed, two-cocked royal monster for this one unfortunately), suggestiveness, cursing, mentions of female masturbation, public sex if you squint (outdoors), pet/affectionate names, age gap kiinda, big dick! Sukuna (duh), cunnilingus (m! receiving), probably other stuff i forgot.

Word count: 11.6k (holy SHIT)

Notes: it's time for a new arc on this page bitches. Toji is my one and only forever as you all know but everyone deserves to read ab sucking off their fave fictional character at your imaginary place of work :) @scorpiosugar

“Behind!” you hear someone yell from, well, behind you for the tenth time that hour. It was well past the restaurant’s usual rush hours, but customers were steadily pouring in through the large glass doors you could see through the crowd up front.

You had clocked in a few hours ago, you remind yourself, peering at the ticking clock overhead, silently willing the hour hand to reach ten o’clock already. Only three hours left, you cheer to yourself, trying to remind yourself how good your paycheck would look after picking up the extra shift. Someone had called out earlier, leaving the on shift manager to ring you much too early on your off day, all but begging for your assistance. Regrettably you agreed, knowing the extra money couldn’t hurt. It’s not like you had plans anyway, unfortunately.

Your usual on shift manager was Shoko, and while she ran a tight ship, being in the kitchen was fun with her. She made sure things were done properly, but she didn’t mind if you slacked off as long as your responsibilities were handled first. She even let you take smoke breaks, knowing damn well you didn’t smoke. She recognized your work ethic and wanted to keep you around as long as she could, even if that meant letting you dip out the back door for a fifteen minute breather every now and then.

“Y/n?!” You hear a booming voice to your left, snapping you out of whatever daze you were in.

“You gonna’ run the food or not?” Sukuna asks.

The dreaded Sukuna. You’ve barely worked with him before as he switched to nights almost right after you started, and you were on day shift. While you’ve never had any bad interactions with him, everyone at the restaurant said he was such a pain to work for, and you weren’t willing to find out just how much of a pain he could be today.

You were usually in the back of the restaurant, quickly prepping and cooking whatever stupid order came out of the noisy ticket printer along with the rest of the kitchen staff. However, due to the short staffing on this fine Friday, you were held responsible for not only prepping the meals, but running them to a certain section of tables the other wait staff couldn’t cover. It was only a few tables, but you hated going into the main part of the restaurant. You chose the back for its seclusiveness, and the staff back here were much more enjoyable to be around. Plus, you weren’t a stranger to wiping your hands on your shirt or apron, dirtying up your all black attire soon into every shift. Walking out into the semi-fancy restaurant with a towel tucked into your hip, sauce stains on your apron, and sweat beading at your forehead was not your preferred method of presenting yourself to the…lovely customers.

“S-Sorry, yeah,” you say back quickly, grabbing your tray and hoisting it on top of your shoulder for added support. You bump open the swinging doors with your hip, rushing to your table. You can’t believe you missed the signature ‘ding!’ that accompanied a completed tray. You swore you heard that ding in your sleep, haunting your peaceful moments at rest more than a few times a week. Must have missed it this time, though.

—

Finally. You heave a sigh you had been holding in for the last hour. You had most of your tables cleared or taken care of, and you had a moment in the kitchen to yourself to catch your breath. The night was finally dying down, and you only had a little over an hour left. Maybe you wouldn’t die a slow and painful death in the back of the restaurant tonight, and maybe you’d be able to go home to your cozy bed in due time (almost as if you did every night).

Wiping the sweat from your brow, you turn to look for Sukuna, desperate for a break. It takes a minute, but you run into him (almost literally) as he’s taking a step out of his cramped office.

“Shit, sorry -“

“My bad-“

You both mutter, tripping over the words as you both look for an apology for nearly toppling over one another. You chuckle as he reaches his hand behind his neck, grabbing it and sighing as he lets his arm rest there. You take careful attention to note how his forearms looked like they might split the two buttons neatly fastened at his wrists.

“Can I go on my smoke break now? Just need a few,” you ask, hoping he wouldn’t bust your balls about it.

“Uh, sure, I’ll meet you out there,” he says before he turns back into his office, leaving the door only slightly ajar.

Meet you out there? What was this, a soccer match? You have no time to waste in responding and immediately turn on your heels, shuffling through the crowd of servers, cooks, and busboys galore to the back door.

Sure, he could just need a smoke too. He’s been here far longer than you today and the heavy bags that decorate his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by you - or anyone for that matter.

You leave the door propped open behind you with a random piece of wood sitting outside, not wanting to have to bang on the door again for someone to let you in after it automatically locks - a mistake you only let yourself make once twice. The cool air hits you immediately as you search for your trusty milk crate you fashioned as a stool. You try not to get on your phone during your break, only using it to set a timer or check your texts if you had to. You liked to take this time to detach from the busy building behind you, taking in concentrated, steady breaths.

You set the too-short timer on your phone, raising up your hip to slide it back into your rear pocket. On busy days like these, especially days where you were supposed to be off, watching reruns of whatever peaked your fancy on the couch, you felt the need for a cigarette. You used to smoke in your college days at parties or if someone offered, never wanting to cross the line of buying a pack for yourself. You wouldn’t even know what to ask for anyways.

But on days like these, it almost felt necessary. You continue your breathing, leaning your neck down to stretch the sore muscles as you place your face in your hands. You rub your eyes, thanking god you didn’t accidentally pop one out as you received the biggest scare you had in a while.

“Jesus Christ!” You blurt, totally forgetting that your manager was planning on accompanying you for your break. You hadn’t even heard the heavy metal door creek and strain as it opened, there was no flash of light from inside the building, nothing. Weird.

“You meditatin’ or something?” He asks, seeming the most unconcerned you had ever seen him. He reaches behind him, pulling out a shiny, new pack of cigarettes, still tightly wrapped in cellophane. He rips the plastic packaging with his teeth, and it almost looks like he’s flashing a smile at you.

He raises his eyebrows at you with an attitude, non verbally demanding an answer as he hits the pack bottom down on his palm with a loud thwap! thwap!

“No,” you answer plainly, “just on my break.” He pulls a fresh cigarette from the pack before bringing it up to his lips. He pats his pockets, frantically searching for something to accompany his cigarette.

“Got a lighter?” He says, muffled by the thin stick.

“Nope,” you offer, not bothering to throw in an apology like you usually would.

He huffs, turning swiftly back into the restaurant after he mutters a low, ‘useless’ that he assumes you didn’t hear. He yells from inside of the restaurant, asking some shiu? for a lighter.

He’s quickly stepping back outside, cupping the lighter in both hands before he shields the end of his cigarette. He flicks the start wheel, and you try your damndest not to admire how good he looks softly illuminated by the flame. He pulls in a heavy drag as you watch the tip of his cigarette turn to hot ash.

He huffs, blowing out a large cloud into the wind, “Watchu’ starin’ for?”

You hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“Got nothin’ else to look at. Besides the dumpster, I guess,” you add, motioning to the container of literal hot garbage that was all too close to you two.

“Good to know I’m better to look at than piles of shit,” he says, not attempting to muffle the slight chuckle that escapes.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” you say, reaching back into your pocket to check how much time you had left. 8 minutes.

He huffs again, but decides to keep his quip to himself for time’s sake.

“Why aren’t you smoking on your smoke break?” He asks, trying his hardest to appear like he doesn’t actually want to know.

“Dunno’. I don’t smoke that much,” you respond. But it just wasn’t good enough.

“I could snitch on you for that, ya’ know?” He threatens, waiting to see if you’d stand up for yourself or cower meekly like the rest of his subordinates when he applied even the slightest pressure.

You laugh, “Do it then. Shoko doesn’t care,” you tell him truthfully. She knew from the jump you didn’t smoke and still allowed it, stating that if anyone tried to bitch at you for it to blame it on her. Which you wholeheartedly did.

“Good for her,” he adds, not knowing whether to be offended or impressed by your brevity. “But right now, I’m your manager,” he says as he crouches down, wanting to look you eye to eye.

You ignore the flush you feel rise up your neck. You felt yourself fawning under his gaze, paying too much attention to the purse of his lips as he took yet another extended drag of his cigarette.

You had to keep your composure, even though he wasn’t the ugliest person you’d ever seen. You were used to standing up for yourself in the kitchen. Being a woman in a kitchen environment is not for the weak, and this fact you knew too well. You didn’t even feel like you were that attractive, but you couldn’t count on all fingers and toes how many hands you’ve had to swat back or advances you’ve had to decline from the creepy older men that worked beside you.

You didn’t want to spend the - you check - 6 minutes you had left on your break arguing with a manager you barely knew.

“Then gimme’ one or I’ll go back in,” you offer. You hated to ask, but a cigarette may help you chug through this last hour of your shift.

He smirks, pressing his hand on his knee to help himself stand. You’re hidden in his shadow now, only faintly lit by the dim street light nearby. He reaches in his pocket again, letting out a sigh as he meets your question with a proposition: “Close for me, then sure. You can even restart your fuckin’ timer for all I care.” He adds, becoming annoyed by how often you were checking your phone in front of him, as if you didn’t want to be outside with him or something.

He has to be kidding. It was Friday and the restaurant closed at 1, and with how busy it was, you’d be lucky to be out of there by 2:30.

“Close?!” You say with the upmost attitude you can muster. He was insane if he thought you were staying that long.

“Choose,” is all he says before he reaches one hand towards the doorknob, the other outstretched to you, a fresh cigarette in hand.

Fuck. You ran through the pros and cons in your mind. The money wouldn’t hurt, but you were so tired. Your feet were aching and your back was in knots. But again, the money. The sole reason you took this extra shift in the first place. The extra fifteen minutes plus a cigarette seemed enough to convince you in the needy state you were in. You were ready to accept your fate before Sukuna butts in with a… countdown?

“Three,” he spits, growing impatient.

You wanted to test that patience. Maybe it was the rumors you’d heard about big, bad Sukuna.

“Two.”

But maybe it was the way he looked towering over you, presenting you with options he had selfishly picked, not caring for a compromise. He was the manager after all.

“O-,”

“Gimme that,” you interrupt, reaching to grab the cigarette out of his cold hand. You hate that you noticed his hands, but the dim lighting outside provided you little room to work with in terms of hand eye coordination. Your fingertips brush his lightly, and you would have thought he was losing circulation if you didn’t know any better.

He leans back against the wall as he watches you restart your timer, purposefully ignoring the previous brush of your manicured hands against his.

You motion for him to hand you the lighter, to which he smirks, crossing his large arms across his chest.

“Nope,” he mimics your word from earlier, putting extra emphasis on the ‘p’ sound with a pop of his lips. He was doing anything to get under your skin.

“What do you mean nope?” You ask as you take the cigarette back out of your mouth.

“Say please and I’ll think about it,” he teases.

14 minutes.

You were too old for this shit.

You stand abruptly, turning back into the restaurant as you swing the door open with a huff. Sukuna squints behind you, the bright kitchen lights burning his sleep deprived eyes. You rush to his office, pilfering through drawer after drawer to find a lighter. You knew the desk well - it was shared by all the managers. You and Shoko had many conversations in this office after closing time, enjoying each others company as she complained about the weird customers you’d have throughout the night.

Bingo. A bright red lighter peeks out from underneath some old mail, a faint, small ‘s’ written on the side in black sharpie. How cute. Maybe his mom sewed his initials into his undies, too.

You’re already lighting the cigarette before the door closes behind you, pulling in a much needed puff as you sit down back on your crate, and you are far from the picture of grace. Hair messy, face sweaty, and you nearly tumble off the crate from the sheer force of sitting down with such an attitude.

Sukuna tries to avoid your gaze as you come back out, instead occupying himself with following the small beads of sweat that fall down your temple. The sweaty, curled hair by your ears. The sleepy, heavy eyes that cut him such a nasty look.

You pull in and sigh, thankful for the fifteen minute vice you’ve allowed yourself for the night.

“Hm - that’s mine,” he taunts, surprised you were so forward to go through his desk. He’d have to talk to you about that later.

You hold it up, showing him the little ‘s’ on the side with a sarcastic smile. You toss it to him without warning, laughing to yourself as he misses entirely, dropping it on the ground at his feet.

“Clumsy,” you mutter, and you swear his eyes widen slightly, followed by a barely noticeable pink hue across his nose.

No one ever spoke to him like this. His employees seemed so frightened by him, although he couldn’t say for sure why. He was stern, but he noticed most of his attempts at ‘bonding’ with his workers fell short. He felt himself fulfilling the role of the angry, harsh manager more often than he’d like to admit.

You grew uncomfortable with each moment - the silence was deafening as you tried to find something to say, but he beats you to it.

“Uh, I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier,” he professes, actively avoiding your gaze. Although you were busy looking at the dumpster as opposed to him, he wouldn’t know. He kept his eyes trained on his feet. He hated apologizing.

“What?” You ask simply. You knew what moment he was referring too, but you needed to milk this rare vulnerability he was showing.

“Jesus.. earlier. I raised my voice. The fuckin’ bell’s messed up and I guess you didn’t hear it.”

So you weren’t going insane! It made you feel better knowing it was (or wasn’t?) a figment of your imagination. But you felt a little bad for the guy. His macho attitude was long gone as he tokes his cigarette, still avoiding eye contact.

“You don’t have to apologize,” you offer, not knowing what else to say.

“I’m not,” he spits, meeting your gaze with his once more. You hate that it gives you goosebumps.

“Sounds like it, to me,” you say, trying to hold your smile.

“Just explaining. Not apologizing. Two different things.” He says harshly. He really did not appreciate you trying to take advantage of his half-apology.

You fail at finding something to say, letting the silence linger for too long again. You were desperate for his break to be over, but he seemed to be intent on staying with you the entire time.

6 minutes.

“Why’d you switch to nights?” You begin, needing to cut the tension with something. You were curious if he was maybe in school or had some responsibilities that kept him busy during the day.

Again, that small blush. The barely there crimson hues spreads further than last time, covering his cheeks and if you weren’t mistaken, his ears. With his hair, he was turning to a pastel strawberry before your very eyes.

He clears his throat, “You looked like trouble,” he admits.

You’re hit with a flood of confusion. Most importantly, the reason he switched was because of you? Secondly, why did he have to use that phrase? It was more demeaning than he knew, and quite frankly -

“For me,” he finishes.

“What?” You huff, growing frustrated with his choice of words.

“You looked like trouble for me,” he corrects himself.

What the hell does that even mean?

He notices the utter confusion painted on your pretty face. He throws his cigarette on the ground beneath him, smushing it out before he grabs the lighter from his feet.

Turning back into the restaurant, he answers your unsaid question.

“I tend to go after women that look like you,” is all he says before he’s back in the restaurant, making sure to close the door tightly behind him.

Go after? What was he, a fucking tiger?

You can’t lie and act like the compliment (?) didn’t make your ego swell a bit. But switching his entire schedule because he was, what, scared of you? Worried he might “come after” you? You needed to know more, simply to have gossip for when you work with Shoko next.

Your timer still reads 4 minutes left, but your craving for the cigarette has long since subsided. You snuff it out, wringing your hands together before rubbing them on your jeans, desperate to get the sickly smell off of your fingertips.

From inside the restaurant, you can sense an influx of tickets printing. You hear feet start to bustle about, pots and pans clanging together, and that same loud voice barking orders at his employees. You only had three minutes left, but you couldn’t get the last 20 out of your mind. You’d find a point to bring it up to him later, you were sure of it.

You stand with a grunt, stretching your arms over your head before you turn to face the door - that Sukuna had so graciously shut behind him. You bang on the door with a closed fist, a loud boom! boom! boom! echoing through the nearly vacant lot behind you.

After your eighth or so hit, the handle turns, and you’re met with tufts of pink hair before anything else. You scoff.

“Missed me that much, huh?” He teases, and you’re taken aback. All of the previous conversation you had with him could be taken totally innocently, all except for that last minute or so. But you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking he was outright flirting with you.

You roll your eyes, shoving past him as he chuckles. You weren’t going to be stuck here with him until the wee hours of the morning, so it’s best you get started on your closing tasks asap. You didn’t close all too often, and you didn’t want to get overwhelmed with the responsibilities of shutting down the restaurant for the night.

You get back to your station, quickly catching up with what entree is currently being prepped. You try to keep your hands and mind busy, well aware of Sukuna’s looming presence in the kitchen. Before your actual smoke break, you tried your best to avoid him, not wanting to become subject to his bitching if you weren’t on your A-game. Now, you felt like being on this supposed A-game was impossible. You were exhausted, your body ached, and you were somehow convinced to close despite the very loud voice in your head protesting that decision.

Now, you had to deal with Sukuna’s gaze peering into the back of your skull. It made you nervous and you hated that, hated that you allowed him even an inkling of control over how you felt. But you couldn’t lie to yourself and pretend it didn’t affect you. You had to remind yourself that this was your manager, at least for tonight, and you were his employee. His stare was probably nothing more than a desperate attempt at calling you out on a mistake.

Right?

Is all you can ask yourself when you turn towards the trash can, potato peels in your cupped hands, when you catch him staring. He was leaned against a wall behind you, notepad in hand with the end of his pen affixed between his teeth. His eyes were glued to your ass before he scans your full body, taking in all of you before his eyes meet yours. Both of your eyes widen, shocked at how openly he was ogling your body. You feel the familiar blush rise up your neck again, and you couldn’t mistake a similar one appearing on Sukuna’s face. It was a brighter pink under the fluorescence of the kitchen lights. He threads his hand through his hair before he rushes to Nobara, quick to reprimand her for overcooking a steak. As if he wasn’t just drinking in the image of you.

You had to find time to talk to him, and soon. While you weren’t incredibely angry that he seemed to be interested in you, you didn’t want to assume he was incorrectly.

Another ticket prints as you’re placing the rest of your current ticket on the tray in front of you, ringing the stupid bell extra hard to ensure the wait staff hear it. You grab the ticket before you let out an exaggerated heave - it was a dessert order. Almost all of the desserts at the restaurant were pre-frozen or in the walk in, and there was never any actual cooking involved for the most part. You wipe your hands on your apron, turning for the walk in.

You yank on the comically large handle, the freezing air covering you in chills. The particular order had a side of ice cream, so you walk through the cool part of the walk in to the freezer door, yanking again on another stupid handle. The air in the freezer was nothing compared to the cooler, and you could already see your fingers turning red underneath the LED bulb above the door. The walk in was a mess, and the freezer even more so. You squat near the door, pilfering through the many items adorning the shelves. It didn’t help that the ice cream container was in a large cardboard box, similar to nearly every item in the freezer.

You stand, ready to step to the next shelf in your quest for ice cream, until you feel a nudge on your back, followed by a brief ‘scuse me’ from a now familiar voice. For the second time that night, he scares you so badly you think you could faint.

“Why are you so fuckin’ quiet?” You hiss, to which he shoots you a confused look from over his shoulder. He was pulling in a cart from the make line, full of containers and sauce bottles. He walked in back first, leaving nothing to your imagination as his tight black button up hugged his… very muscular back. It’s not like you knew him well at all, but you didn’t know him to be an avid gym-goer.

“Gonna’ help me or you wanna’ keep eye fucking me?” He grunts, failing to notice how all of your breath was caught in your chest.

Eye fucking? I mean yeah, you were admiring him. But you hadn’t even thought about anything sexual. Up until now. You felt delirious being up so late, and it had been a while since you got laid. And he still wasn’t the ugliest person on the planet.

He shifts to the other side of the cart, grabbing the necessary items and putting them on their applicable shelf. You notice how he’s able to grab nearly everything single-handed, whereas it took you both hands and a hoist of your knee to get some of the heavier items up on the high shelves. His hands were large with clean, neat nails trimmed short underneath a layer of shiny black polish. His sleeves were bundled at the midway of his forearms, revealing two black banded tattoos that wrapped around each of his wrists. You wondered if those were the only ones.

He lifts a heavier box over his head, shoving it in a back corner of the top shelf. You can’t miss the slight untuck of his shirt, the hardened ‘v’ that appears from underneath, and the tufts of blonde hair, starting at his belly button, trailing down to his -

“Eye fuckin’ it is then, huh?” He laughs as he turns to face you, leaning on the cart with one arm. His other arm is busy lazily tucking his shirt back in, his large hand repeatedly dipping underneath his waistband to smooth his shirt over his pelvis. You swear the shirt is tucked in enough, and has been for the last few seconds as he continues tucking and smoothing the fabric. He notices your eyes dart to his hand and he decides to leave it in his waistband, a feeble attempt to warm his cold hands and keep your attention trained to his waist. You stumble over your words, not even bothering to find an explanation.

“What is going on here? Like.. what are you trying to do?” You ask.

“What?” He scoffs, refusing to believe you’d call him out on his long glances and repeated attempts to be near you.

You cross your arms, shivering, as you wait for him to respond with an answer.

He pauses.

“Can we talk about it not in the freezer?” He asks, crossing both arms over his large chest as he’s shivering now too.

“Where then?” You ask, surprised that he even knew what the ‘it’ was you were referring to.

“Meet me in the cooler when you’ve finished your tickets,” he adds before he’s grabbing the cart and pushing the freezer door open into the cooler to leave.

So it wasn’t just your imagination. You had no clue where this conversation could lead, but you were eager to see. Now, finishing your tickets was the priority, which brings you back to the ice cream. Oh. Sukuna had replaced it when he came in and you were too busy gawking to notice. You grab the container, rushing out of the walk in to be met with a loud yelp from Nobara, exclaiming that she thought you’d died in there. Seems you weren’t the only one getting scared tonight.

You only had four more tickets, and one was a drink order for the bar, thankfully. You rush to finish, needing the customers gone as soon as possible so you could start fully cleaning the back. You definitely weren’t rushing so you could talk to Sukuna. Definitely.

In your hurry, you spill sauce onto your workstation close to the edge, some of it spilling onto your apron. Instinctually, you scoot your hips back from the table quickly in an attempt to avoid further dirtying your clothes, to no avail. In your motion, you accidentally thrust your hips into something - no, someone, behind you. While bumping into someone in the kitchen is no rare occasion, you could tell by the huff of breath let out behind you that the hips you just pushed your ass on belonged to Sukuna.

Was he hard?

You felt embarrassed even thinking of a question like that, but it was for good reason. The half-second you had your hips aligned with his allowed you to feel some sort of.. length pushed against you. There was no mistaking it. You look back to him over your shoulder as he’s stepping away from you, and he rolls his eyes at you. Not in a good, ‘oh god her ass is heavenly’ type of way. In a, ‘you can do better than that’ type of way.

One more hour.

-

You finish your tickets, taking extra precautions not to make any more messes. You go to look for Sukuna, but he’s nowhere to be found. He’s not in the kitchen, and his office door is propped open to an empty seat. You ask a coworker if they’ve seen him, and they only answer with a shrug. You glance to the back door, and it’s closed shut. You head to the walk in anyways, assuming he’ll meet you there in due time.

Until the door is pushed into you. A large hand grabs your wrist, pulling you in. You’re yanked into the cold and backed into the door before you can even let out a gasp. Sukuna stands opposite you, eyes too hooded and low for you to discern how he may be feeling (not that you care).

“Talk,” he says, waiting for you to lead.

“I’m the one that asked you the question. Remember?” You ask, adding a sarcastic smile for good measure.

“You asked me two questions. Remember?” He asks, pitching his voice an octave or two to mimic you.

At this point, you didn’t remember what the hell you asked specifically. You were so drained from the day you could have asked him ten questions and you’d be none the wiser. You nod your head 'no'.

“You wanted to know ‘what’s going on here’ and ‘what I’m trying to do’. Two different questions, woman.”

The nickname makes you squirm internally. You felt desperate - too desperate even. You knew he had a few years on you, although you didn't know how many. You were in your mid-twenties and he couldn't have been more than thirty-five. But still, the difference was there. Even if you two shared a birth year, he was still in a position of power over you. Regardless of how often you two worked together, he was a manager, and you were a line cook. Every voice in your mind is begging you to leave, but your feet are glued to the cold metal floor.

“Yeah, s-sorry. What is going on?”

He notices your nervousness and he wishes it didn’t make him feel so fucking flustered. Last time he checked, he wasn’t a horny teenager anymore.

“Well, we’re unfortunately at our place of employment, on the clock. I’m your manager. You’re my employee,” he says, taking the smallest step towards you, ”and that about covers it. Unless you think there’s something else going on.”

There’s no way he’s trying to pull the fucking stupid card.

“I know there’s something else going on, Sukuna. I saw you staring,” you spit. You caught him swallowing after you said his name, which would have been cuter if you weren’t currently freezing to death.

“Just because I stare doesn’t mean something’s going on,” he says with a smirk, shamelessly letting his eyes trail your body again, lingering when his eyes meet your chest to commit to memory how your nipples cut through your shirt in the cold of the walk in.

You huff, raising your voice to emphasize your point, “Then why are you walking around with a fuckin’ hardon?”

You barely notice the muffled ‘I wasn’t’ before Sukuna’s eyes widen as you feel a weight leave your back. You could barely process someone was trying to come in the walk in by the time Sukuna is crowding your space, one hand flying to the bulky handle to keep the door closed, the other reaching to cover your mouth. His body is slightly pressed to yours and his scent is invading your every thought. He smells masculine - musky and woodsy, like he had been out in the rain. His hands were harsh on your face, pushing down onto you with more force than you thought necessary. His thumb cupped under your chin, long, thick fingers nearly touching your ear as they stretch across your now beet-red cheeks. His chest and arms flexed in front of you as he kept the door shut, and you had to shut your eyes for fear of being caught staring.

The almost-intruder gives up, releasing the handle as the both of you let out a breath. The white, smoke-like air leaving his mouth in the cool air of the walk in clouded your vision as he removes his hand from your mouth, but not the door. He couldn’t risk having someone else barge in and it gave him an excuse to have you against the wall in front of him, albeit not in the way he would have preferred.

You two lock eyes, almost panting from the intensity of what just happened. You both look at each other’s lips, with Sukuna’s eyes flicking between your lips and eyes more often than yours.

You lick your lips, feeling like you were under a spotlight with how intensely he’s meeting your gaze. He was about to speak before you interrupt him, suddenly remember his admission from earlier.

“You weren’t hard?” You ask, and he laughs. The first real laugh you’ve got out of him the entire night.

“No, no I wasn’t, hah. Why do you care?”

You felt stupid but there was no way he wasn’t hard. He must be lying because you couldn’t have imagined what you felt. There was no mistaking the size, the length, the heat. It had to be.

“Then what was it?” You ask, patiently waiting for him to find an excuse.

Until he hits you with a, “my dick,” that knocks the wind from your gut. The shit-eating grin that plasters his face sends a warmth to your groin you haven’t felt in a while.

“W-What do you mean?” You ask, and he pouts, mocking your sheepish attitude.

“I don’t understand what you’re so confused about, girl. You’re the one that rubbed your ass on my dick. Doesn’t mean it was hard,” he shrugs.

You remember how big he felt even through the layers of clothing, and it scared you. That was him soft? You were starting to wonder what you’d gotten yourself into. But you had no clue how to respond to that. You couldn’t just compliment him on his soft dick. Weird.

“Well, you still didn’t answer both questions.”

He huffs out a chuckle, remembering the previously avoided ‘what are you trying to do?’

He looks at you, lost in thought. He scans your face before he’s reaching his hand towards yours shoved in your pocket. He extends his palm, motioning for you to place your hand in his. You oblige, pulling your hand out of your pocket before he’s grabbing your wrist, completing enveloping it in his large palm.

He leans closer to you, placing his left cheek on yours as he speaks into your ear.

“I think you know what I’m trying to do, y/n.”

He grips your wrist tighter, leading it to his groin to present you with his now undeniably hard dick. You stifle a gasp, overwhelmed by the sensation of his breath on your ear, cold cheek against your burning one, hard length now sitting heavy in your palm, twitching under your light touch. Now you know why you thought he was hard earlier. He was a shower and a grower, and the sinful thoughts that filled your mind did nothing to stop you from sliding your hand down further, to see just how much of a grower he really was. You knew you should protest this firmly, tell him he’s wrong for lusting after his subordinate, and clock out to seal the deal. But the stifled ‘mmph’ you hear to your left after you squeeze around his tip, precum leaking through his pants, has you questioning why you’d even think to leave. The wetness you thought you had under control was becoming a problem as it slowly soaked through your panties.

He pulls away from your ear, flicking your hand away with a tsk before he’s closing in on you once more, grabbing your chin so you can look up at him properly.

“Since when are you so greedy, huh? So eager? Didn’t tell you to start strokin’ it, now did I? Or are you that much of an overachiever like I’ve heard? I had to beg you to close f’me so I doubt it’s that.” He trails off, bombarding you with questions that warm your face again and you’re sure you have a fever at this point.

You huff out a hushed ‘fuck you’ to which he laughs.

He raised his fist up and starts pounding on the closed walk in door. His force is so brutal, he has to grab the handle to keep it closed as he hammers away at the door.

“That a promise?” is all he asks before he’s shoving the both of you out of the walk in, tripping over each other’s feet as you shoot him a confused look.

He ignores you, yelling out a loud “helloooo?” to the kitchen staff that just witnessed you two stumble out of the cooler.

Nobara rushes up, worry painted on her face as she grabs your wrists, stabilizing you as you catch your balance.

“Sir?” She mutters, looking just as confused as you were.

“We were locked in there for like, ten fucking minutes. No one noticed me beating the damn door down?” He yells. Your face grows redder as you look at Nobara struggle for a response.

“I-It’s fine, really. The handle just got stuck and he was too weak to get it open. He's kinda' useless,” which earns a laugh from more than just Nobara. Sukuna cuts you a look, flaring his nostrils as he’s walking off with a pout to his office. How pathetic.

You dust off your clothes, relieved to see there’s no more tickets printing off. Most of the remaining staff had started on their closing tasks while you and Sukuna were busy fraternizing in the walk in. Although Sukuna left with an attitude, you still couldn’t ignore the pool in your underwear and the ever-present pulse you felt throb with each tick of the clock.

-

The restaurant has mostly died down by now, with only a few lingering patrons at the bar and a couple or two still left in the dining area. Clean dishes were piling up on the right side of the sink and you were only left with the bare minimum cookware at your station. You see Sukuna walk into the lobby of the restaurant, not so subtly urging the remaining customers to leave. Most of the patrons pack up their things, only leaving a few stragglers behind.

-

By now, all of the wait staff had clocked out and left long ago. The clock read a depressing ‘2:23’ as you wipe down your workstation with a damp towel, sweeping the crumbs and leftover trash into the floor. Sukuna is busy finishing off the tills, counting the last of the register’s change. The dishwasher is finally packing his things, heading to the front computer to clock out with a tired ‘see ya’.

You were busy sweeping around your station, leading all the way to the walk in.

“Move,” he says, grabbing the back of your pants by the belt loop and pulling him behind you. You quickly look around to see if anyone noticed his touch, sighing with relief as you realize you two were the only ones still on the clock. He had a piece of paper in one hand, reaching up with the other to remove the thumbtacks from the old schedule on the bulletin board in front of you two. You glance at the schedule and your neck nearly cracks with how hard you do a double-take. You expected your usual 8-4, maybe some 9-5 shifts on the days you usually worked. But this new schedule has you scheduled for nights only. Conveniently, nights that Sukuna is the manager. You peer at the schedule, looking for the large, bold-printed ‘OFF’, and you see that you’re off in two days. You look at the top of the schedule, nothing that Sukuna’s ‘OFF’ day is the same day, too.

Sukuna had already started to walk off as you processed this new schedule. You take a step towards him, grabbing his forearm in an attempt to pull him back to you. His walk is so confident and assured that he pulls you almost an entire step forward before he turns on his heels, suddenly mere inches from your space. His proximity has you at a loss for words, mouth agape as you search your mind for whatever it was you were about to say.

“Yes?” He asks, a slight tug at the corner of his mouth daring to turn into a smile.

“U-uh.. sorry, why did you schedule me for n-nights?” You mutter, spiteful at how the words seemed to die in your throat.

He takes a step back, releasing his arm from your gasp as he straightens his tie, giving you room to finally breathe.

“Well, you’ll be glad to know that the employee that called out earlier has the flu.”

“But-“ you try to interject.

“She won’t be in the rest of the week, and how you’re looking at me right now tells me you’d like to be here with me again tomorrow,” is all he says before he’s returning to his office, crumbling up the old schedule as he’s closing the door behind him.

You clear your throat, trying to regather your dignity as you continue sweeping. You were frustrated with how much of an affect he has over you in the short amount of time, but your interactions throughout the day has left you craving more of his presence. His touch still lingers on your skin, reminding you just how often he had touched you during the shift.

You start to gather the trash in the dustpan, standing up to turn around to Sukuna leaving his office. Your breath hitches in your throat as he walks out in nothing but a black tank top, silver chain adorning his neck. You have full view of his numerous tattoos trailing down his arms, over his shoulders, even some that look like they might reach down his chest. He was walking to lock up the front as you finished sweeping and mopping. You grip the broom tighter, trying to ground yourself. Your body temperature was higher than usual and your hands were so sweaty. It felt all too hot in the restaurant, even hotter than it felt with the rest of the kitchen staff on the clock, ovens and fryers ablaze. You take a deep breath and lean the broom against the wall, heading for the back door. You needed some air and being in the same building as Sukuna made you feel like you had to fight for breath.

The cool air instantly calms your nerves as you walk to the side of the building, leaning down to put your hands on your knees. You take a deep breath, running your sweaty palms on your jeans. You had to get yourself together, you tell yourself over and over again. Regardless of how good he looked, how… intrigued he made you feel, you were stuck with him for the rest of the week. You couldn’t take a smoke break every time Sukuna cut his eyes at you or let his hands invade your personal space. While you couldn’t lie to yourself like you didn’t enjoy it, you’re still a grown woman that wouldn’t be caught dead melting under another man’s touch so easily. You preferred things the other way around, enjoying the power you felt when you -

SLAM!

A loud, resounding boom echoed through the parking lot as Sukuna crosses your peripheral, two full, black trash bags slung over his shoulder. He fails to notice you around the side of the building in the dim light before he reaches the dumpster, flinging both heavy bags into the can with ease.

He startles slightly as he sees you, fully expecting you to be inside the restaurant finishing your sweeping. You were too busy admiring him to process that the door had slammed. As in, shut. As in, no way to get back into the building unless Sukuna has the keys, shut. You both seem to realize your grim fate simultaneously, eyes widening as you scramble to find the answers you both needed. You take steps towards him as he’s rushing to you, frantically searching his pockets.

“Please tell me you have the keys-“

“Since when are you outside?”

“Do you not have the keys? How are we supposed-“

“You were supposed to be inside, y/n,” he interrupts yet again, turning out every pocket in search of the large loop of miscellaneous keys. His face is flushed as he peers down at you, obviously embarrassed he was so foolish to trust you’d be inside the restaurant and irresponsible enough to leave the back door without the keys in hand.

He sighs as do you, unsure of what step to take next. He starts pacing, hands running through his hair as he searches for a solution. You gasp quietly, searching your pockets and praising god your phone was still on you. You rescind that praise when you realize that was the only one of your belongings you had. No keys, wallet, purse, anything. In your panic, you rush to the back door, putting all of your body weight into twisting and pulling the handle. It’s locked without a shadow of a doubt, but Sukuna still shoves you to the side as he attempts to open the door. Although his strength seems incomprehensible, he still struggled to open the door. Every muscle in his arms, back, and chest were rippling and contorting as he fully leans back with force in an attempt to rip the door from its hinges. Nothing.

“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” You ask, dumbfounded at the predicament you’ve gotten yourself in.

He huffs, leaning against the wall beside you as he puts his hand into his pocket, still silently hoping the keys would magically appear.

“What all did you have left in there?”

“Uh, just the sweeping and mopping. Did you finish the tills?” You ask, trying to assess the damage that the morning shift would be subject to.

“Yeah, yeah all my shit’s done, just had to do the fuckin’ trash. Shit.” He curses, rubbing his face in his hands.

You hadn’t realized just how close you two were now. There was still plenty of breathing room between the two of you, but as you both lean against the wall, his arm brushes yours and both of you linger at the contact, consciously continuing the skin on skin exposure.

Sukuna had plenty of plans that were so rudely interrupted by the stupid fucking door. He couldn’t stop thinking about you and how your hands felt on his length, how you looked up at him, hopeful that he would do something more to you. He had plans of ravishing you in the restaurant - partly to boost his ego, and partly to have you reminisce on the experience each time you walked into the building, with or without him. But all plans were effectively crushed as soon as that back door shut.

“Do you not make it a habit to keep the keys on you? Like, at all times?” You ask, confused as to why he would leave them sitting around anyway.

He turns to face you, rolling his eyes as he does so.

“No, I don’t keep the thirty-pound key ring on me at all times. You’re the one that came out here without letting me know!” He adds, throwing his hands in the air, trying to find anyone to blame except himself.

You scoff, surprised he was trying to turn this on you, “Well I needed some fucking air. You want me to tell you every time I go to the walk in or the bathroom, too?”

He laughs, offended, “You need to tell me when you leave the premises. The premises being the inside of the restaurant.”

You start to respond before he’s interrupting you per usual, closing in on your space as he places his right hand to the side of your head, leaning it on the wall to face you directly. You avert your gaze, embarrassed at how meek you felt when he looked at you in this way. But you knew he wanted you, at least in some way - that you knew for sure.

“Why did you need air? Closin’ too much for you, huh little baby? Can’t handle all that… responsibility?” He asks, making your knees almost buckle. Sure, girl was one thing, but baby?

But you still had to hold your ground.

“I am perfectly capable of closing, thank you. I needed a break from you,” you admit, not realizing how harsh it sounded until after you spoke it.

And he is appalled. With the way you were acting, you seemed like a break was the last thing you needed.

“A break? From me? What makes you think that, hm?” He asks as you still avoid his gaze, eyes glued to the way his chest moved in an even, up-down motion as he took steady breaths.

“W-Well, I -“

“Uh uh. Look at me when you speak, y/n,” he commands, taking just his pointer finger to draw your chin up to him, meeting your eyes with his.

“I-I dunno’, you just make me feel… weird? Not bad weird, just… different,” You admit, trying to say anything but ‘you make me wet’. Your response makes him chuckle.

He reaches his hand towards your forehead, prodding it with an exaggerated poke as he asks, “Do I make you feel weird here?”

You smile, furrowing your brows as you let out a simple ‘no’ with a shrug. He nods in understanding, motioning for you to follow him as he grabs your wrist. He pulls you around the side of the building, in an area much darker than previously. You look around as your back meets the wall, noting how the only visible cameras were pointing at the spot you two just occupied. Sukuna moves closer to you, leaving multiple points of contact between you two as you mentally count them all - how his knee is between your legs, how his hand that was on the wall before is now back, but much closer to your head, resting somewhat on your shoulder, how his other hand has now left your wrist, being replaced on your hipbone. His thumb presses in, harder than you think he realizes, and with how pent up you’ve been feeling it takes a great deal of strength not to ravish him on the spot.

He leaves his hand there for a brief moment before he takes the same thumb and slides it along your stomach, stopping when he reaches your navel. His thumb shifts only an inch downwards before he presses into the squish underneath your belly button multiple times, akin to a doctor feeling for abnormalities.

“If it’s not your head… is it here?” He asks with a particularly hard jab for emphasis.

“I make you feel weird in your tummy? Hm?” He finishes with a smirk, now soothing his pokes and prods with gentle circles traced with his thumb.

If you thought you were plenty wet earlier, you had no idea what this type of touch would do to you. He wasn’t even touching you anywhere important yet, leaving you stuck trying to suppress even a hint of a whine from escaping. Your clit was pulsing with your heartbeat which was at an all time high. It’s almost as if Sukuna realizes this as you do, chuckling as he moves his two fingers and thumb up to your neck, wrapping around it slightly as he searches for your pulse. Worry flashes across his face for but a moment before he’s laughing again, removing his hand before he reiterates his question with a simple ‘yes or no?’.

“A-A little, yeah,” you admit and your breath hitches at his response.

His voice was darker now, barely audible over the hum of the street light.

“Oh, I see,” he says as he dares to reach his hand lower, impossibly lower. You refuse to let your eyes trail, instead relying on the feeling of his single fingernail scraping through the outside of your clothes before he stops at your belt.

He catches you off guard, moving a mere inch away from your face as he cups your jaw, pulling you into a hot, open-mouthed kiss. You barely have time to react, kissing him with your eyes widened in shock. He pulls away too quickly, only allowing you to taste him for a short second before he continues his diagnostics.

‘S’not your head, not really your tummy,” dragging out the vowels in ‘really’ to make you wait another second longer.

His hand cups you through your pants, immediately rubbing small circles beneath your mound, stimulating your clit so roughly with the seam of your jeans you have to grab onto his arm for leverage.

“Must be your cunt causin’ all these problems,” he finishes as he meets your lips with his again, all tongue and teeth - which was a necessity for the both of you at this point. The tension that built slowly throughout the night had left you both eager for one another, and it was obvious with how frantic you were for him, whining as you throw your other arm over his shoulder to bring him even closer than he already was. You feel his now half-hard length push into your upper thigh before you reach your hand down to play with the hem of his pants. His abdomen clenches under your touch, rigid muscles flexing enough to be noticed through his tight shirt.

His hand that had found place in your hair tugs lightly as he pulls away from your lips, instead kissing along your cheek towards your ear.

“I thought this was all about her,” he whispers, pushing his two middle fingers harshly into your clit for emphasis, rubbing down firmly on your bundle of nerves as you threaten to fall apart.

“But now you wanna’ be greedy again? You already got to touch me once, y/n,” and you can hear the smile on his face as he says it, “If she’s the one makin’ you feel weird, maybe she’s the one that deserves my attention, yeah? Don’t you want me to make her feel better?” He says, swirling his tongue on the shell of your ear before biting your lobe, playfully pulling it until it snaps back into place. He knows your answer without hearing it, even before the furious nod of your head in agreeance.

He has you so pliant, so willing underneath him. You can’t resist bucking your hips into his hands when he fiddles with the buttons on your jeans, unzipping your pants ever so slowly before he has his mouth on your neck again, sucking and leaving marks that’d be sure to stay for days.

In the suspended unzipping, your mind wanders to the last time you’ve had sex with someone. It had been so many months, you weren’t sure if you remembered who it was. You cared less and less about how things looked down there, shaving every now and then when you got the urge. Which leads you to your current predicament.

“S-Sukuna, I.. I haven’t shaved. In like, a-a week or two,” you stutter quickly, trying to get the words out before he discovers on his own.

His fingers dip beneath your panties regardless, palm flattening against your lower stomach to reach down towards your heat. He lets out a grunt as he finally makes contact with your mound, stating a blunt, “good,” in response to your previous admission.

His long, deft fingers reach further to part your slit, his middle finger running through your folds to gather your slick as he works hard to keep his eyes from rolling into his skull.

“Knew I wouldn’t need any spit, ain’t that right?” He coos, not expecting anything but a gasp from you as his finger makes contact with your clit, finally.

And by god, how have you never been touched like this before?

His fingers rub you so skillfully, even better than you were able to. You were no stranger to masturbation, but the way his fingers felt on you now was unlike anything you’ve felt before. He circled your clit with planned, assured movements - if the smug look on his face wasn’t enough to show you just how confident he was in his ability to please you. His touch was perfect - no movement too under or overstimulating. He was so carefully bringing you closer to your peak with each intoxicating circle, steadily building his pace as he watched you fall victim to your pleasure with each passing moment. His lips are latched to your chest now, his other hand undoing just enough buttons so he can grab you properly without your pesky clothes in the way. He pulls your restrictive sports bra down with a harsh tug, freeing your tits for only a second before his mouth is latched to you, pulling and sucking at your nipples.

“Can’t believe - mmph, you’ve been.. hiding these from me,” he says, entranced at how the light hits your chest as it heaves up and down, your frantic breathing becoming more erratic and choppy, signaling your oncoming breaking point.

“K-Kuna, I’m -“ you try to warn him that you wouldn’t last much longer until your breath is ripped from your lungs.

“How cute,” he says, chastising the nickname you gave him. In one fluid motion, he takes his two middle fingers and slides them down and inside of you, replacing his thumb on your clit, quickly continuing the dizzying circles on your bud as he pumps into you - one thrust, then another, and you lose it entirely as he clamps down on your nipple with his teeth. You look down at him, making brief eye contact before involuntarily letting your eyes roll back, your lip pinched between your teeth as you succumb to the pleasure he so expertly gave you.

He looked surprised that you were finishing so quickly, eyes wide when you look down at him as you clamp so tightly around his digits. You continue clamping around him repeatedly as you ride out your orgasm, becoming louder by the second before he kisses you again, attempting to stifle your moans from echoing in the vacant lot. With one final swipe of your clit he pulls his hand free, immediately backing away to suck you off of his own fingers, grunting once he finally gets a taste of you properly. As if on instinct, his hand snakes his way underneath your panties again to caress your pussy, rubbing his hand in sloppy motions to coat himself in your juices thoroughly. He pulls away again, licking his fingers one by one with an eager grin.

“Ever had a taste?” He asks, wiping his filthy mouth clean.

To be fair, you had, but you wanted to see what he’d do if you said no. So you did.

He responds by taking your chin in his still wet hand, lolling his tongue out as he ravishes you in an open-mouthed kiss. You return the gesture, tasting yourself from his mouth and you were shocked at how intoxicating it was. How intoxicating he was. You so desperately want to return the favor, and then some.

He has the back of your head grasped in his palm but you resist, trying to get the words out as he all but devours you, groping your tits and reaching a hand behind you to grab your ass in a large, firm hold.

“Can I - mmph, can I.. be greedy… now?” You manage to get out before you reach down to palm his length, to which Sukuna lets out a focused, long breath through his nose. He pulls away from you with a smirk, hips leaning towards your touch.

“Dunno’ if I should - mmh.. let you, hah. I wasn’t tryna’ make you cum yet,” he admits, looking down with a ‘phew’ as you hook your fingers tantalizingly under his waistband, pulling him closer.

“That was you trying to make me not cum?” You ask with a laugh.

“Not yet. Wanted to make you wait for it, but you’re too much of a brat to be patient. You've been one ever since you showed up tonight,” he says and to prove his point further, you grab him by the arms and spin the two of you around, gingerly pushing him against the wall. He makes a face like he’s unimpressed before he reaches to the back of his tank top to pull it over his head. You gawk at his musculature and even more tattoos that are revealed to you as he throws the shirt at your feet.

He reaches down to undo his belt, the loud clang of the metal sending chills down your spine. You look down at the shirt then at him, shooting him a questioning look as he looks like he’s waiting for something.

“For your knees, stupid,” he says and as if on command, you drop to your knees onto his shirt, placing your palms in your lap in anticipation. You subconsciously lick your lips as he unzips his pants ever so slowly.

He stops his movements, grabbing the top of your head to tilt it upwards at him, “If you’re that desperate, you can get it out yourself,” he says with a pat of your head. He leans back onto the wall further, crossing his arms over his cold chest as he waits.

You smooth your hands over the top of his briefs and across his happy trail, dipping your fingers below the waistband before you ask, “How long has it been?”

The question takes him aback as his breath catches in his throat. He tries to still his hips from pushing into your feather-light touch but it’s inescapable. It had been a while for him, too.

“A minute,” is all he offers before you reach up to press a wet kiss to his lower abdomen as you pull his briefs down over his length. You pull for so much longer than you assumed you’d have to; after what seemed like so many inches his cock finally springs free, lazily jerking up as it hits the cool air. If it wasn’t for the heavy mass, his dick would stand at attention in front of you. You grab him in your palm, shocked at the sheer weight present in your hand. His angry tip was beading precum as you slowly worked your hand up and down his shaft, sticking your tongue out below him to catch it before it drips.

He starts to speak before you interrupt him, “I’m gonna’ try to make you not cum, okay?” He peers down hungrily at you, cock twitching at your filthy words. You take his tip into your mouth, swirling your tongue to gather the bittersweet precum before you start to suck. You feel as if you can only take a few inches of him before he’s already prodding the back of your throat, making you cough around him.

“Don’t wimp out on me now, woman,” he says, grabbing himself at his base with a squeeze, using his thumb to line himself up with your throat perfectly.

“You wanna take my dick then fuckin’ take it,” he adds, grabbing the back of your hair to tilt your head back and your chin up towards him. He hums to you a simple ‘relax’ as he slowly pushes his length further into your throat, stopping when he meets a resistance with a throaty groan that has you whining around him, too. He tried his best to keep quiet, but your watery eyes and furrowed brows looking up at him with his dick shoved down your throat made his resolve disappear.

“Breathe,” he commands as he slips out of your throat, leaving you a coughing, sputtering mess with your lips still pressed against his tip. You follow his lead, taking a deep breath in and out before he pulls your mouth open with a thumb on your chin.

“Deeper this time, yeah?” He asks, quickly shoving his length further than before, nearly balls deep into your throat as your eyes shoot open and you swallow on instinct, earning a breathy ‘fuck’ from the man above you. You breathe out slowly through your nose, focusing your mind on doing anything but gagging. You squeeze his thighs to anchor yourself, pulling back from him almost entirely with a gasp before you force your head down again. You feel your throat start to relax as you continue your slow back and forth motion, trying to take him deeper with every thrust into your mouth. His hips are bucking lazily now as he tries his hardest to be somewhat gentle. As gentle as a man can be with a hand gripping your hair and the other guiding his monstrously large cock into your wet heat.

“Hah, l-look at you. I’ll have that throat trained for me in no time,” he praises, admiring how incredible you look as you throat him, watching how the dim parking lot lighting illuminates you enough for him to see the noticeable bulge in your neck. He can’t help but thrust more powerfully now, seeing as you were already taking his dick with ease after such a short amount of time. You meet his thrusts with your hand wrapping around the remainder of his shaft, stroking what you couldn’t reach with your mouth.

You pull off from him and you swear he pouts, bucking into your continued stroking as you kiss his tip.

“Who says I need my throat trained for you? Who says this will ever happen again?” You ask, curious how he would react.

He laughs, biting his lip to hide the moan that nearly slips.

“Oh, s-so you don’t want me to fuck you?” And he had you there. You start to run your hand furiously over his weeping tip and the sudden increase in sensation has him buckling over, mouth agape as heaving breaths signal how close he is. You’re barely able to suck his tip again before he’s removing your hands, pushing you back to sit on your feet.

“Fuck..y/n, open up,” he says as he strokes his length meticulously, grunts leaving his mouth as his fingers run over the tip repeatedly, “gonna’ paint that - fuck, pretty.. fuckin’ face,” he manages, smiling with an almost pained look as you loll your tongue out obediently. He can’t warn you any further before he’s cumming, white hot liquid pouring into your mouth as you jump in surprise at the sheer volume. With each spurt he’s moaning, strings of profanities leaving his lips as he sees white. You reach your hand up to finish the job, giving him a few final strokes before you suck on his tip a final time, swallowing his gift for you with a smile on your face. You wipe the remainder of your face with your sleeves as you stand to your feet.

“Come here,” he says, drunk on the feeling still as he pulls you into a sloppy kiss.

You pull away, “Now what?”

He chuckles, “hah, we go home,” he says, checking his watch that reads a depressing ‘3:17’, “unless you need my dick that bad.”

While you did actually need his dick that bad, that wasn’t the problem bothering you in the moment.

“Sukuna, I don’t have my keys. Just my phone,” you offer. He reaches down to dust off his shirt before he puts it back on. He motions for you to follow him as he grabs his keys out of his pocket.

“Guess you’re getting what you want after all.”

(pt. 2 in the works)

[tranquilpetrichor]

zb1 as honkai: star rail players

— may this journey lead us starward.

synopsis: you end up getting the zb1 boys to play the popular hoyoverse space fantasy rpg called honkai: star rail, and this is how it goes...

genre: headcanon, fluff, crack

wc: 944

warnings: mentions of video game deaths, cursing, there may be unfamiliar video game terms

a/n: haha please lemme summon all the zerose that play this game. very self-indulgent headcanon. i actually have not played this for a couple weeks because college = busy so... yeah.

taglist: @restlessmaknae

sung hanbin

he now thinks it would be a fun idea to have the members play video games like this for content so there you go

i can see him looking at bronya and thinking "she's a great leader" because honestly so true

he starts off with a fairly standard team composition (shielder, healer, support, dps) because you know less is more

likes the story, finishes it fairly quickly

thinks the feature where characters text you is cute

gets really happy whenever you use his support character

kim jiwoong

absolutely confused as hell and really, you can't blame him

"wait, why i can't jump?"

you spend a bit of time explaining the turn-based combat stuff to him and now he does get it... sorta

doesn't play too much but sometimes does it on a free day

pulls for characters he finds pretty (so valid)

and that's how he ended up with luocha, imbibitor lunae, jing yuan and kafka

has decent luck too

zhang hao

plays with chinese dub, chinese dialogue text

pulls for as many characters from the xianzhou luofu as he can

a lore enjoyer, probably excitedly talking about his favorite parts with you

probably got sucked into all the side quests

busy testing out the simulated universe, enjoying every second of it

has the ost samudrartha on blast, he'd love to cover the song one day

having a field day with any lore-heavy updates

seok matthew

he probably tried memory of chaos with f2p characters "because he was bored" and already did it w cracked as hell 5 stars

i can see him having a bunch of the standard banner characters from losing the 50/50s

he prob saw welt and said “haraboji" which means grandpa. if y'all know that joke i love you.

curses a lot if he dies

if something actually ends up being too hard for you to beat he gladly tries to help you (he's sweet like that)

named the trailblazer (main character) woohyun

also loves exploration and just running around the map even if he can't find everything

finds it fun in his free time

kim taerae

plays it casually (because he’s probably already too dedicated to valorant or something to pick up another game)

yk i think he would be a fan of the music, this game has a very good ost

in the parlor car of the express there’s a phonograph and one of the songs you can play on there is called “take the journey”, it’s this acoustic guitar song with soothing vocals

if that’s not taerae, idk what is

as a music lover, he's probably listening to the whole ost for this game

a very proud serval main (no did you see that pic of him with the electric guitar on his birthday? i'm sure he can appreciate a fellow guitarist)

thinks it's funny that gepard uses serval's guitar case as a weapon

probably builds at least two good teams

and complains when realizing he didn't get that many materials from beating the calyxes (same)

ricky

plays with chinese dub, english text

lazy af, turned on auto battle feature we stan

plays maybe twice per week

dialogue skipper

yk this man is buying whatever the equivalent of the battle pass is for this game

he can and will whale for the characters he wants (and this man already has better 50/50 luck than you, for sure)

probably doesn't give a shit about meta when deciding to pull on banners even though because oh wow that character is cool

actually pulls on the lightcone banner (because he can)

sees asta and her constant purchases and goes yep that's relatable

he jokingly tries to name the trailblazer something like youngandrich

kim gyuvin

sometimes starts leveling up relics randomly not giving a crap about stats even though he probably should

"it's a 5 star one and the correct mainstat, so here we go!"

he shows you relics leveled all the way with absolutely shit substats just to troll and annoy you

another proud dialogue skipper

but when the trailblazer speaks, guyvin picks all the funny and wacky dialogue options

lets your support character do all the work for him

probably let excess exp accumulate until he finally does his equilibrium trial or whatever

thinks it would be funny to main sampo or qingque. so that's exactly what he does

says fuck it we ball and puts 4 dps characters on one team

randomly says character voice lines like "HELP ME MR. SVAROG" and you're just like "please shut up"

probably named the trailblazer eumppappa

park gunwook

the most likely to enjoy the game imo

also ends up getting good at it (because he’s talented and good at learning new things)

doesn’t like to auto battle, actually enjoys grinding battles

started laughing at you because he got gepard for his beginner pulls and you don’t even have him yet (but you laughed when he lost his 50/50 to himeko of all people so you’re even.)

has a decent amount of characters

you give him so many credits because you keep using his gepard

to return the favor, he uses your characters occasionally, mostly seele.

he likes putting shielders and healers as support characters because "some people need to be able to not die"

easily finds the chests, is a completionist

always updated and knows when new redeem codes are out

han yujin

very intently focused on the game, you find it hilarious

but since our maknae is very dedicated, you’re quite surprised at his trailblaze level..

“yujin, slow down, you’ve been playing for what, two days?"

he’s probably already reached somewhere around trailblaze level 25 already

truly a yanqing enjoyer, he likes everything about him and sees a bit of himself as yanqing is also young and dedicated to his particular craft (yes i wish i had him on my account shut up!)

sulks whenever he loses a 50/50

ngl i imagine ricky probably buys some stuff in-game for him

[688199]

NEVER FORGET WHAT THEY TOOK FROM US

Cause genuinely what the hell is this? (I know I ranted about this before but shush lemme complain.)

Marinette loves Adrien because he’s good looking and the son of a famous fashion designer, thus she holds him to a high pedestal and bases her attraction on fantasy and that “mysterious” element?

BULL FUCKING SHIT.

GIVE ME BACK THE MARINETTE THAT LOVED FELIX FOR HIS SENSITIVITY AND DETERMINATION, MENTIONING NOTHING ABOUT HIS LOOKS. 还给我‼️‼️‼️ 他妈的还给我啦‼️‼️‼️ ka ni na be chao chee bye AHHHHHH

WHO WHAT… WHY?

Like I am tearing blood because of this. My optic nerve burst because of the spike in blood pressure caused by this stupid fucking decision.

Their dynamic even sucks when they first “officially” introduced Adrien. They’re friends, with Marinette often trying to make the relationship romantic. Which is… eh? But nothing still beats OG Marinette’s goal of making Felix smile. And maybe him liking her because of it. Shes focusing on his happiness over her happiness. Do you know how GREAT that is?

Also not to toot my own horn but that one random fanfic I wrote inspired by how Marinette fell in love with Felix shows the sheer potential of their relationship.

To Felix, playing music and creating art is the only way he can express himself, yet he feels a tad bit of shame doing it (as per the bible: “it’s exercising my hands, not for enjoyment!”). For Marinette to catch him at his most vulnerable and basically peel back his layers so quickly just by listening to him play yet not make a huge deal out of it when he chooses not to speak about it…

FUCKKK DO YOU GET ME? DO YOU GET IT?

While other girls swoon over his looks, his skills and dreams are appreciated by Marinette, things he worked so hard on yet no one, not even his family, sees.

I like to imagine Felix’s paintings as pretty harsh and abstract, which deters a lot of people away, even the art teacher doesn’t understand. Until Marinette comes trotting along and being so captivated by his works.

Basically, she is the only one that appreciates him… for him. For who he is. For his hard work.

Canon Marinette? Oh fuck off. Delusional piece of shit. She thought he was a jerk (damn prejudice getting in your way) and when he did the bare minimum to subvert it (no way, kindness?? humility??? impossible.), she became obsessed over him. It’s so LAME.

OG Marinette will always have my heart. She’s the sweetest.

“It’s the same character” You tell me that one more time I’ll print out the entire first bible and shove it up your ass until your rectum is lined with paper cuts.

That’s two different characters.

[piskelo10]

Perks of having ADHD:

(Inattentive, at least—though I'm one symptom away from being combined. Remember that this is just based off of my own experience.)

I used to hate when people would treat ADHD like it was a good thing, as I felt that it just inherently wasn't. I continue to struggle with my ADHD, and have for a pretty long time, but I used to see it like some horrible entity that just fucked me over constantly and made my life hell. But now, as I finally have started being able to work with my ADHD instead of trying and failing to force it into submission, it's become more like just... another part of who I am. A part I'm still frustrated with sometimes, but a part I can appreciate both the bad and good in. So here goes.

Being able to let go of emotions fairly quickly

↑ It's not necessarily a given, of course there's some things too stressful or upsetting to be ignored, especially if they're ongoing—but when it comes to things that simply sour my mood, I find it really easy to distract myself and let go of it.

Finding intense joy in fictional media

Hyperfixations can be really annoying sometimes, but a lot of the time they're just hella fun! I love that I can become so excited over something so inconsequential, and I can become so attached to characters and it brings me a lot more enjoyment out of certain content.

Being able to become deeply immersed in things

Maybe not everyone will be able to relate to this one, but I find that I can become very immersed or absorbed into things like shows, books, or games, and it just enhances my enjoyment of things, or intensifies the emotions/experience I have consuming them. I love being able to hone in on a good movie or book or whatever and just feel it so deeply. Also, it allows me to sort of willingly get sucked into my own thoughts and little inner-world when I get really bored, or just for fun.

Being easily able to occupy myself

Of course, this might seem a bit contradictory—and not everyone may be able to relate, and it's not like I'm never restlessly hoping for something to do—however, I find that due to both my ability to immerse myself in my thoughts, and my overactive imagination, I'm able to get well absorbed into fun little stories or ideas to help me keep myself entertained when there's nothing to do.

Further along that vein... it also helps to motivate me for certain things. It might not be beneficial to those who have trouble separating the real from the fictional, or who might not be able to tear themselves out of a certain mindset or put them in one as quickly, but sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a character of mine, or that I'm in some situation/environment that makes something much easier to tolerate.

If I'm having trouble staying occupied while I'm doing something boring, or just don't want to do it—I pretend that perhaps I'm cleaning because I'm hiding the evidence of a murder, and run through my whole backstory in my head.

Or if I'm having trouble simply getting out of bed or the car because I'm too tired—I'll pretend that I'm a character of mine who would, who's determined and has important things to do and people to impress.

And if I'm having trouble taking a shower, because it's too boring or I just don't want to have more things for me to do—I'll pretend that I'm getting in the shower with a love interest, sharing a romantic or intimate moment; or perhaps I could imagine that I'm some creature being born out of the swamp, discovering its surroundings and admiring the nature and pouring rain.

And of course, finally:

Overactive imagination/creativity

I don't really even need to give my reasons for this one as I feel I've already given plenty.

Generally, although there's a lot of things about ADHD that can still really bother me or impact me negatively, there's also a lot I find myself appreciating about it in small ways. For the first time in my life in a very long time, I've been figuring out how my brain works, (even if I haven't cracked the code for a lot of it just yet,) but already it's been helping me substantially. It feels good not seeing ADHD as an enemy, but more of just another aspect of myself I need to work with and discover more about. The things I've listed can also be incredibly unhelpful sometimes, but I wanted to talk about the ways that I can find some benefit to certain aspects of my ADHD that makes it feel a little less awful.

[snootlestheangel]

A Late Night Snootles Rant

I love my twin brother, I do. And I will NOT tolerate anyone saying anything about him being toxic or a bad guy because I know he's not he's just painfully A Guy and neurotypical and just cannot conceptualize how hard this topic is for me

That being said

I just love having to sit here and listen to him slander my soul game (Overwatch). I cannot express how much this game means to me, or even why it means this much.

Left4Dead was my first game obsession. And I got good at it fairly quickly with how much I played it. But it being an older game without anything to spice it up, it became repetitive after playing it so much. But it was also the first game I got so good at, I was better at it than my brother.

But then Overwatch came along. It's a storyteller's wet dream. A diverse cast of characters with cool abilities and whatnot, a fleshed out (semi) world and a dramatic lore background. So when I first discovered it, it was amazing.

I am not good at video games. I never have been, and never will be. Meanwhile, my twin brother is naturally gifted with video games. He can pick up any game and learn it and be good pretty quickly. And for me, to be bad at a game makes the experience not enjoyable. I don't have fun if I'm not at least halfway decent.

But Overwatch was the first game that I didn't care how good I was, I was having fun. No matter what, no matter how bad I was, I had fun.

But i joined during the death of Overwatch 1 in late 2019 early 2020. The game was not getting updates, the player base was dwindling, it was a rough time. And I didn't care. I created fics and I loved the game and I obsessed and I played it all the time. I knew I was joining a game that was quickly losing hope.

So when Overwatch 2 came out? When the game was alive again? That was a wonderful time to be an Overwatch player. Yeah I had fallen off on writing for it, but it didn't change my love for the game itself.

And then they canceled PvE. And there's a lot of elements into this that I don't want to go into here.

But it hurts to hear that the devs have been making nothing but empty promises to us, that they don't actually care about the game they're making. Which hurts as someone who cares so damn much about this game.

So it hurts to hear your brother say such good things about Marvel Rivals because thats the game that's the nail in the coffin for yours. For my soul game, Marvel Rivals will be the thing that kills it.

So to hear him stand there and tell me the game sucks, that i should try to look for other games to play before it's too late? That shit hurts.

And i can't cry in front of him about it because he doesn't understand what this game means to me, because he won't understand why I'm so upset about the state of the game and its player base/fan base.

But i can't help but get emotional because he will never understand.

He'll never understand how hard it is for me to get good at a video game. It's taken me nearly five years to finally be able to confidently say I am decent at the game. I know I'm not that good. If I play support, then yes. I'm a damn good support player. But I'm not in a top percentage of the players. I'm just above average.

It took me forever to get to this point.

How can he not understand why I get so upset and hesitant to pick up a new game?

He convinced me to play Deep Rock Galactic with him. Well fine, it's okay I guess. But I don't know what anything means, I don't know how to upgrade anything or change anything to make it better. I can't just ask that he hold my hand and walk me through it step by step. It's honestly kind of boring to me, and I know he can't understand that.

Okay so I tried Risk of Rain 2 with him. It is fun but if I thought Overwatch was overstimulating at times, this game is overstimulation on fucking steroids. And I don't know what anything means and I can kind of only play this one character. Okay so ask questions, he tells me. But I've been doing that. And I have to keep repeating myself to get you and our friend we play this game with to fucking answer. Only sometimes I give up on asking my question and I end up taking something that doesn't benefit my character but rather one of theirs and its kind of a rare item. Well I'm basically useless half the time anyways so that really sucks.

Im not good at anything but Overwatch and Left4Dead. And that fucking hurts when you want to be able to play with people but you can't get past the new player stage so much to the point it makes the experience not enjoyable. I don't enjoy not knowing what's going on and these games are so complicated in a way that's completely different from Overwatch that it'll take me forever to understand them enough for them to be playable

And unlike him I don't have friends i can just text and say "hey get on, let's play such and such game". I barely have friends as is.

And I so desperately want to keep Overwatch alive. I want the game to be as enjoyable as possible. I love this game more than I can ever make sense.

So it hurts to know I'm alone in playing it. That unless some things change soon, he won't play Overwatch with me again.

Ive never been good at so many things my entire life, I just wanted this one thing. I thought Overwatch 2 would solve this, that i wouldn't watch my game die out again. But it's happening and I don't want to admit it but I did and it hurts so bad.

Its just a game, I want to tell myself. I shouldn't be this upset over it.

But it hurts, it hurts so fucking much.

Ive lost so much, i can't lose this too

[warblingandwriting]

Books, Capitalism, and Classic Cinema: Why 'You've Got Mail' Sucks So Much

So, I probably haven't mentioned it on this blog before, but I HATE the film You've Got Mail, it only has two good jokes, it fails as a romance, and it to me it also fails completely as a story. But that's not where the majority of my hatred comes from. For that, I have to go back to my beloved 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner, the film that You've Got Mail is based on, and all its horrid, wasted potential. I don't know how a story about love during the depression, found family, and the importance of literature became a capitalist screed about the importance of big box bookstores and giving up your personality for love, but by god am I going to talk about it. I have a lot to say about this one, so feel no obligation to come with me on this journey, but I desperately need a rant, so here it goes.

First, I want to talk about The Shop Around the Corner a movie that, if you enjoy romance, you should undoubtedly watch. I have seen and heard a lot of discussions about You've Got Mail, and weirdly I feel like they hardly ever bring this movie up, so I'm going to now. Based on the play The Parfumerie by Miklós László, (as were a couple other films and musicals) The Shop Around the Corner centers on the employees (and owner) of a perfume shop in the play, and a leather shop in the film. I'll focus primarily on the film, as that is obviously where You've Got Mail takes pretty much all of its inspiration, but I like to acknowledge the originals, and The Parfumerie is also a really fun and enjoyable play if you like that sort of thing as well.

Now, the film does a lot to make the entire shop and its employees important, not just the two leads. The opening involves everyone arriving to work, and we get to see their personalities, how they feel about each other, and basically just understand the dynamic of the shop as it exists. It's a long scene, but I just want to include this great moment wherein everyone is disappointed when the closest thing this movie has to a villain shows up:

I think just this moment shows how great the instant understanding of these characters works. Anyway, the plot is pretty simple, and at base, seems at least somewhat similar to the plot of You've Got Mail, the main character, Alfred Kralik, reveals to one of his fellow employees (and friend) that he has been corresponding via letter with a woman he knows nothing about, except for their shared love of literature. A woman coincidentally arrives in the shop around the same time, and gets off on the very wrong foot with Alfred. She's looking for a job, but as it's the depression he says they don't have any openings. When she manages to sell a new product (that Alfred doesn't like or think they should order more of, but the owner loves) the store owner gives her a job on the spot anyway.

They hate each other at first, and it is revealed first to the audience, and then to Alfred that the woman he hates (in this version called Klara Novak) is in fact the same woman he's been corresponding with, and he spends what is basically the final third of the movie trying to get her to love him as Alfred, so that when he ultimately reveals that he is the letter writer she's been waiting for she doesn't immediately brush him off. There is a lot more going on with the other shop employees as well, but I'll save that for more direct comparison.

What I really think is important to understand about this version is that there isn't really a power imbalance (they're both employees at the same shop, and although Alfred has seniority he doesn't have any power over her position there), their arguments throughout the film are primarily petty and funny, when Alfred gets fired, Klara is genuinely sad for him, and their only 'serious' argument is resolved quite quickly, and their relationship pretty much makes sense. In the little we hear of their letters we know they like the same books, admire the same authors, and connect on a pretty deep level, which is why it makes sense that in spite of their contentious real life relationship, they want to make it work anyway when they discover each other's identities.

Also, it contains the best, most accurate scene about working in customer service I have ever seen:

So, what's the problem with You've Got Mail, then? It's about two people who correspond, don't know who each other are, hate when they do meet, but eventually fall in love. They even work at a book shop, which could tie to the already existing literary themes quite well! Well, if you're familiar with either movie you've probably already guessed, they don't work at a bookstore. They own separate competing bookstores. And this change is one of the film's worst. It's creates a weird power-dynamic wherein the male lead (in this film called Joe) is the magnate heir to a Chapters-esque (or for my non-Canadian readers, Barnes and Noble/Waterstones-esque) book store franchise literally putting Kathleen's small, independent bookstore that she inherited from her mother out of business.

But the power dynamic is not the only problem I have with the change. See, as mentioned before the original play was written, and the film set during the great depression. These people are not upper-class owners of stores, the singular owner in the film owns a small independent store that he shows up to work and sell at, just like the other employees. Therefore, I think this change sort of thematically neuters the story as well. With lines like 'if they're really your friends, they come over after dinner' financial struggle hangs over these characters heads, and while nothing really comes of it in the story (meaning, no one suddenly strikes it rich, although the shop does have particularly good sales around Christmas) it makes the characters feel real and relatable. And I know relatability is not the be all end all of storytelling, but it was something of an anomaly at the time, that made it stand out, and makes it so fun to watch. That 'this could happen to you' feeling that doesn't come out of other films of the era (films like Bringing Up Baby, Philadelphia Story, Born Yesterday, and My Favourite Wife all feature wealthy characters, even if ultimately they conclude that wealth itself is empty).

The film was still selling fantasy, but it selling a fantasy of romance and of and community between the workers, not wealth and power. And perhaps worse, You've Got Mail wants to have it both ways, Joe Fox's aging, lecherous father finds wealth empty until he runs off with a woman, Joe's original girlfriend (who I'll get to a bit later) is considered shallow because of her concerns with wealth. It almost feels like it's setting up an ending wherein Joe relinquishes his ownership of the chain store, and revives Kathleen's mom and pop shop to run it with her... but instead she gets hired on to work at his more corporate store. It feels like you're watching romance about Jeff Bezos that concludes with the love interest deciding to work at an amazon warehouse!

I’ll admit it’s a bit nitpicky, but merely adding wealth to the equation changes the entire tone of the story for me, and undoes a lot of the movie’s truly interesting and unique features, and it breaks my heart a little to see those features gone.

The other dynamic that I’m sad to lose is the camaraderie and community of the other characters. In the 1940 film everyone working at the shop feels real, as I mentioned above. The film’s primary subplot is about the store owner’s wife having an affair, and how that affects him and the dynamic of the shop. In the end it turns out that the guy everyone already hates was having the affair, he gets fired, and things look up for the people in the shop. You’ve Got Mail does sort of try to create a similar plot line with Joe’s father, but it’s just about him having a romance with a much younger woman. Somehow this movie from 1998 is more sexist than its 1940 counterpart.

Really, the only characters who matter in You’ve Got Mail are Joe and Kathleen, which isn’t necessarily a problem in and of itself, but I think the basic plot loses a lot of heart when it loses the characters around the leads. The romance itself is actually rather simple, which is part of what makes it so great. So, to fill this void (other than using pointless subplots) You’ve Got Mail complicates things.

You see, unlike a lot of other romantic comedies The Shop Around Corner deftly avoids having the leads in relationships at the beginning of the story. They are two single people who connect via the post, and don’t meet out of nerves, and don’t get together right away (the alleged problem that plagues the modern romcom) because they dislike each other in person. It’s actually a really perfect plot, and one that I think could genuinely be modernized well. But in You’ve Got Mail both of the leads are in other relationships for seemingly no reason (plot-wise). Both have break-ups that pretty much mean nothing, with their partners that it seems like they hate anyway. I want to complain about it, but it feels like such a nothing part of the movie I can’t even really think of any issues with it. It could have been removed and the movie would be pretty much the exact same, so I have no clue why they even bothered including those characters. Their break-ups aren’t at all dramatic (Kathleen’s partner agrees that their break-up has been a long time coming, and Joe’s is so drunk I’m not sure she noticed what happened), and it’s not like the relationships give them a more compelling reason not to meet their online pen-pals, I’d think the dangers of meeting some stranger from the internet would be enough.

And now, finally, what really cinches the issues for me; the romance itself. Unlike in the older film, we actually do get a fair amount of voiceover about what exactly is in these emails. And it’s bad. They don’t seem to like each other over email or in person, making it all the more difficult to get on board with their relationship. I mean, Joe ruins Kathleen’s family business! I try not to focus on that too much because I feel that aspect has kind of been talked to death, but that fact means that their online connection needs to feel incredible, not Kathleen disparaging Joe for making a Godfather reference. It just doesn’t seem strong enough to pull through the anguish he clearly causes her. You know how I mentioned above in the original film basically the entire final third of the movie is Alfred trying to make good with Klara so she won’t outright reject him when he reveals to her that he wrote the letters? The important thing here is that we see them interact, we see them connect in real life. You’ve Got Mail, in adding the competing book businesses plot, I guess just doesn’t have enough time for it, and we see it all in montage. At the end, when Kathleen says ‘I so hoped it was you’ we don’t even know why. Why does she hope it’s this guy who has ruined her life? I would have liked to see them together more, hear what conversations they were actually having while music plays over a restaurant with them laughing, but because of the structure of the story we don’t get that.

Taking out the heart of the shop that they work at together I think means that it becomes necessary to show them falling in love in a different way than in the shop (because it doesn’t exist). And I guess montage was the best they had. We do a get a little dialogue between songs, but their Big Argument is so big it overshadows everything else about the movie, and makes the writers feel out of touch. It’s not just about their built up resentment, as it is in The Shop Around the Corner it’s about a very real problem, a woman losing her job, her livehood, and in a metaphorical way, her mother. It makes the whole thing just a bit too impossible to believe.

And to be clear, I would love to see a modern version of this film, I think it could really work! I actually like the idea of them meeting over the internet, and I think there is new material to be mined from such a fruitful set up. The musical also based on The Shop Around the Corner had a mildly successful revival on broadway in 2016, and I found it really charming and fun. But alas, until someone lets me make my discord-based version about a pretension grad student who works at a small bookstore to fund their studies, and learns from the plucky owner how to appreciate ‘low brow’ literature just as much as the ‘high brow’ stuff they’re studying I’ll probably never see it.

[haleigh-sloth]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime, books, movies or tv series)? Thanks....

Omg.....EVER????? Also, generally speaking, nobody minds getting these asks LOL. Most people enjoy talking about their favorite anything. I am very happy to receive something like this lol

Uhhh okay so disclosure, MOST of these will be characters from manga, because honestly that's MOST of the media I consume ever since I was in middle school. BUT I will do my best to turn off my weeb brain for a second because I do have other things I enjoy lol. I'm gonna go on little rants about each person too so....yeah. I'm also gonna put a cut under the first two because it's gonna get long.

1. Tomura Shigaraki from My Hero Academia

This may just be because of the timing, seeing as how I'm deeply invested in this series right now, but he seriously took the top spot SO fast. He took the top spot before I even got to his backstory. There's just something about his character that is just, unlike any other. Before getting the details on what's going on inside his heart during MVA, I was sucked in by how immature and bratty he was in the beginning. I was like "ooh baby let me give you a hug, please calm down and don't scratch, here's some hot coffee" LOL. Just, the way Horikoshi managed to make people (who pay attention) see just how stuck in his past he is, how strangled he is by his pain and how obviously desperate he is to have someone notice that deep hidden pain, I don't know how Horikoshi did it honestly. Obviously this character has been in the works for years, and it shows. I think what got me attached to him so quickly was me immediately wondering what he would be like if he was happy. The mall scene with Midoriya just SOLD me on him so fast. I was like "oh yeah, these two are gonna get along great, and this guy is gonna be happy at some point, he's got to be". Okay moving on lol

2. Yuu Kanda from D.Gray-Man

Kanda was in Shigaraki's spot before I got into BNHA lol. He is also another horribly sad character, who hides his pain and doesn't let it show on the surface. He's one of those characters where once you get his backstory, you look back on his actions and words throughout the story before finding out, and you can see how he's mangled by his emotions (very much like Shigaraki's character). D.Gray-Man as a manga alone is almost flawless, and Kanda is also damn near flawless as a character. What got me attached to Kanda immediately was when I watched the FIRST anime and Travis Willingham (Roy Mustang's english VA) voiced him LOL. Not a great reason to get attached, but once I got further into the story I was like "oh, this guy has Problems™️, he's just my type". But seriously, Kanda is one of the greatest characters. He's very layered, and he fools readers easily. He comes across as a copaganda-type character in the manga, and then you find out later that's not the case. I don't know, he's just fantastic all around.

3. Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist

Roy is great because he embodies being a "good guy" (a protagonist) while also being a "bad guy", someone who commits unforgivable sins that the main protagonists can't look past, that other people can't look past, that even Roy himself can't forgive himself for. I love him because he wants change, but struggles to make it happen. He stands by his decisions but feels like he can never redeem himself for the things he's done. He loves his comrades, and he supports the Elric brothers even if he doesn't act like it. And he's quick to accept the idea of enemies working together, because he was quick to learn that everyone is everyone's enemy in their world, somehow. He's great. I love him.

4. Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist

Idk what to say for Ed, beyond he is just a great character. He honestly doesn't change much throughout the entire story? He sticks to his ideals of "people are people", even when it makes his life harder. He's immature but also has seen way too much for someone his age. His story has everything in it: love, forgiveness, hate, family, friends, all of that shounen shit. He makes the biggest sacrifice at the end to save his brother. He's amazing. I love him. He's one of the first manga characters I've ever gotten super attached to so, he holds a special place in my heart.

5. Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket

I think he is THE first manga character I've ever gotten super attached to. Fruits Basket is the manga that sucked me into the manga/anime world in the first place (fuck Furuba actually lol). Kyo is another sad boy, ofcourse. He's super bratty and cringe in the beginning. He's basically Bakugo. Which is how when I first saw Bakugo I was like "oh yeah I know where this is going lmao". But Kyo is the best character in Fruits Basket, he makes the story. One of my first favs ever, so he also holds a special place in my heart.

6. Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club

Again, this is probably nostalgia keeping him on this list. I read this manga in high school and have not stopped loving it since. It's one of the ones I re-read all the time. I love Tamaki because he's so embarrassing but he kind of fits in with that "rich guy with a super cool attitude with a lot of baggage" trope, but he also kind of kills that trope too. He's a rich guy who's popular with girls and can be cool on the surface, but when it comes to anything even remotely real he becomes a stupid ridiculous mess that gives readers and ME serious second hand embarrassment reading it, and all coolness goes out the window. He's so dumb and he makes me smile.

Leaving the weeb shit now:

7. Carlton Lassiter from Psych

Okay, so random from my blog's usual content. But Psych is just....easily one of the greatest shows of all time. It's hilarious, it's something you can just watch for the sake of it, it's not super linear in plot, but there are some relationship dynamics that are linear and develop throughout the show, regardless of lack of linear story line. Lassiter is one of the best characters. He's definitely a Cop™️, but it's a detective show so yeah. Lassiter is the stereotypical cop. He's gun happy (and gets called out on it), he's absorbed in his job and makes it his entire personality, and he shuts everyone out which results in him being a super lonely asshole. But what makes him so great is his relationships with everyone in the show. The main characters, Shawn and Gus, are class clowns and step on Lassiter's territory in the police department, show him up a lot, irritate him on purpose, the usual "goofy character and overly serious character butt heads constantly" trope. But what's great about Lassiter is that his real self shows in little actions here and there. He does nice things for Shawn without being asked to (who is honestly a walking disaster of a human being and burns bridges left and right), he has a huge heart but just doesn't show it. He changes so much throughout the show and his relationship with the main cast just becomes so soooo entertaining, and heart warming. He is like, the heart of the found family that the cast forms. Shawn and Gus are the glue that hold everyone together, and Lassiter is the heart that everyone could never live without. He's just all around great and he makes the series stick its landing.

8. Shawn Spencer from Psych

Another from Psych. He's the main character and he's a disaster. He burns his bridges but people stick with him regardless. He and his best friend Gus play straight into the Sherlock Holmes dynamic. He screws up a lot and other people (namely Gus) have to clean up his messes. But Shawn also has other things going on in his head. He has major daddy issues lol and it's one of the most focused-on relationships in the show, as his dad is his biggest critic and biggest support. He and Lassiter ^^^ have the best development ever. Shawn is a selfish asshole, but despite the fact that Lassiter constantly puts him down and insults him and tries to make him feel unwelcome, Shawn goes out of his way multiple times to help Lassie and make his life easier. Probably because Shawn can read people and that's his heart showing through. Him and Lassie end up really close later on anyway.

9. Adrian Monk from Monk

AHHH this show is similar to Psych except it's more linear (there is an endgame goal), and it's more dramatic and sad. Monk, another detective show, is a very sad character. I used him for an assignment when I was in undergrad and we were learning about personality disorders once LOL, we had to pick a character from any media who depicted characteristics of a personality disorder of our choise (obsessive compulsive personality disorder is the one here). Anyway, Monk depicts mental illness really well. He's deeply sad and always in pain, and he's a genius detective who was discharged from the force because of his psychiatric issues. He lost his wife in a murder and it's the one murder he can't solve, which is the end-game of the series. But what makes him great is that he's kinda unlikable and frustrating at first, but his true colors show here and there. And he's one of those characters that frustrates people around him, and because of his mental illness he burns bridges and tests his relationships a lot (which is very realistic), but people stick by him and he genuinely tries to do right by the people who try for him. Again, it's a show that you can just sit back and watch to pass time. It's not rooted with overarching themes or anything, it's just a mystery show with a new murder to solve every episode, but the characters go through development and change and it's great watching their relationships grow.

10. Gregory House from House M.D.

I saved him for last because his description was the longest. Ugh. House. Okay. Another Sherlock Holmes dynamic in this show. Disaster person with a well put-together partner. The best way I can describe House is like, a reverse-tragedy. House is the protagonist that is hurting (both physically and mentally), and because of that he hurts others via emotional manipulation and very harsh personal attacks. He's a genius doctor who is a workaholic, but in a twisted way and his workaholic tendencies often times come at other peoples' expense. He pushes away everyone who cares about him (and a lot lot lot of people genuinely do care about and love him). He just lashes out and hurts and hurts until it backfires on him, and then instead of growing and developing, he rinses and repeats. He's one of the few characters that actually ends his story basically in the same spot that he was in at the beginning. He does develop and change, but he always reverts back to his old tragic self. His selfishness causes him to lose his best friend (Wilson) on several occasions. One of the best things in the series imo is House and Wilson together. I don't ship them romantically but I see why people do LOL. House's other major flaw is being very obsessive and codependent on his friend. So back to the "reverse-tragedy" thing---House does not die. In fact, in true Sherlock Holmes fashion, he fakes his death. He fakes his death because that best friend he's super obsessed and codependent on, gets diagnosed with cancer (and it's ironic because Wilson is an oncologist) and has 5 months to live. And once again, House's selfishness lands him in a position where he is gonna go to jail for six months, meaning he won't be there for Wilson when he dies. So what does he do? He fakes his death. Tragic! But not traditionally. He fakes his death because he has literally lost every other option to live a normal life. He loses everyone in his life who cares about him, the one person he cares about the most dies before him, he is left with basically nothing. He refuses to cling to his redeemable qualities (people loving and caring about him unconditionally). He can never be a doctor again, he basically dies in the sense that his life is over, and everything and everyone around him dies. Also, this is one of the very few series I've ever read fanfiction for, and I read one really good one that covers Wilson's death and it wrecked me so. Good job fic writer.

Also I'm realizing all of these are men. How tragic. I do have fav female characters but not favored enough to make my top ten of like, everything though. Oof.

Again--THANK YOU FOR THIS I loved doing this a lot. I definitely welcome asks like this

[bubbledumbbinch]

Some oral headcanons for Riddle, Idia and Epel (if you write smut for him). Both giving and receiving please 🔥🔥

Woohoo!!!! First ask EVER!!!! I hope u enjoy it aaaah, the reader in this scenario has no specific pronouns but fem body parts, since that’s what I’m most comfy writing with rn ;v; i will try to keep getting better the more i write!

A/N: This piece of writing is purely 18+ only. Minors do not interact.

Riddle Rosehearts x Reader

Giving

Riddle has never given oral, but he is fueled by his desire to please you!!

He offers it as some kind of reward for doing so well on an exam he helped you study for

Now, Riddle has certainly passed by the human anatomy images in textbooks and read about each person’s sexual body parts, learning about it in a very educational way. He usually blushed when he looked at the detailed images and quickly turns the pages.

Riddle would have researched different ways on how to please you before actually initiating anything; he wouldn’t want to completely blow it (pun intended) with you.

But learning about things in a book and actually practicing it would be completely different, he’ll come to find out!

He lets you sit on the edge of his bed while he kneels down in front of you, looking up at your face as he pulls your pants and underwear off

Riddle turns almost as red as his hair when he finally sees your leaking cunt, excited that he made you feel this way!

He watches your face intently as he listens to the noises you make, taking your body language into great consideration.

He focuses his energy on your clit and spends time building you up to your release

Riddle moans lightly as you cum, still licking you as you ride out your high

He wipes his mouth as he comes up to kiss you sweetly, teasingly asking you how it was, the smug bastard KNOWS he made you feel so good

Secretly plans on doing it more often because he wants to watch your face twist in pleasure because of him.

“Ah, my rose... did you enjoy that?” The redhead asked smugly, smirking at your form as he raises his head up. “I believe you really did, by the way you made such a mess on me...”

Receiving

Surprise surprise, Riddle ALSO has never received head!

Is a blushing mess when you offer it so casually during a heated makeout session!! But he can’t deny his beautiful rose, can he?

He remains seated on his chair as you knelt down on the floor, undoing his belt and pulling his bottoms down.

He’s extremely embarrassed because, he’s a bit average if not less than the average. Riddle’s worried you would judge him in that department, but when you stroke the precum leaking out of him with your finger he lets go of all of those doubts!

He can’t help but let out a groan and throw his head back when you give his cock a kitten lick from the base to the tip and then engulf him in your mouth.

Riddle tries to be quiet but you can hear his little gasps and you look up to see his eyes glazed in pleasure.

You also can’t help but let your hands explore his body,

He feels like he can’t control himself and grips your hair in his fingers, releasing in your mouth

If you swallow his cum, expect Riddle to freak out the first time, him completely flustered !! But also secretly turned on 😏

“Mmh,! S-so good...” Riddle’s panting as he finished. “E-eh?! You swallowed?! Why?!!” His face is burning by now. “My rose, let’s wash down that flavor with a sweet tart now, hm?”

Idia Shroud x Reader

Giving

It starts out with the two of you by yourselves in his room, sitting on the floor and playing games

Idia notices the way your thighs look thicker when you are sitting in a certain position, reminding him of a certain set of lewd doujinshi images he has masturbated to a few times

You catch Idia staring, fixated at your thighs and quickly catch on

You have to be the one to initiate anything since you know Idia is not the type to!

When you get up to lay down on his bed, Idia actually manages, somehow, to ask you to sit on his face! You’re surprised he would even initiate anything at all!

You’re embarrassed but seeing the way his eyes look so lustful when you lower your hips to meet his mouth, it spurs you on and gives you some confidence!

He lowkey wants you to suffocate him with your thighs..... he won’t tell you that in person though!

Idia hasn’t done this before, but he has watched a lot of hentai scenes of eating out, so he tries to mimic the same actions and is met with your high pitch moans!

When he feels you squeezing his head when you’re close to cumming he uses his hands to keep you in place, not letting you pull away

When he sees and hears you orgasm he swears he could just die a happy man right then and there!!

“A-ah.. this was so much better than my fantasies.... Y/N, you truly are my SSR character...” you heard Idia muttering into your thighs as he lays there, looking even more happy than you were at the moment! You had to wonder, “was this for my enjoyment or his?”

Receiving

Idia would definitely want you to give him head while he is gaming or coding 👀

Personally I see him as really horny but never brave enough to really initiate things verbally

Idia would have a pink flush on his face as he asks if you could suck him off

He makes sure that he was able to tell Ortho to go out and run some errands for the dorm which he knew would take a little while

He would probably be on his gaming chair, with you on your knees in front of him

Idia would bite his shirt or the sleeve of it while feeling you lick at his cock, sighing heavily once you start to pick up your speed

If he is gaming though, he turns off his mic and releases short gasps and sighs of pleasure, trying to prove he is great at what he’s doing by being distracted but still winning

He would definitely tell you when he was close to cumming, planning to pull out. Depending on if you decide to swallow or have him pull out, either scenario would be a win for him.

The idea of having his seed in your mouth or painting your pretty face only serves to turn him on more :)

By the way DEFINITELY don’t tease him by saying you’ll wear kitten ears the next time you blow him, he will be adding them to his online shopping cart within the next .5 seconds

“Oh- Oh Great Seven- That was close..!” Idia groans, accompanied by the sounds of his rapid movement on his controllers. Once he notices you swallow his cum, he instantly turns pink and you swore his hair flashes red for a moment! “I-..... you didn’t need to... do that..” he turns away from your gaze.

Epel Felmier x Reader

Giving

Epel definitely wants to prove he’s a man who can provide to his partner!!

He would not be forceful, but offer to treat you and take an initiative! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

Epel gives you plush pillows to lay down on his bed and makes sure to have his apple scented candles on to set the mood~

He secretly asked Rook for advice but you don’t need to know that LOL

Epel is definitely the type to be shy internally but tries to cover up that fact by trying to be dominant, but not too over the top. He wants to be respectful of your boundaries

Epel will try to use his fingers as well - using them to tease your nipples or play with your dripping hole~

Rook told him to do that LOL

When you look down you’re met with the lavender haired boy looking up into your eyes with a determined yet lustful gaze, cheeks tinged with pink ❤️

When he finally brings you close to your release, he works his pink tongue more aggressively as he watches you come undone~

What a hardworking farm boy! We love :)

“Well, how was that? Wasn’t that something a real man would do for his woman?” He asked you, a big grin on his face when you nod your head and smile at him.

Receiving

You totally catch Epel off guard when you ask to give him a blowjob!!

He became a blushing mess and was shy, at first.

However, you sorta made him a bit mad and told him his dick was cute, no matter how big it was, describing HOW it was cute in great detail!

Epel tried to conceal his feelings but once he felt you wrap your lips around the tip of his dick, he lost himself.

He grabbed your head a bit roughly, “I’ll show you how cute I can be...” as he fucked your face (with your consent!)

Hey, you know the repercussions of calling him cute, and how much he hates it!

If he notices you don’t like how rough he’s being, he will stop being rough once he notices your body language and if there are tears pricking your eyes he gets pretty worried!

However if you DO like it, Epel will definitely keep going at it, and fuck your face faster once he feels his release coming.

You look up at his face while he released inside your mouth and you see his eyes rolled back and mouth agape. Epel’s releasing moans that are throaty and similar to his “real” voice he hides from everyone.

He’s a blushing, panting mess once you’re through with him!

“Sh-shit!!” Epel grips your hair tightly as he shoves his cock to the back of your throat, simultaneously releasing his seed and showing his dominance. “You... were amazing...” he pants, too tired out to even care about how he sounded at the moment.

[sofreddie]

Gotta Get You Into My Life

Summary: Sam catches you smoking, and decides to join.

Characters: Stoner!Sam x Female!Stoner!Reader

Warnings: Marijuana Use, Minor Angst, Fluff, Implied Smut

Sam Winchester Bingo: Stoner!Sam (@samwinchesterbingo)

WC: 1746

A/N: I chose the title, based on the Beatles song, because I was reading a Rolling Stones article and Paul McCartney said he wrote the song after having tried weed the first time. And while it sounds like a love song to a woman, it's actually a love song to weed. A little bit of trivia there for ya. Anywho, on to the stoner fic!

Sam burst out the main Bunker door, his head poking out first to look around. His eyes landed on Y/N, who stood in the corner of the door’s alcove, hiding beneath the brick wall and railings.

“There you are,” he smiled, letting the door gently close behind him as he approached Y/N. She jumped in alarm at seeing him, quickly hiding something behind her back. Sam frowned before the smell hit him. He smirked knowingly, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“What?” Y/N choked out in a strangled voice as she held her breath.

“Just waiting for you to choke on that toke,” Sam grinned.

As if on cue, she began coughing, the smoke in her lungs burning from being held in for so long. After a drawn-out coughing fit, she finally took in a deep breath.

“Well, I guess you caught me,” she grinned, pulling the mostly-smoked joint from its hiding place behind her back and taking a small hit to ensure it was still lit before passing it to Sam.

He accepted it, examining it before taking a long, smooth hit. He let the smoke roll around in his mouth, the smell and flavor lingering for his enjoyment. He breathed deep, sucking the smoke into his lungs and gracefully blowing it out with a contented sigh.

“You need to work on your rolling,” he laughed, passing it back to her.

“Yeah, well, I usually smoke blunts. You only had papers in your stash.”

She smirked at him as she took another drag. Sam laughed, shaking his head.

“Of course, you found my stash.”

“You always have a stash, Sam,” Y/N laughed. “You’re the one that got me started if you remember.”

“And now you’re a stoner,” Sam teased, hitting the joint and fending off Y/N’s feeble attack with his other hand.

“Says the stoner,” she rolled her eyes at him, making him laugh and choke hard, which made her laugh heartily in turn.

Sam suddenly wanted another, the one he'd taken from her thin and smoked down low already, as he spotted his stash tin beside her and snatched it up quickly. They chuckled together, as Sam opened the tin and began separating out the items he needed.

Y/N became entranced by Sam’s actions, admiring his hands as his long, nimble fingers began to hand-pick the bud, the callouses on his fingers acting as a grinder, reducing the dense plant to near powder under his effort. His hands were so large and strong, yet somehow gentle and precise all at once. His long, capable fingers made her bite her lip as she imagined just how skillful he could be.

As he rolled the paper and brought it to his lips, her eyes drifted along his arm, up to his neck, and froze on his lips. His tongue peeked out, dragging along the length of the paper to moisten it ever-so-slightly, his fingers rolling it sealed with practiced ease.

Y/N clenched her thighs. Seeing his tongue - wet and dexterous - made her ache. She’d always found Sam attractive, dorky nerd that he was. They always had a good time hanging out, laughing, and swapping stories of their time on the road. They all tried to meet up often, as much as hunting allowed. She cherished quiet moments alone with Sam like this.

Sam’s lips were slightly damp, parting the slightest to allow room for the end of the joint. Y/N watched with rapt attention as he took a long draw. Her eyes focused on the lines of his jaw and mouth as he opened, allowing a stream of smoke to trickle forth, before releasing a plume in a huge breath.

That should not have been as hot as it was.

Sam grinned, dimples popping once more, as he passed the joint to Y/N. She quietly accepted, taking a long drag and locking eyes with Sam as he watched her intently. She was suddenly aware of every movement she made as she blew out the smoke, their eyes still locked in some silent trance.

Sam was suddenly struck by her natural beauty. It’s not as if he hadn’t noticed it before. He’d always had a thing for Y/N, maybe more than a thing. But the timing never seemed right. Looking at her now - her smile bright, eyes glassy, lips wet with a light sheen from her licking and biting absentmindedly - Sam thought maybe now would be a good time.

“Y/N?” Sam asked, swallowing hard as he came to stand in front of where she leaned against the wall.

She looked up at him with those eyes, her body relaxed, showing her comfort with him. It had always been easy and fun, with no judgment as they talked and hung out.

“Are you finally gonna kiss me, Winchester?” she chuckled, finding his bashfulness endearing.

“You been waitin’?” he inquired, stamping out the half-smoked joint before his hands slid to her waist, letting him press himself against her.

“Been hopin',” she admitted with a nod, her arms wrapped behind his neck, her fingers playing in the stands of his hair as she met his gaze.

In the next heartbeat, Sam leaned in as he brought their mouths together. Her heart fluttered, the kiss firm but chaste. Their eyes met again as Sam barely pulled apart from her, watching for her reaction. She took in a shuddering breath before leaning forward to press her lips to his once more.

Sam returned the kiss as they both sighed and relaxed into it, giving back in kind, running the tip of his tongue along the seam of her lips, just as he had when moistening the paper.

As it grew with a little more heat, Sam pressed Y/N into the brickwork behind her, his mouth sampling her as if they had all the time in the world. His hands found the curves of her sides, squeezing the soft flesh, introducing her body to his touch.

Sam forced himself to stop as the kiss -and their roaming hands- grew hungry. He’d wanted this forever, but he didn't want to rush it. He wanted to have sex with her -so much that he almost couldn't stand it- but he didn't want it to be just about sex, or to have her think that's all it was supposed to be.

"Y/N, wait," Sam whispered, not wanting to break whatever was happening between them, but needing her to understand how he felt.

He faltered a bit as she tilted her head, a soft smile playing on her lips. Maybe it would be easier if he smoked some more, and was more comfortable.

"Let's go back to my room," he instead offered, holding one of her hands in his as he gathered the stash and supplies with the other.

“To sample more of your stash?” she smirked, hoping maybe they'd pick back up on that kissing 'cause damn.

“And other things,” he insinuated with a filthy smirk, capturing her lips once more.

It was giggles and shushes and pauses to kiss against walls and archways, neither of them even thinking about Dean. They crashed through Sam's door, their laughter bouncing in the small space as he closed it behind him, sealing them into their own little world.

Sam rushed to his nightstand, setting down the stash. As he turned around, Y/N was there, reaching out for him. Her hands found his pecks, smoothing up his shirt, and passed his collar.

Her hands continued their upwards path, fingers spreading out into his hair, then lightly scratching and tugging as they slowly came back down. Sam's eyes fluttered shut, a shaky breath leaving his parted lips.

When he opened his eyes she was smiling at him, biting her bottom lip. He hadn't realized his hands wrapped around her on their own at some point, holding her close.

The high from the weed mixed with the high from Y/N combined to make him feel absolutely blissful. He couldn't help it, he had to kiss her again, and again.

Y/N giggled into the kisses, Sam giggling back but still kissing. She gently nudged him back, her hands on his chest, her smile still warm. One of her hands drifted down his torso as she held his gaze. He swallowed hard, wondering if she was going where he thought she was going, not that he'd stop her.

Her hand suddenly left him and then she took a couple of large steps backward, confusing Sam completely, his now empty arms dropping to his sides. She held up the half-smoked joint that she swiped from the nightstand with a triumphant grin.

"You're such a tease," Sam groaned, watching as she climbed on the bed, making herself comfortable against the headboard as she lit the joint.

"Tease implies that I am withholding something you want," Y/N spoke as Sam relented and took up the space beside her. She blew out the smoke, smiling as she held it out to him, "Do I have something you want, Sam?"

Sam accepted the smokable, taking his fair share of hits as he mulled over her words. He below out the smoke, handing it back to her as he looked at her.

"You," he finally spoke. Her eyes widened and he shook his head, looking down at his lap. "Everything I want, everything I think about, it all comes back to you."

Y/N's heart jumped into her throat, nearly choking her. The sight of Sam, hunched and not looking at her, told her all she needed to know.

He'd finally kissed her. She'd wanted it for so long, not wanting to push him. He'd been through so much, lost so many people. She needed to let him come to her. Now, the dam had broken as the moment she'd wished for was finally happening.

She dropped the joint in the ashtray -not wanting to cause a fire but not caring if it burned itself out in the tray- before crawling into Sam's lap. Her actions forced him to sit straighter, his back against the headboard as she crowded herself into him as close as possible.

"Been waiting for you, Sam," she breathed, his only warning before she kissed him deeply.

He moaned, his hands wrapping around her once more. He briefly wondered if they would always automatically find their way around her now before her kisses started moving down his neck, distracting him from his thoughts. When her hips ground down against him, his thoughts were obliterated, the woman in his arms his only concern.

Forevers:

@sis-tafics

@lyarr24

@calaofnoldor

@hobby27

@spnbaby-67

@fangirlxwritesx67

@jarpad24

@flamencodiva

@donnaintx

@writercole

@waynes-multiverse

Sam Winchester:

@charred-angelwings

@b3autyfuldisast3r

[pair-annoyed]

Anime I Watched This Summer

Summer 2020 has officially come to a close. It’s fall in Animal Crossing and the trees are beginning to turn. Much like quarantine, I spent a lot of my free time watching anime when I wasn’t stressing over starting college. Now that the school year has begun, I thought it would be nice to reflect on everything I’ve watched! 

These Anime were seen between 6/14 - 8/31 (my Birthday!) and are listed in chronological order.

They will be rated on a 1-10 scale; 1 meaning complete garbage, 10 meaning masterpiece. I will offer my thoughts on what I did/didn't like about each show!

1. Bakemono no Ko - 8/10

This was such a great way to start out the summer! I love the dynamic between Kumatetsu and Ren. Overall its a little cliche, but it’s also very wholesome. It’s by the same studio that made Wolf Children (which I loved!). so I knew it was going to be good. My favorite aspect of this movie was its backgrounds and world building! 

2. Wan Sheng Jie - 9/10

Oh my gosh! I know that this is technically a donghua, but its on MAL, so it counts. This show quickly became my favorite slice of life of all time. I adore the art style and all of the characters. The comedy, plot, and design blends so well together. Everything in Wan Sheng Jie feels warm and comfy. It’s also confirmed for a second season! After seeing its cliff hanger ending, I’m so anxious for what comes next! 

3. Dororo - 7/10

I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for studio MAPPA. I really liked the historical aspects of Dororo. From the outfits to the ways characters behave, its grounded in the constraints of feudal Japan. I would have given this show a higher score if it was a little more grounded in science. I feel like more time should’ve been given to the demons and antagonists of the show. Our MC was so over powered, which made the final fights of the series more lack-luster. I think its less of the anime’s fault and more because the original source material is from the 60s. That being said, I loved this show! It was cute and action packed. Though it isn’t perfect, it holds its own.

4. Bungou Stray Dogs - 5/10

The concepts and action are misconstrued in Bungou Stary Dogs. This is one of those shows that I chose to watch because it was all over Tumblr. The powers themselves are cool, but I can’t understand why this series is so praised. At it’s core its predictable and basic. The fights seemed low stakes and low energy. None of the humor really felt like it belonged. It tried too hard to be something it isn’t. I don’t think I’ll watch beyond this first season. 

5. Kami no Tou - 4.5/10

First off, fuck Rachel, me and my homies hate Rachel. I really really had high hopes for Tower of God. It paves the way for Webtoon adaptations in the future. Its such a shame that this adaptation SUCKED. I have not read the source material, I’m going solely based on the anime. It wasn’t good? It was horrible. I hate Bam, I hate Rachel. I think all the characters expect Rak were awful. Please don’t make a season 2. Please. If you’re interesting in Tower of God, just read the webtoon. 

6. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - 7/10

Shoujo anime is my guilty pleasure. I especially liked the way Gekkan Shoujo tackled Sakura and Nozaki’s relationship. Besides just the main characters, even the side characters were enjoyable! It was a fun and creative show. My only complaint is how dense Nozaki is, but I also absolutely love that part of him.

7. Jojo no Kimyou no Bouken (Parts 1-2) - 6.5/10

Jojo is not the saving grace of shounen anime. It isn’t something super revolutionary and it certainly will never be a 10/10. Part 1 was so slow and boring. Jonathan was just mediocre at best. I definitely liked Joseph a LOT more than Jonathan. Part 2 overall was much easier to watch than part 1. The fights are good, but there’s just something about Jojo that I can’t get behind. Although I’m completely bashing this series, I’m going to keep watching it. At this point, I wanna know what a stand is. 

8. Clannad - 5.5/10

I was expecting Clannad to be sad, but instead I got a cute, slice of life, romance. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but it was also a pretty slow-burning show. I loved watching Nagisa and Okazaki slowly fall in love with each other. It was funny at times and sad at other points. I am currently watching Clannad: After Story (which I’ve heard is heartbreaking), so I’m hoping to get some catharsis out of that. 

9. Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai...  - 6/10

This show is only 12 episodes, and yet it still has filler episodes for some reason? I’m a person who doesn’t typically watch isekai because the genre is so over done. However, when it’s done in a very specific way it’s really fun to watch! This show was definitely a lot of fun, it’s also cute and has so many interesting character-character interactions. The ending is painfully cliche, but I think it adds to this shows charm. 

10. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen  - 8/10

I loved Love is War so much! I love their weird romantic dynamic. I love the characters, and I love the animation. It’s over the top and executes it humor masterfully. The entire show fills you with anticipation for the two main characters. Kaguya is my favorite character. Although I haven’t seen season two yet, I most certainly will! I’m so upset I hadn’t seen this show sooner.

11. Great Pretender - 8.5/10

This show is so colorful and bubbly. The animation is so smooth and they are able to tackle so many different kinds of things given its plot. The whole show itself just feels like summertime. It came out not to long ago, so some people may not be familiar with it. On top of the show itself, the music is great, with a Jazzy OP and and ED that features Freddie Mercury

12. Steins;Gate 0 - 8/10

 I loved the original Stein;Gate so much! So it’s no surprise how much I liked the second season. It builds significantly off the first season in a sort of “off shot�� OVA kind of way. The events of Steins;Gate 0 don’t actually happen, but that doesn’t stop it from being meaningful. The big “twist” was predictable and a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed this. Granted, I’m bias. 

13. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai - 9.5/10

I sobbed. So much. This movie was phenomenal, it was such a trip. Having watched the original series, this tore my heart apart. It gets a high score for being able to take the characters I love and creating a wonderfully emotional experience. If you haven’t seen Bunny Girl Senpai, please watch it, and then watch this movie. You won’t regret it! 

14. Hotaru no Haka - 6/10

Grave of the Fireflies made me stop watching anime for a while. Studio Ghibli created something grim, something that leaves the viewers feeling hollow. Its a movie about WWII from Japan’s perspective. As an American, all I could feel while watching this was immense guilt. I will say though, that some of the movies main plot could have easily been prevented if the main character had swallowed his pride. His younger sister was also my least favorite character. I get that she’s a kid and that kids are fussy, but you would think that during wartime, she’d be more understanding and at least try to eat the things she dislikes. 

15. Yagate Kimi ni Naru - 9/10

This was a great way to end the summer. This is more that just GL romance, its a love story. Its about growing up and learning to understand your feelings. I related to Yuu so much, which made this more emotional than I expected. It’s really unlike another romance anime I’ve seen. I hope it gets confirmed for a second season. If not, I’ll be reading the manga. 

Seasonal Shows: (Things that are still airing as of 9/5/2020)

1. The God of High School  7.5/10

Another thing done by studio MAPPA. Are you surprised? I absolutely love the action in GoH. The plot however, is all over the place. The story seems fragmented and hard to follow. Like Tower of God, it was poorly adapted. I’m giving it such a high score, because it’s SO much more enjoyable then Tower of God. 

2. Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou - 4/10

My thoughts on season 2 are about the same as my thoughts on season 1. The only difference is that this season has more Jojo references. I’ve rated it lower because its so repetitive. I’m so sick of watching it, but I’ve got to see it through the bitter end.   

3. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season - 8.5/10 

All I’m going to say about Re:Zero is that I love it. I can’t give an accurate review of it because I’ve been hyping this season since it was announced. If you’re into non-typical isekai, watch Re:Zero, its so enjoyable!

[bri-notthecheese]

my thoughts on Iki Island:

(spoilers under the cut)

I really loved this DLC! I had nothing but high hopes for this after playing the base game last year (and three more times after that), and Sucker Punch didn’t disappoint. The whole time playing it I felt like it was only adding to my love of the characters and the stories they set up in the base game, and then all the new quests and mechanics added a lot of fresh fun on top of that! 

So where to even begin. 

The opening scene was super cool and a neat way to introduce the new shaman enemies. And despite Yuna only actually being in one scene, it was a delight to see her again. Though since I’m playing the DLC after finishing everything, I don't love the continuity of Yuna not accompanying him, but gameplay wise I knew that wasn’t going to happen anyway, but I just love when she’s with us <3

Went for my horse straight away and I was THRILLED to see that Kaze can now kill enemies and the new charge mechanic was way more fun than I was expecting and I was having too much fun with that. After Nobu, I didn’t expect to get attached the Kaze all that much (even if he continued on into a later game) but I was quickly proved wrong with this because I now kind of separate Nobu as the more gentler of the two, that was always there for me, and while Kaze is too, I like imagining Kaze is a lot younger and his aggressive personality in this really sold that and I like that it probably eases Jin’s worries a bit to see his new horse being able to fend off attacks a bit better. Plus, with his new armor, he’s even safer <3 Really fell more in love with Kaze in this, which I didn’t expect.

Met The Eagle next and had that whole encounter. I love how right away if you pay attention, you know Yuna isn’t Yuna because she’s never once addressed Jin as ‘my lord.’ I think the only time she said it was when she was talking to both him and Shimura at the lighthouse, and it wasn’t because she wanted to. But still, even knowing something was wrong, it’s cute that Jin’s mind went to her as a safe place who he’d have no problem entrusting stories and secrets to, which was obviously the Eagle’s goal. And hearing her voice warp into the Eagle’s was creepyyyy and so good <3  (my Yuna loving ass was sad to realize that was most likely the last time we’d see her, but that’s okay) That next part of the hallucination really got you feeling for Jin, and I couldn’t help but be frustrated that he’s only a child, how was he supposed to help?!?!? 

So I ignored Tenzo’s next mission and explored and pretty much completed the entire island. I got jump scared WAY too many times by her taunts, but I loved how that just added to the direness of the situation. I was obsessed with finding all the hallucinations and it just kept breaking my heart how Jin has all of this pent up guilt/heartache--with Ryuzo (he had so many I found), his father, his uncle, the Khan, Nobu :(, Masako, etc. I honestly had expected to find one regarding Taka and I’m a bit sad that I didn’t. Add those to the memories of his father and the ever-present taunting, I was going through it with Jin <3 At least you can pet the animals for him <3 The little smile he’d get every time was worth it. And the flute playing mechanic was really neat!

The first memory I got was their chat before Kazumasa’s death and honestly that got me all teary because Jin wanted so badly to hear him say he accepted him as his son, but deep down, would he have felt it? And my heart just breaks so much for Jin because as I kept going through the memories, I kept thinking how well 1) his dad sucks, but 2) both father figures kept wanting Jin to be somebody else. And it hurts that he was closer to Shimura’s way of thinking and how we even see that one time that Shimura corrects Jin, that his recitation of what honor means were his father’s words, and gets Jin to say that kindness is what honor means to him and wow. <3 <3 <3 But it hurts knowing their fate too <3 That while Shimura was more of a father to Jin than Kazumasa was, eventually, he couldn’t accept what Jin was doing in their way. Though it does hurt and make you wonder if Shimura was frightened that Jin was turning into his dad...I had that thought many times. (I loved seeing Adachi so much though omg <3 <3 <3) It was very interesting how the song Jin ends up playing for his father at the end of the memories is the ‘Jin Sakai’ theme. And then how that in turn, morphs into ‘The Way of the Ghost’ later on when in the final battle. 

It hurts that Jin had Chiyoko in his life for such a short time. I’m glad he did have Yuriko at least, but all of Jin’s memories on his mother and how she emphasized just living was so prominent, and her love of animals clearly passed to him and that gentleness too. And of instruments. Such softness, and I love that he retains that even as an adult. It makes sense that he doesn’t speak of his mother as often since he has far less experiences with her vs Kazumasa or Shimura, but it was nice to see her influence within him.  

Did this quest near the end of my exploration but I got the BIGGEST smile on my fave when I barged in the house to find the Ghost of Iki Island was Kenji <3 <3 <3 I love this dumbass so much and it was so nice to see a familiar face <3 Plus it let Jin have an actual full laugh when Kenji referred to them both as ‘tough guys’ XD His quests are always enjoyable for me and so I really loved that (though I was also Jin when he’s like “...you didn’t say goodbye.”) but I was happy to see him do the right thing at the end <3 THEN I got to duel the Viper because I diffused the situation instead and that was fun. Love that Jin explains his knowledge of negotiation was learned from all the years with Shimura <3 Also enjoyed spotting Kenji later in the Refuge XD

Really enjoyed all the side quests overall, loved all the animal sanctuaries, and the archery was a TON of fun! Getting the horse armor was neat, seeing Jin actively stop a Mythic retelling, though I was surprised there was no duel for that one. The one for the monkey armor was so creepy, following the lights in the cave, but so damn cinematic and that fight was incredible plus that amor is my new best friend. Seriously omg, the duels in this DLC felt so much beefier than the base game (I was playing on hard so that could be a reason, but the fights didn’t feel this tanky in the base) But that armor just made them a piece of cake if you’re good at perfect parries and perfect dodges <3 <3

Loved the banter and camaraderie between Jin and Tenzo throughout. And I really enjoyed Fune’s character as well! Did the next few story missions and I couldn’t help that sense of foreboding slipping in as I was getting more attached to these characters. Love that they had Kidafure Battlefield on the map but it isn’t till the mission that they tack on the ‘Village’, really hitting home what happened there. 

Maybe I should have been, but I did not see the twist with Tenzo coming at ALL! I physically gasped when he spoke the “May your death benefit all things” to that random Mongol and I was soooo tense, like Jin listen I know he was your dad but also Tenzo spared you. Which I love in the long run how he spared the Butcher’s child only to save him later in life, and Jin could save him and the island in return <3 Because ohhhhhh boy did I get emotional when Jin stopped the Eagle from landing that blow. 

But before that, HER FIGHT IS SO FUCKING COOOOOL!!!!!! SHE IS SO DAMN FAST AND SHE EASILY WIPED THE FLOOR WITH ME THE FIRST TWO TIMES. I also love her references to Khotan and that her moveset with the spear shares some similarities with him.  I tried once more in my Ghost armor (for fashion) and then I switched to the Sarugami armor and was flying through just to have that whole cutscene.

I know culture is different and obviously I can never understand that mindset, but to hear him say to Jin that they both should have died there broke my heart. What kind of a father wants his son’s death with him like that?!?!?!?! But I LOOOOOOVED ‘Honor and Ash’ playing in the background for that scene, as Jin is rejecting what his father may have thought/wanted (just like he did to Shimura with that track at the end of Act 2) and then it moved up a key just to reinforce that Jin is forgiving himself for this and letting go and again, forging his own path just as he did with his uncle. I loved that they used that piece for that pivotal moment...

...JUST TO KICK IT INTO AN EVEN HIGHER GEAR WITH JIN SAVING TENZO AND THE GHOST THEME BLARING IN WITH A KEY CHANGE TO THEN TRIUMPHANTLY FINISH OFF THE EAGLE!!!!! I WAS SO HYPED (and also hoping I wouldn’t die cuz how anti climactic would that have been?!?) but I didn’t and I really enjoyed the resolution between those two. I bowed to him after he bowed to me and I love that they even added dialogue for that if players do decide to do that <3 <3 <3 

The next quest with Fune was sweet, though it felt a little odd to do after defeating the Eagle, but it was sweet nonetheless. I have to finish up some trophy stuff, I guess there’s unseen quests that I’m sure I’ve done a few of, but I have to figure out what I missed. The dueling ring was fun, though that lady was the most difficult for me.

A few things of note:

-I like that in this DLC, you really can’t tell if it’s better to kill or spare Shimura. And how there are lines that could mean slightly different things to Jin depending on what he’s done. I’ve done both and I was on a file where he spared him, but besides a hallucination mentioning the Ghost being hunted for the rest of his days, nothing else pointed to one choice or the other.

-Though a line Jin said to Sugi threw me a bit when he said something along the lines of ‘you’ll never understand how hard it is to kill your family’ and maybe he was referencing his guilt for his father, but I’m like ?????? who else did you kill Jin??? Shimura is fine in this play through XD 

-Talking with her though, I like that Jin described himself as ‘someone who knows what it’s like to be hunted’ :((((((

-Tenzo also made reference to a friend of his being beheaded, but not finding the head till a week later, and asking Jin if he understands that and while the situation is different, I bet Jin’s mind went to Taka :( 

-Loved the subtle storytelling elements with Jin falling into his nightmares during the fight through the Gorge and his resolve disappears each time. The second time it happened, I verbally went “oh my resolve.....oh.”

-I do think Sucker Punch made a lil mistake though because I started thinking about how in Tale 8 of Masako’s quests, I’m almost certain she mentions Jin not understanding her need for revenge or something along those lines, and she talks about Shimura hunting down Kazamasu’s killer for weeks and how Jin had his closure. But uhhhhhh obviously his killer was never found? Or they killed the wrong one? And they didn’t mention it was on Iki Island and obviously didn’t have that foresight that they’d be doing this DLC since he was killed in the snow in the base game and now it was under a wisteria tree, but besides that small thing, I had no complaints! except for always wanting more Yuna

It was so great and I felt it really complemented the base game, especially in regards to everything that Jin feels guilty and responsible for, but also puts his relationship with Shimura is so many new lights that I loooove and I need to talk about more!!! If you read this far, feel free to hmu to chat about it because my best friend who played the base game at the same time I did and screamed with me about it has not played this yet and ahhhhh!!!!!!

[itsclydebitches]

Is it bad that I feel Penny’s 2nd permanent death has cheapened the stakes to me to such an extent I don’t care if the character’s life are in danger or even ended? Unless they die in a particularly gruesome manner…I don’t care. Penny’s death was cheap, tasteless, and I think sucked all the stakes to me.

I've personally had a problem with RWBY's death stakes ever since Weiss' injury in the Haven fight. Making that an episode cliffhanger when we all knew RT would never commit to killing one of the main four, using that as the means of unlocking Jaune's semblance, and then, importantly, never following up on how Weiss deals with a near-death experience felt quite cheap to me. It was a moment where death/grievous injury was used only for the week long shock value (similar to Oscar's disappearance in Volume 6) and a means of furthering Jaune's abilities rather than Weiss' emotional growth (particularly egregious in a show where 99% of the cast already has their semblances unlocked. Revealing them in a dramatic, life-or-death situation was never an expectation). The fact that it was such a departure from how the story treated Yang in the past — committing to her injury and allowing her time to come to terms with it — just made it all the worse.

However, though this was one moment out of one volume that fans might be willing to overlook for a variety of reasons, Volumes 7-8 just failed so spectacularly and so often that yeah, death has no real meaning in this show anymore.

Let's tally things up:

Clover dies in large part to Qrow's stupidity. This is never acknowledged.

Qrow instead swears vengeance against Ironwood. They never meet again.

Whether everyone agrees or not, this entire situation came too close to queerbaiting for some fans.

Clover's corpse/the environment is badly animated, leading to confusion about whether he actually died.

Oscar is shot off of Atlas in a move that would have been a killing blow if not for Ozpin's unexpected magic. He never works through this and likewise never even explains things to the rest of the group, adding to the secrets issue.

The councilman is randomly shot by Ironwood, signaling his fast-track towards villainy.

The Ace Ops and, more importantly, Winter all witness this, yet it has no impact on them remaining loyal until leaving him serves the plot.

Ironwood tearing the flesh off his arm to save everyone from Watts is treated as evidence of his lack of humanity and the prosthetic he gets carries is designed to highlight how Evil he is now.

Fria dies which has little emotional weight because we knew nothing about her. She was quite literally only a vessel for the powers and was treated as such by the story.

The Hound, introduced as an incredibly formidable foe, is done in by a badly developed power and a falling suit of armor. There's no interest in who that faunus was, only what this implies for Summer.

Hazel death is confusing af. He couldn't have burned to death that fast. Oscar's cane shouldn't have hurt him based on what else we see. Where's the body? All of this follows a split-second "redemption."

Vine sacrifices himself and no one cares because we knew nothing about him. Also it's kind of weird to frame his heroic suicide as, you know, heroic after a volume of telling Penny she can't do the same. It's just weird mixed messaging.

Rhodes was killed incredibly fast by his kid student and although I care a little about him, the general consensus is that this was a girlboss moment because flawed men trying to help are the worst, right? Far worse than a villain we established in Episode One.

Watts presumably burns to death off screen.

Ironwood presumably drowns off screen.

Jacques is blown up without any of his family knowing about it. He's blown up because Winter just... left Ironwood's gun-gun by the cell?

The community is still debating whether Maria and Pietro are alive. Was Amity still falling? Was there any way off? Why don't any of the characters worry about them, one of whom is Pietro's daughter?

Yang "dies" after a single hit and only Blake gets to react to that.

The rest of the group (plus Jaune) quickly follow, to the surprise of no one.

Penny is resurrected with little fanfare, is stripped of her cyborg nature, gears up to take on Cinder with Weiss and Jaune, is instantly taken out, and then convinces the healer of the group to kill her.

The Altas arc has so much death and grievous injury — clearly trying to be the next Volume 3 — and yet none of it has an (enjoyable) impact on me. Sometimes that's because RT is killing off side characters they never bothered to develop. Sometimes it's because the writing is so confusing idek if the character is dead. Sometimes it's because the circumstances induce anger rather than grief. Penny's second death definitely caused a reaction, but not the one RT was going for. I was frustrated with how badly constructed this suicide was, disappointed in how the circumstances leading up to this erased so much that's wonderful about Penny's character, and yeah, disgusted that we were right back to that Volume 5 Weiss scenario: here's the graphic death/almost death of one of the girls to forward his story. Only this time, instead of just getting a cauterized spear to the gut, RT thought assisted-suicide via sword was the way to go.

Penny's original death was heart wrenching. Pyrrha's was tragic due to how avoidable it was. Roman's was shocking and perfect for setting the new stakes. We didn't know if Ozpin survived, but back then that was the point — a mystery to reveal next volume — not because the scene was badly constructed, or the writing seemingly just forgot that characters existed. And again, flawed as it was in some respects, we got a story of Yang losing an arm and coming to terms with that. Now, we get the story of a man losing his arm and that makes him lose his intelligence and conscience too, I guess.

I'm trying to think of a post-Volume 3 death that hit home and I'm coming up short. But deaths like Sienna or Tock, while carrying their own problems, didn't really hint at the over-arching problem with character deaths the story now has. With the comparative wealth of fatalities we got in Volumes 7-8, I was finally able to step back and go, "Wow. Right...none of that did anything for me." And yeah, as one of the most shocking deaths, as a second death, and as one of the oldest and most beloved side characters, Penny encapsulates that best of all.

[wayward-mikaelson]

I Still Want You, I Still Need You-III. Fresh Air (NSFW)

Word Count: 2446

About: You and Bucky have grown more closer 

Characters: Bucky, Shuri, Steve (Mentioned), and Tony (Mentioned)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings/Trigger Warnings: Language, Sadness, Sexual Content (Oral-F Receiving, Choking, and Unprtected Sex-Wrap it before you tap it kids)  

A/N: I’m going to say it now (and in the next part)...The next few parts are going to rip out hearts. Have a supply of tissues ready.

*This contains content for the 18 and up crowd. Please read at your own discretion

**Please do not copy and paste my work anywhere. Reblogs and sharing of the link are okay.

***This work is also posted on WattPad and Archive Of Our Own. Links can be found in the pinned post on my profile.

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It was supposed to get better with time but it barely did. You missed your brother a little more with each passing day. That didn’t mean you regretted your actions in taking a stand against him. You just missed the company and the humor your brother gave you.

You rolled over onto you back, and stared at the ceiling. It had been a year since everything had went down. A long but enjoyable year. For three months you worked late into the night with Shuri to find a way to fix Bucky. When the two of you found a way, you hugged Shuri tight before calling Steve. Steve was thrilled by the news. Since then, since waking Bucky up and removing what Hydra did to him, everything was, again, perfect.

The bed shifted around you and soon a strong, warm arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you closer to their chest. Smooth lips were pressed to your forehead and they were soon slowly trailing down to the base of your neck. You let out a soft sigh and closed your eyes. The arm that held you, trailed a hand slowly down to your hips. Leaving goosebumps trailing behind it.

“You’re up early,” the words were right by your ear. They instantly sent a shiver down your spine and put a small smile on you face. “What’s on your mind?”

You open your eyes to see Buck’y’s blue eyes staring right into yours. Those eyes have gotten to know you almost inside and out over the last few months. His long dark hair fell around his face. The smile on his face had you craving a deep and passionate kiss.

Shortly after you had woken Bucky up from the cyro and fixed, he wanted to be alone for a few days. You knew it was good for him to process things clearly but something in you made you feel real anxious about it. You gave him four days and went out to see how he was doing. It was there in front of that lake, he asked if he could kiss you. He explained that he wanted to make sure he was really himself before kissing you.

The two of you had grown much more closer since. There were stolen kisses here and there. Small cute lunch dates Bucky planned for the two of you. You even remember the night you told him that you loved him. The two of you were sitting on your couch when you told him your feelings for him. That night was the first night you and Bucky had sex.

“Events of the past year,” you reached out to touch his face. As you spoke you trailed your hand down to his chest. “From fighting with my brother to working endless into the night with Shuri to missing my brother to falling in love with you.”

Bucky leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. They were soft and gentle. “I think I can take your mind off that,” he mumbled and smiled against your lips.

Before you could say anything, Bucky dove under the covers. He was quick for someone who had one arm. When you told Bucky about his new arm Shuri was putting together, Bucky told you he didn’t want it. Not unless he was needed. Bucky did real well with just his right arm. If he wasn’t a super soldier, you were sure that he would have some troubles.

Bucky lifted up the oversized shirt you wore and kissed your stomach, letting his growing beard brush over your soft skin. You felt his fingers brush along your thighs causing you suck in a breath and squirm.

“You won’t be needing these,” Bucky’s fingers hook around the elastic of your underwear and he pulled them down. You shift your hips up to help him out. Soon you felt the silk sheets against your bare skin. “What were you thinking about?” he hummed while trailing a slow kiss around your thighs.

You opened your mouth to remind him about your morning. “Buck…Oh my god!”

Bucky didn’t give you any warning, he just dove right in like a man who was starved for years. With one hand you covered you muffled the small cry that came out of your mouth. With the other you grasped a hand full of the sheet and arched your back. Bucky sucked and licked at your clit like it was going to be his last meal. Your started to knot and you knew you weren’t going to last long. You reached a hand under the cover and twisted it around his hair and pushed him further into you.

He sucked harder and licked faster. You could barely keep your whimpers silent. No matter how hard you covered your mouth or bit your lip. Each whimper and moan was louder than the last. The two of you shared the room that you were given upon your arrival and had a few neighbors. But, Bucky new how to draw your whimpers and moans out louder and longer. And that’s what Bucky was aiming for and he was winning. You shot your other hand under the overs tangled it into his hair with the other. You slowly thrusts your hips up into his face.

Bucky moaned into you making the tightening in your stomach tighter. His fingers dug deep into your right thigh. You moaned out Bucky’s name and pushed him further into you. Bucky thrusted his tongue into you and thought you going to loose it right then and there.

“Fuck,” you cried as Bucky fucked you with his tongue. You felt yourself getting closer to that sweet release. “Bucky, please. I’m getting…” With a strangled cry, you felt your orgasm rocket through your body. Bucky didn’t stop his sucking and licking, he wanted to drag it out for as long he could.

As your body relaxed, Bucky poked back to the surface. His gorgeous blue eyes were a shade darker and laced with lust. He wasn’t done with you yet and that made you all excited again. You watched as he straighten up and effortlessly took his boxers off. Freeing his long, thick throbbing cock. You felt your eyes grow darker with lust as well.

You met Bucky half way and crashed your lips to his. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pushed your tongue passed his lips and fought for dominance until he gave up. Bucky wrapped his arm around you and flipped onto his back until you were straddling him.

“I’m all yours, Doll,” Bucky leaned his head back onto the pillow and stared up at you with a smile.

You line your entrance up with Bucky’s cock and slowly take him in. Locking eyes with each other, the two of you moan. Bucky’s hand snaked it’s way up your shirt and grabbed hold of one of your breasts. With a firm squeeze from Bucky, you throw your head back and whimper out his name.

Suddenly, Bucky’s hand reached up and grabbed your neck and pulled you down. His grip was firm and left enough room for you to breath. He soon held your face two inches from his. A firm and dark look formed in his eyes as he wiggled his hips and began to thrust up into you.

Hard.

Deep.

Relentless.

You groaned. You moaned. You cried. You whimpered. You clawed at his arm and chest as the pleasure in your stomach built once more. Bucky never once took his hand off your neck. His grip even remained the same.

“Fuck, Doll,” Bucky groaned in between his thrusting. “You feel so fucking good around my cock. You take it too well.” He thrusted up deeper, if that were possible. He was already hitting all the right spots. His cock was already rubbing your walls in all the right ways. His pelvic bone was even rubbing your clit, hard with each thrust.

You whimpered in response and felt yourself start to tighten around his cock. Bucky moaned at the sensation. The more you tightened around him, the closer it was to bringing him closer to his release. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you whimpered as your gripped hold of Bucky’s hand with your own. You were getting closer.

“Not yet, Doll, not yet,” Bucky managed to get out. He was focused on his thrusting. Trying to get deeper into you. You could feel the tip of his cock on your cervix now and it took everything in your from losing it.

“Alright, Doll,” Bucky groaned. “Cum, cum with me.”

The two of you let out strangled moans. Bucky’s hips dug deep into you as he filled you up with his cum. You drug your nails down his arms, leaving long red lines in their wake. Bucky’s arm gave out and you fell onto his chest. His twitching cock still inside you.

“What were saying earlier?” Bucky chuckled as he rubbed your back.

You rolled off him and stared at him. His eyes were slowly brightening up now that the deed was done. “Nothing anymore.”

“Good,” Bucky rolled onto his side and pressed his lips to yours.

A knock was on the door. “You two better be done in there.” Shuri’s voice rang from the other side. Your eyes widened and you wondered how long she had stood there for.

“Yes,” you quickly jumped out of bed and started to dress for the day. “Lunch?” you turned to Bucky as you quickly threw your hair up in a hair band.

“Yes, one hundred percent,” Bucky smiled up at you. “I have something to give you, as well.”

You smiled and leaned down and quickly kissed Bucky. “I can’t wait.”

***

A few hours have passed and Shuri has worked you harder than she had that whole week. You knew that she was just getting you back for being late. When you complete a task, she threw another one right at you. You couldn’t complain because, each task she gave you, you ended up liking for some strange reason.  

When lunch came around, you quickly finished up your task at hand. As you turned to leave, Shuri was suddenly in front of you. “Son of…” your hand flew to your chest. If your heart wasn’t beating, it was now and you could feel it through your shirt.

“Now where do you think you’re going?”  Shuri had her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised, and a smirk on her face. “Wasn’t breakfast enough?”

Your face felt hot. “It’s just lunch, Shuri,” you said once you were convinced you weren’t going to smile like a school girl about that morning’s events. “Something I do with my boyfriend.”

Shuri dropped her arms. “Very well then, hold up, I have something for The White Wolf.”

You followed her back to her work station where she handed you a small box. “You call Bucky The White Wolf?”

“Yes, and I was instructed to tell you not to open this.”

“Okay,” you began to walk out of the lab. “I’ll be back hopefully in an hour.”

You met Bucky right outside the Border Tribe. He had been helping farmers out with anything they needed help with. It ranged from plowing the land to harvesting foods. Tending to animals to house/hut repairs. Bucky never once complained about his work. In fact, he loved it. He voiced it to you on many occasions and told you that one day, he hoped to have a farm of sorts.

The two of you sat on a blanket and ate. The food came from one of the older farmers that Bucky helped out with. The two of you talked about your day so far. There was laughter and moans of embarrassment when you told Bucky about Shuri’s breakfast comment.

“You know,” you pushed back your plate of fruit. You placed your head on his lap. “You got yourself a little nickname.”

“The White Wolf?” Bucky’s eyes glanced down towards you. “Yeah, I’ve heard and I like it. You?”

You smiled. “I love it!”

Bucky reached across from you and picked up the box you handed him. “This is what I wanted to give you. Only if you want it though.” Bucky started to stumble over his words. “I mean, I hope you take it.”

You sat up and smiled at the super soldier. You placed a hand on his face and said “Just open the box.” You had been dying to know what was in that box the whole time you carried it. It was unlike Bucky to keep something secret from you and with him stumbling over his words and beads of sweat rolling down his face, he really wanted you like it.

Bucky stared at you for a minute before one handedly opening it. “A few weeks ago, I had Shuri make this for you. It’s small but not too shiny. I remember you saying you didn’t like that.” Bucky slide the open box towards you and your mouth dropped.

There, sitting on little tiny pillow, was a silver band. You took it you of the box and held it in your hand. “Bucky,” you whispered. “Are you trying to…”

“Yes,” Bucky’s voice shook as he answered you. He took the ring from you and you watched as he got up on one knee. You could see the nervousness on his face. “Y/N Stark,” His voice continued to shake. “I know it’s only been like eight months. Where I come from, if you find love like ours, you jump on it. So,” Bucky took a deep breath and licked his lips. “Y/N, will you marry me? Be mine forever?”

You felt the corner of your mouth twitch into a smile. Without a word, you leapt into Bucky’s arm. He gripped you tight as the two of you tumbled into the grass. You placed a deep and passionate kiss to his lips before pulling back. You wanted to drink in this moment.

“Is that a yes?” Bucky mumbled against your lips. You felt the smile already.

“Yes,” you pulled back and see those blue eyes light brighter than you’ve ever seen before. Bucky pulled you back into his chest and crashed his lips to yours for just a brief moment.

“You’ve made me he happiest man on the planet.” Bucky placed the small band on your left ring finger. “And I will do the best I can, for the rest of our lives, to make you the happiest woman ever. Starting with building a home for us. Right where we are sitting.”

You giggled and kissed Bucky gently. “I love you, my White Wolf.”

[fandom-collective-writers]

Caramel Love (Isaac Newton x MC)

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Pairing: Isaac Newton x Reader

Prompt: Caramel apple

Warning: Smut!!!

Intended Audience: Female Audience

Word Count: 1,773

Requested by: anonymous

Written by: @lordsister​/@lordsisterxotome (Click here to support me on ko-fi!<3)

Disclaimer: I do not own Ikemen Vampire or any of its characters. All of that goodness is the property of Cybird. I do, however, own the plot of this fanfic. Please do not repost this on any other website.

Other notes: Honestly kind of a mess, but I’m going with it. Sometimes you need kind of a mess. Let’s hope it’s an enjoyable mess.

       She didn’t know what she was doing to him, did she? 

       Swallowing, Isaac shifted in his seat for the twelfth time (he’d taken to counting as a means of distracting himself). His pants were feeling uncomfortably tight, his “problem” growing more and more notable as time passed and she kept making those noises, licking that goddamn candied apple.

       “Isaac, are you okay?” MC called from her place on the sofa, her voice painfully innocent, and his eyes darted away from where he’d unknowingly taken to staring at her out of the corner of his eye, unable to meet her gaze and form coherent words at the same time.

       “F-Fine,” he grunted, his voice squeaking strangely at the end, and his grip on his pencil tightened as he stared holes into the page in front of him.

       MC was silent for a moment and Isaac could feel her studying him, but then she continued licking the treat in her hand, the soft slurping noises and satisfied hums she made going straight to his groin. 

       He needed release so badly, wanting nothing more than to feel that mouth wrapped around his cock, making those sinful noises. An unreasonable jealousy had taken root in the pit of his stomach that some caramel apple would be the cause of those noises instead of him. He could practically see it now, echoing through his mind from memories of her writhing beneath him on his bed, begging for more as he plowed into her. Without realizing it, his hand was already reaching to palm his erection through his pants, biting his lip to keep his whines from escaping. Hunching further over his desk, his hand moved faster against the bulge, pressing harder as his breathing grew more ragged.

       Isaac didn’t notice the object of his desires calling his name until gentle arms wrapped around his shoulders, making him jump as his hand scrambled away from his crotch. The caramel apple was still in MC’s hand, the amber colored candy shell shining faintly in the light of his room, and as he watched her pink tongue darted out to give the sweet another long lick. His breathing caught in his chest, and MC chuckled as she pressed herself further against his back so he could feel her breasts straining against his shoulders. 

       “Well,” she idled, her hand smoothing down his chest. He wasn’t proud of the way his ribcage stuttered under her touch, heart fluttering. A choked groan fell from his lips when her fingers finally reached his crotch, dropping his pencil in favor of digging his nails into his palms as he resisted the tingling urge to buck into her touch. “You’re so hard already, darling. How long have you been suffering with this?” 

       He couldn’t answer, his hips twitching with the need for more friction. The slight relief he felt at the pressure against his clothed cock only made the ache even worse, silently begging to feel more as electricity fizzed beneath his skin.

       Isaac gasped, teeth gritting, when she squeezed hard, hips bucking helplessly under her teasing ministrations. “Answer me,” she purred in his ear, nipping at the lobe as he choked on his words.

       “S-Since you started - oh god, please! - eating th-that candy apple!”

       “That’s no good~” Said confection landed on his desk with a sticky thud before MC took one of his fisted hands and brought it to her lips, pressing feather light kisses to his knuckles and fingers. “You need me to take care of it, baby?”

       “Yes,” he bit out before suffering another hard squeeze. “Yes! Please, god!”

       She smiled, pressing a kiss to the sensitive spot beneath his ear before easing him up and guiding him over to the bed. Sitting him down, she knelt between his legs, prodding his thighs apart as her hands went to his belt. 

       “Do you want my mouth or my pussy?” she asked, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes. Isaac’s cherry blossom eyes were dark with lust, lips parted around gentle pants, and his cheeks were already painted an endearing pink color, deepening by the minute. 

       “Mouth,” he breathed, fidgeting. She smiled and nodded, nuzzling him through the cloth of his trousers as her fingers finished with his belt and started work on the buttons. Apparently, she wasn’t moving fast enough for his liking because a soft whine of, “Please…,” sent a tremor through her body, his pelvis rising from the bed to grind against her face.

       Lifting his hips, she helped him shimmy his pants down enough that his cock sprung free. Isaac sighed in relief at having been released from the tight confines, and MC took in his neglected erection, flushed red and seeping precum at the swollen head as he panted, leaning back on trembling arms. Longer than he was girthy, if she looked closely, she could see it throbbing, begging for her attention. It looked painful. 

       She blinked, jumping, when Isaac growled, making her gasp when a sudden roll of his hips brought the head of his cock brushing against her cheek, smearing precum across the skin. There was a glint in his eye when she looked up at him, and she knew that if she didn’t do something soon, he would.

       He inhaled shakily when her hand finally wrapped around his length, feeling the velvety skin throb beneath her fingers. Agonizingly slowly, she gave his member a single pump. “Please!” he moaned in frustration, digging his fingers into the comforter. “More!”

       Squeezing a little tighter, MC gave him another slow pump, a teasing smirk threatening to curl the corners of her lips. “Like this?”

       Groaning, Isaac bit his lip as he peered down at her, her fingers teasing the vein that ran down the underside of his cock. Reaching to lace his fingers in her hair, he gave the locks a warning tug. His tone was husky, radiating virility, as he ordered, “More.”

       For just a moment, he was suddenly so overwhelmingly masculine that it caught her off guard, stunning her for a couple of heartbeats and sending a wave of arousal to soak her panties. Part of her wanted to test this side of him, see how far she could push him before he simply shoved himself down her throat or pinned her to the bed and took what he wanted from her, but a larger part of her just needed to feel him writhe under the pleasure she gave him, all pretty and flushed and begging for more. Testing Isaac’s dominant side could come later.

       Leaning forward, she swiped her tongue over the head, tasting the salt of his precum. Isaac shuddered above her, his hand tightening in her hair as she took the tip into her mouth. Peeking up at him, she drank in the sight of him, ruddy with pleasure and panting as she teased his slit. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he nearly sobbed when she pulled away from him, his hips trying to follow her retreating mouth as his eyes flew open.

       “Look at me, baby,” she coaxed, stroking a hand along the top of his thigh. “Watch me while I suck your dick.”

       He bit his lip, but didn’t turn away, his eyes looking even more lust-clouded now as he nodded. Returning to her work, MC pressed kisses down the side of his throbbing member until she reached the base, her hands sliding up his thighs to fondle his balls.

       He was getting louder now, his head thrown back and his body trembling as the discomfort from before was replaced by rising pleasure. Her lips felt so soft on him, her mouth so warm and good, and Isaac thought he was going to lose his mind when her hand squeezed his balls, making him buck in her grip.

       It always surprised him when they were intimate like this, the way she took him into her mouth, his cock disappearing down her throat, unlike anything he’d ever seen before. It was so erotic, so beautiful to him that she was willing and wanting to give him this pleasure simply because she loved him. 

       MC’s free hand busied itself at the base of his cock, pumping and stroking what wouldn’t fit into her mouth, and he grunted, teeth gritting, when she took him a little too deep and gagged around his cock, her hand tightening unintentionally at the discomfort to her throat.

       Pleads for her to keep going fell from his lips without his notice, too engaged in the feel of her and the need for more. Always, always more. The imagery of her licking that candy apple arose in his mind, unbidden, and he bucked roughly into her mouth on a strange wave of jealousy, all restraint lost as his hips writhed and rutted. 

       He didn’t realize how close he was until a hard suck made him gasp, a rush of fiery pleasure flowing through his veins and setting his body alight. Combined with the laving of her tongue along the bottom of his length, it was all too much.

       A heartbeat too late, Isaac tried to warn her of his sudden release, feeling his balls tighten and the heat curling in his abdomen explode. She made a surprised noise, coughing a little at the hot liquid filling her mouth, but managed a few hasty swallows, some of the excess dripping past her lips to run down her chin.

       Falling back on the bed with a sob, Isaac laid there, panting with an arm thrown across his face, while she swallowed the last of his release, the lingering taste of the caramel apple lending a sweet aftertaste to the thick whiteness as it oozed down her throat.

       “Are you okay?” MC asked softly, climbing up on the bed next to him so she could run her fingers through his hair.

       “That was incredible,” he answered after a few moments spent catching his breath, peeking out at her from beneath his arm. There was something hot in his gaze, something insatiable. He didn’t give her time to wonder at it.

       He moved so quickly she didn’t even see him. One moment she was on her side, lying next to him, and the next the air left her lungs as he tossed her back against the pillows, tearing her ruined panties off her legs and bunching her skirt around her waist.

       Lying between her legs, Isaac’s eyes glinted as he licked his lips, looking for all the world like a wolf about to devour his prey, and she was more than happy to let him take whatever he wanted, her caramel apple flavored lover.

[newamsterdame]

a deadly education is tone-deaf at best and racist at worse; not the cure to jkr anyone was hoping for

Harry Potter’s massive cultural impact means that we haven’t seen the last of magic schools set in Britain, and we probably won’t for a long while. In some ways, the fantasy genre’s response to Rowling’s work is tiresome. In others, it’s exciting—because a generation of readers and writers have grown up to bring their own perspective to the limits of Rowling’s work and push it beyond the limits of its author. However, if you’re looking for a transgressive magic academy book that interrogates the limited morality, inclusivity, and perspective of Harry Potter, you should put Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education back on the shelf and keep looking.

A Deadly Education tells the story of Galadriel “El” Higgins, a half-British half-Indian sorcerer attending a magic school where the consequences of any mistake might mean sudden death. El is a loner by nature and circumstance, but walking alone in the halls of Scholomance might mean being attacked and devoured by one of the school’s monsters. This puts El on a crash course with Orion Lake, the shining hero of her year who takes it upon himself to save the lives of his fellow students, including a less-than-grateful El.

The set up honestly sounds pretty good—a prickly protagonist, a heroic rival-slash-love interest, a deadly setting, and the potential for deep lore in magic and world-building. Unfortunately, not only does Novik fail to deliver on any of the premises’ strengths, she also chooses to weigh her narrative down with reductive, tone-deaf, and downright racist details.

El’s particular class of magic relies on language. El speaks English and Marathi, and picks up Sanskrit, Hindi, Latin and Old English in her study of language-based spells. It’s a little uncomfortable that Novik lumps dead and defunct languages like Latin and Old English together with actively spoken ones like Mandarin, Hindi, and Spanish, but that isn’t where Novik’s faux paus end. El approaches languages like computer programs to be downloaded onto her hard drive. Despite languages being the basis of her magic, she has no personal connections to the ones she’s speaking. She views other students and their languages the same way, identifying groups of students as “the Mandarin speakers”, “the Arabic speakers,” etc. Novik seems clueless about the relationships between the languages she’s building her world’s magic around, putting Sanskrit tombs in Baghdad and declaring that the Scholomance has a library aisle containing all of India’s languages. (About 800 individual languages are spoken in India, fyi.)

This clinical approach to diversity extends from language into character. El doesn’t try to make many friends, and honestly it’s not hard to see her classmates don’t try to befriend her, either. She doesn’t describe her classmates as people—she describes them as assets. And while that could be explained away by the premise that half her classmates won’t make it out of school alive, and El needs allies more than friends to survive, it doesn’t make it any better when El refers to others exclusively by the language knowledge they offer her. A character named Ibrahim has no personality or backstory, but he conveniently pops up when El needs someone who knows Arabic. A character named Kaito is thoughtlessly grouped in with the Mandarin speakers. An Argentine character exclaims in Spanish when she’s excited or relieved. There’s an uncomfortable distinction between the languages that get written out in the text—Spanish, French—and the ones that get narrated away—a character exclaims in Mandarin.

Novik goes out of her way to let us know that the population of Scholomance is diverse. There’s a group of South and West African students (only one of whom is named, and none of whom are important). There’s a “civilized” enclave of magicians in Toronto who value family and human life more than other groups. One character might graduate and go to Bangkok, but he’s looking to secure himself a place in Shanghai instead. Naomi Novik really knows the names of cities on at least four continents, and she’s not about to let you forget it!

But aside from names, languages, and cities, Novik has given no thought to what diversity means, or who these characters are if they come from diverse backgrounds. El calls on “Mandarin-speaker,” Yi Liu, exclusively by the name Liu. Is Liu meant to be this character’s first name? Or her surname? El doesn’t call anyone else by surname, but Liu is a Chinese surname, one of the most common in the world. El’s father is a Marathi-speaker from Mumbai, but El has no personal connection to Indian culture. Her father’s family prophesied that El would be a destroyer, and other than that rejection El has nothing to say about India or half of her culture. She refers to her Indian relatives in clinical English descriptors (my father’s mother, my great-grandmother, my uncles), even though she is purportedly fluent in Marathi and should know words like Panaji, Aaji and Kaka. El says that her Indian family is from an old Hindu enclave, and yet they have djinn as servants. (Djinn aren’t a typical part of Hindu cosmology, though they are a significant part of Islamic texts.)

Making El biracial seems like an afterthought, not something that affects her character in any way. It just creates some truly unfortunate optics, like when El goes on a three-paragraph description of how unnecessary she finds showers and how dirty she is at any given time. El’s father died making sure her pregnant mother (and therefore, El herself) would live, and yet El barely thinks about him. His name is mentioned once in the entire book. El complains that (presumably white) British people “assume she speaks Hindi” or call her the color of weak tea. But her Indian heritage is a veneer placed on top of a character who is otherwise just a default white protagonist.

All this adds up to a character (and a world), that reads as nothing so much as colonial. El feasts on the languages of others for her own edification, power, and survival, but she doesn’t see her classmates as people, and she doesn’t see language as a living thing related to real cultures. And I’m given to believe that Naomi Novik holds the same views, what with how she throws around the word “mana” as part of her world-building without considering its roots and real-life meaning to Polynesian and Melanesian peoples.

However, nothing makes the cultural tone-deafness of this book more evident than this passage:

Dreadlocks are unfortunately not a great idea thanks to lockleeches, which you can probably imagine, but in case you need help, the adult spindly thing comes quietly down at night and pokes an ovipositor into any big clumps of hair, lays an egg inside, and creeps away. A little while later the leech hatches inside its comfy nest, attaches itself to your scalp almost unnoticeably, and starts very gently sucking up your blood and mana while infiltrating further. If you don’t get it out within a week or two, it usually manages to work its way inside the skull, and you’ve got a window of a few days after that before you stop being able to move. On the bright side, something else usually finishes you off quickly at that point.

El’s pithy commentary about imminent death aside, I have a hard time reading anything but casual and thoughtless racism from this passage. The nefarious and deliberate myth of dreadlocks being unhygienic (and by extension, Black people being endemically dirty) is pervasive to this day. And Naomi Novik decides to include this passage in a book that has no major Black characters, in which dreadlocks never even come up in any meaningful way, just to remind us that in this magic world of hers, dreadlocks are dirty! Monster insects nest in them! The consequences are death! There was no good reason to include this passage, and all it does is draw on inaccurate and racist myths and perpetuate them into a world where anti-Black racism is never contended with. Although, I suppose, why would it? El never has need of any languages from the West or South Africans.

A Deadly Education bills itself as a subversive, even feminist, response to Harry Potter. But just like J. K. Rowling, Naomi Novik is a white author who uses other cultures thoughtlessly to build her own magic world. Other cultures and peoples exist, but only to serve the aims and needs of white (or mostly white-coded) characters. Novik has no empathy, no care and apparently no ability to Google anything about the cultures she wants to draw on. And the result isn’t just insulting—it’s boring. The world-building in this book is as dry and dusty as any history written by 19th century British colonizers.

Using some foreign names and making your protagonist biracial does not shield your work from racism. It does open you up to more pitfalls in depicting other peoples and cultures, if you don’t care to look out for them.

It would be nice to close by saying that despite its flaws, A Deadly Education is an enjoyable book. But it isn’t. It’s just a badly-researched, emotionless story told by rote.

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

hi, could you do a draco x muggleborn reader headcanon where he falls in love with her throughout the years in hogwarts and she slowly introduces him into muggle things like tv shows and phones and basically her and hermionie always make fun of him and ron for not understanding !! i love your work btw

oh my God this idea is ADORABLE!

Draco was snooty. God that boy had something to say about everyone. But you saw past that and he became this really sweet guy. You two became these best friends and Draco actually began to hang out with the trio. Course his father was not exactly a big fan of him spending part of the summer at the Weasleys but Narcissa said "Lucius, he's making friends. Be nice." So Lucius sucked it up.

Draco absolutely adored you though and constantly talked about you. He was kind of sad that you never spent the summers in the Wizarding world. You always spent it in the muggle world with Hermione. This year though you spent part of it with the Weasleys before heading back to Hogwarts for your third year. When you walked in Draco was so FUCKING EXCITED. You brought a lot of weird things for Arthur to look at. "what's this?" Arthur asked, holding up a discman and making Harry snort. "It's a cd player." You answered. "... What's a cd?" Ron asked. "....Uhm.... Well crap." You muttered. You showed them what it was and they were mesmerized, along with Draco. You spent most of your time there showing the group different muggle devices. You had a blast, you and Draco spending a ton a time together.

However with the time you two spent together the more in love you two were. The last night you were there you sat outside on the back steps with Draco. "This was the best summer." You chuckled. Draco smiled. "Hey can I ask you something?" He asked. "What's up?" You asked. "...Do you feel like something has changed between us?" He asked. "Oh so you noticed it too! I've been thinking this was just a me thing. If I didn't know any better I'd even say that I--" you stopped yourself and cleared your throat. "what were you saying?"he asked. "N-nothing!" You lied. Draco got closer to your face and you leaned back, quickly turning red. "What were you saying?" He asked, a small smirk coming onto his lips. He knew damn well what was going on. "Drac-Draco I..." You saw that smug look and you squinted. This little shit knew you liked him. So you decided to play around too. You pulled him forward and kissed his nose, now wiping the smug look off of his face and making him blush. But two could play at this game. He kissed your cheek, making you grumble. This fucker was not winning. You gripped his shirt, yanking him forward and kissed him. To be honest, you shocked yourself. He pulled away. "I am so sorry I just got aggravated and--" he kissed you. He actually kissed you.

Well that led to you two dating. He was so happy around you, always smiling with his arm around you. School finally was back so he was seeing you every day. "I don't get it. Why not use a fucking pencil?" You asked. "I don't get that either." Hermione agreed. "It does make math WAY harder." Harry admitted. "What... What's uhm.." Ron struggled to ask. "Yeah, me and Ron are lost, what's a pencil?" Draco asked. "....Baby... Please tell me you're joking. Like PLEASE tell me you jackasses know what a pencil is?" You asked. "No?" Draco admitted. You sighed and got up. "I'm about show you." You said before disappearing. You came back with an unopened pack of pencils. "So this is like a pen. But you can erase your mistakes." You said. "....So it's a pen." Ron said. "No." You said. "So... It's not made for writing?" Draco asked. "no it is!" Hermione corrected. "So.... It's... it's a pen!" Ron said. "NO."

That argument went on for way too long. But you started showing them more. Draco loved seeing you draw though. Sitting under a tree by a lake in his arms as you sketched out a landscape. He finally got the idea of a pencil after watching you btw. But the one thing both boys took interest in was the sports. "Wait so you guys don't even keep up with muggle sports?" Hermione asked. "No. I mean, most wizards keep to careers in the wizarding world." Draco said. "Okay okay. Next summer we're teaching you baseball." You said. "Base... Base what?" Ron asked. "Baseball! Or what about rugby?" Hermione suggested. "We're not trying to break our necks." Harry said. "True. Well there's also hockey." You shrugged. Then a lightbulb practically popped over you. "We can do that this winter!" Hermione said.

And so you did, asking your parents to lend you some skates for the group along with hockey equipment. "Alright. Hockey is like football." You said. "...American or--" "English." Hermione said. "Okay. So why are we on ice?" Ron asked. "Added challenge." You said skating. Draco had never skated before and you chuckled. "you expect us to actually move on this?" He asked. "Darling, people do this all the time!" You said. He slid forward and nearly fell but you grasped his arm.

After teaching them how to skate though you taught them how to play. And oh boy you all got really into it. You stood by as a ref, watching them play nearly dying of laughter as Ron completely failed to understand how to be a goalie. As time passed you started teaching them more and more. "Dad is hellbent on knowing what the purpose of a rubber duck is." Ron said. "...I think that's just to make bathing fun." You shrugged. "But why? It's bathing." Draco asked. "Muggles are particularly boring and find enjoyment in yellow plastic ducks." Hermione answered. "That and star wars." You laughed. "...Star... What?" Ron asked. ".....We have failed as their friends." Harry said. "But they're not even that good--" you and Harry have Hermione horrified looks. "....Okay we'll show them!" She said. So that summer Draco managed to convinced his parents to let him stay with you with Ron, Harry and Hermione. You opened the door and Draco rose a brow. "....What in the world?" He asked looking at the tv in the livingroom. "this is a tv. A blessing to humanity." You said. "Amen to that." Harry nodded. You all watched the star wars movies. "DARTH IS WHAT!?" Draco gaped. "HOW-- WHAT!?" "OH MY GOD HE'S ANAKIN!?" Ron gaped. You were honestly just watching the boys' reaction. Your parents were just looking at them like "Have they never... Seen this before?"

When the movie ended Draco's mouth was open and Ron swallowed. "That was--" "Wicked." Ron said making you laugh. "So... they don't have television in the wizarding world?" Your dad asked. "No sir." Harry said. "So... how do you pass the time?" Your mom asked. "Quidditch." All of you said in unison. You did show them baseball, Draco being REALLY good at it actually. "Babe, you run!" You said. "What--" "DRACO. RUN. OVER HERE." Hermione said. He sprinted to first and you snorted. They were absolutely baffled by a gameboy. "What the hell is a Pikachu?" Ron asked. "Think thunderbird but cuter." You said showing him the Pokemon. But by far their favorite thing... Was doctor who. ThEY ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS SHOW. "THIS IS THE PEAK OF TV CHANGE MY MIND." Draco said after watching an episode. K9 was literally his favorite character. Ron just loved the Doctor as a whole. Your boyfriend... Christ he became such a fucking nerd.

But he was also very interested in cameras. You showed him some cameras like the polaroid and he loved taking pictures. Specifically of you. You loved it when he discovered more music for the discman. He was a really big fan of the Beatles actually. Harry listened to AC/DC After Sirius was like "kid you haven't lived till you heard back in black okay?" You loved to just sit in your room and read in draco's arms. There was a surprising lack of musical instruments in the wizarding world so when you admitted that you could play guitar that kind of blew their minds. See, the thing was is that they assumed that the instruments had to be enchanted in order to make music. Not that you had to be trained to play music. You played a couple of songs and Draco fell even harder for you. He loved listening to your voice, whether it was singing or talking he just loved listening to you. You actually taught Draco how to play and discovered he had a nice voice (Yes that is a subtle nod to Tom Felton who can actually sing.) Sometimes when you all would sleep in the living room Draco would sing you to sleep as you laid on his chest. Of course in the process you would lull everybody else to sleep. You spent years showing these too adorable goofballs muggle devices.

Later when you were seventeen came the ultimate Muggle lesson though. Cars. You decided to teach these two jackasses how to drive. You had gotten your license and decided to teach Draco how to drive. "So you're going to release your foot off the break--" "Oh God we're moving." Draco whined. "....Like not even one mile per hour. Now accelerate. Remember the gas?" You asked. "Yes.... Darling do we need to go faster than this!?" He asked. ".... Hermione can outwalk the car. Yes. Now accelerate!" You said. He tapped the gas and screamed when he moved making you snort. "Do you remember where the break is?" You asked. "I NEED A BREAK." he whined making you laugh. "Draco you're doing fine. Move forward." You said. "WE HAVE TO DO MORE!?" He asked.

Ron actually wasn't that bad. He wasn't as panicked driving the car and understood the process compared to Draco who ended up hyperventilating into a paper bag. "Babe... It wasn't even that bad." You said. "THEN YOU DRIVE BECAUSE THAT THING IS A DEATH TRAP!" he said. ".....Guys, wanna go to the mall!?" You asked with a slightly deranged look. So you drove and when you went past five miles Draco was flipping out. "WAHT THE FACK!?" Draco screamed. Everyone was dying of laughter after you all got out. "THIS IS MADDENING! WHY!? WHY DRIVE!? WHAT DO YOU GAIN!?" Draco asked. "if he's being this dramatic over a car wait till he finds out about a soft pretzel from the food court." Hermione said to you. The concept of a soft pretzel was hysterical to watch the two wizards try to grasp. "Yes, but pretzels aren't supposed to be soft." Ron said. "would you just eat the damn thing?" Hermione said. It was their favorite snack. "How dare they deprive us of this?" Draco asked. "fascist bastards." Ron muttered.