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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 3 months

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All Things End 1

Warnings: non/dubcon, mentions of loss (death, miscarriage), and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Characters: Arvin Russell

Summary: Newly widowed, you take a job at the local grocer to make end's meet.

Part of the Backwoods AU

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

Your shoulders bangs and you falter, setting the bag of flour back on the flat. It’s been bothering you lately, mostly in the mornings. The joint burns when you raise your arm too far and there’s a knot right under your shoulder blade. You hold back a grunt and try again, heaving the heavy sack onto the shelf, a dusting puffing onto your apron.

You reach for the next but find it no easier. Before you can take the next, it’s lifted out of your grasp and easily placed on the stack. You look up at the man as he grins at you. You know him but everyone knows everyone around here.

You might know his name but you don’t know much of Arvin Russell. He’s younger than you, much younger. You knew his father when he was still around but he died years ago. Funny how those things go.

“Let me get this” he chimes and hauls another sack onto the shelf.

You stand straight, hands on your hips, “please, you don’t gotta… it’s my job.”

“They got a lady like you doing all this?” He asks as he tosses another like it’s nothing. Are they really that heavy or are you just getting weaker?

“Really, I can’t let you–” you grab the other end of the sack in his hands.

“I don’t mind,” he insists.

“That’s nice but my manager–”

“Ah, don’t worry about him,” he shrugs and a strand of his reddish hair droops down his forehead.

“Really, it’s fine,” you tug on the sack again.

“My mama taught me not to let a lady do the heavy lifting,” he argues.

“Well, I’m sure she meant the young pretty ones,” you wrestle away the bag and do you best not to teeter, “you’re nice but I gotta do this.”

He lingers, watching you, waiting for you to falter. You hold your breath as you ignore the fire in your shoulder. You’re embarrassed. When you were his age, it wouldn’t be a real task. He can’t understand the way the years eat away at you, though you suspect he understands some things.

“I didn’t know you worked here,” he says as he takes a can from the shelf, paying special attention to the baking powder label.

“Couple months ago…” you say vaguely.

“Mmm,” he nods and puts the can back, “I… awful what happened to your old man.”

“Yours too,” you counter and cringe, “sorry, I–”

“It’s okay, you get it,” he says, “never really goes away, does it?”

You shake your head, “not really.”��

You drop the last bag on the shelf and huff. You wipe your hands on your apron and grab the dolly handle, pumping the flat up on the wheels. Arvin steps back to the other side of the shelf to clear your path.

“Thanks,” you steer past him.

“No problem,” he hums, “have a good one.”

You keep on, turning the flat towards the warehouse doors. You push through the swinging doors and leave it with the rest for Casey to load or unload. You roll your shoulder but it only makes it worse. You whimper and kick the doors open with your foot as you go back onto the floor.

There’s no hiding since you started at the grocery store. Every face is familiar, every eyes is judging, they all know who you are, and they all look at you with pity. The whispers are often louder than that.

‘Poor thing.’ ‘Did you hear how her husband went?’ ‘Never even had a child.’ ‘Never one that lived.’

Your grief makes for good gossip. You ignore their wagging tongues. You need money if you want to keep the house and what Ben left behind, isn’t enough to last. It’s the only thing left of him and you can’t let it go.

You go up to cash and take over at the till. Lynette puts her basket on the counter as she greets her in her crowlike voice. She’s the worst of them. Everyone knows she sits on her phone and makes her rounds, calling to gather intel like some mafioso.

“Did ya hear?” She beams, “Molly’s having a fifth.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” you put on a fake smile as you play minion.

“Don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl, though I think she’s got enough of both–” she suddenly covers her mouth, “oh, hon, I forgot, I’m so sorry–”

“Hm? What do you mean?” You hold back your agitation.

Of course it wasn’t an accident. She’s needling for something. She wants to see you crack. Life hasn’t been kind but you’re just fine with it. You’re getting on.

“It’s just… I know it’s been hard and now… Benny’s gone…”

“Ben,” you correct her, unable to restrain that ounce of distaste, “it’s life.”

“Mmm, you have my sympathies,” she places her hand over her heart as you scan a dozen can of discount tuna. She must have a pantry full of Atlantic skipjack.

You grumble as you focus on your work. She won’t get much from you but you sure she’ll make something up. She’s got too much time for her own good. Her only hobby is talking. You read out her total and accept her check, tucking it under the drawer. Only your goodbye is genuine as you’re all too happy to see the back of her.

You look over as Arvin approaches. Unlike Lynette, he takes the items from his basket and sets them on the counter. You could sing just at the simple consideration. You ask him if he wants a bag as you start scanning.

“Should just need the one,” he says, “slow day?”

“Always is around here,” you shrug, wincing at the tug in your shoulder.

“Don’t mind, it’s my day off,” he smiles, “but I hope it goes by quickly for you.”

“Eh,” you mutter as you put a can of maple beans in the paper bag. Those were Ben’s favourite, you’d make him with sausage and a bit of your blueberry chutney. “Hope you’re not spending your whole day doing errands.”

“Just this,” he says brightly. You look at him as he beams, watching you with that grin. He’s polite, his father would be proud. “How much do I owe ya?”

You give him his total and he counts out bills from his wallet. You return his change and a receipt. He tucks them away as you go to grab his bag. He’s quicker, scooping it away before you can get it.

“I got it,” he says, “you take it easy.”

“Uh, thanks, have a good day,” you stand straight and your cheek ticks as a strike of lightning runs up the back of your neck.

“Shoulder won’t get any better if you don’t,” he tuts as he struts around the end of the counter.

You furrow your brow as you watch him go. He offers a small wave before he sets his sights to the exit. You turn back to the till and grip the edge of the counter. How did he know?

#arvin russell #dark arvin russell #dark!arvin russell #arvin russel x reader #drabble #backwoods au #au #series #all things end #the devil all the time

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onigiriico · 1 year

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Muu audio drama (t2) - English TL

[ links: Spotify / YT Music ]

Behold, the longest voice drama I’ve ever posted. This thing is almost 2.3k words long. I am in pain /lh

As always, feel free to head to my ask box or my Twitter (now actually with open DMs lmao) for any questions, potential mistranslations, etc.!

Also,, Trigger warning (aside from. well. the usual Milgram things): Towards the end, they discuss another character’s threat of suicide. It’s nothing super graphic, but there sure are... opinions on it, so please proceed with caution if that’s a touchy topic for you!

⬇️ translation under the cut ⬇️

(door opens)

M: Ah, it’s been a while, Warden-san. – Things have gotten tough, haven’t they… Everyone seems to be struggling and the whole atmosphere feels tense because everyone’s struggling, it’s really troublesome.

E: Is that so?

M: But as for me, I think Milgram has become a lot more comfortable! I know now that I can get whatever I want if I ask for it, so I don’t need to be so on edge anymore.

E: …

M: You did say that you and Milgram are our allies, and maybe you were right all along!

E: …

M: Aww, it’s boring if it’s just me talking! We’re talking to each other for the first time in a while, so you tell me about something interesting too, Warden-san~

E: You’re in pretty high spirits.

M: Am I?

E: I feel like you’ve brightened up.

M: Maybe…

E: But following the judgment after your first trial, the situation in Milgram has changed. And in the aftermath, Kotoko has attacked people too… From how I remember you, I would have expected you to feel uneasier than this.

M: Huh? But that has nothing to do with me.

E: What?

M: The ones who are suffering are the ones who have done bad things, right? You know, like, what goes around comes around.

E: …

M: Besides, Kotoko hurt and was mean to the people who didn’t get forgiven by you, right?

E: …Yeah.

M: Wouldn’t it be weird for me to have any thoughts on that, then? After all, I didn’t do anything wrong. You forgave me!

E: …

M: Eh? Is something wrong? Those who didn’t get forgiven by you must be bad people, if you ask me! I believe in you, Warden-san, so I’d hope you feel happy!

E: …Thanks for that.

M: See, you said you forgave me and that’s part of your job, so it’s probably right! Come on, come on, have some confidence!

E: … Speaking of which, you seem to be pretty close to Haruka.

M: …? Yeah! He’s the one I get along with best in Milgram!

E: Do you have some kind of goal with that?

M: Huh? E: Haruka’s loyalty towards you is one thing, but with this kind of relationship, I think it’s only natural to wonder if you’re using him for something.

M: Ehh… Warden-san, do you not have any friends?

E: Huh?

M: Are there any?

E: None that I could think of.

M: Wow, poor thing,.. I’ll teach you! Friends aren’t like that, you know. Rather than using each other for something, we just get along because we’re comfortable around each other. That’s all.

E: Well, I’m sorry about that.

M: Haruka-kun is really nice! He accepts anything I say, he listens to anything I tell him. For me, that’s really comfortable.

E: And that’s… “friendship”?

M: What do you mean? Of course we’re friends! Haruka-kun is happy with it, so it only has benefits for both of us!

E: I, as someone who has no friends, can’t judge, of course, but isn’t that just exploitation?

M: Exploitation…? Um, I don’t really understand, but… I do help him pick out clothes [in return], and I recently gave him a hairpin I didn’t need anymore as a hand-me-down!

E: …

M: We also have in common that we’re both people who were forgiven by you, Warden-san, so I don’t think it’s a relationship that anyone could have a problem with! E: … I already said this to Haruka, but Milgram consists of three trials, and I have only forgiven you this once. I think it’s too early to feel completely safe.

M: Eh~ You already decided to forgive me. I think it’d be uncool to be like, “Oh, actually, nevermind” now.

E: This is just how it is.

M: It’s fine already, isn’t it? You saw me, didn’t you? And from that, you decided that I haven’t done anything wrong, didn’t you?

E: Yeah, that’s right. For the first trial, that is.

M: It’s the same no matter how many times we do this. I’m me, after all. That won’t change.

E: If I keep looking from now on, will I come across something that puts you in a less positive light?

M: Eh?

E: Milgram reveals the truth through videos and music. After deciding whether to forgive you or not in the first trial, I’ll continue to dig deeper, searching for the truth inside your hearts once again.

M: …

E: For example: Things that you hid. Things that you forgot about. Things that weren’t visible through the rest of your strong feelings. Those are things that I’ll be shedding light on.

M: Hmm…

E: Or at least it might be.

M: …I don’t get it, but whatever. I haven’t done anything wrong, after all.

E: Is that so? It’s true that I’ve forgiven you once… but I remember feeling uneasy about it the whole time. Was it really right to forgive you? Aren’t you still hiding something? Things like that.

M: …Why… would you think stuff like that? That’s mean, Warden-san… You saw me, didn’t you? All the awful things that were done to me, that I couldn’t have escaped from without killing someone! I can’t believe you’re saying this to me, after I’ve gone through all of that… Warden-san, you’re mean.

E: Maybe I am. Your pain and suffering has certainly reached me. Or should I call it bullying? One-sided violence and mistreatment… I’m sure it was difficult to handle. It’s not unreasonable to come to the conclusion that murder is the only way for a weak person to get out of that. That’s exactly why I forgave you.

M: Yeah… If I hadn’t done that, I could have died some day.

E: But – are you actually that weak, Muu?

M: Huh?

E: That’s the source of my unease. Are you really that weak? Were you really getting picked on for being a weakling?

M: What do you mean?

E: How did it come to that in the first place? What was the cause? That’s what I don’t know. You could say it was conveniently omitted.

M: …

E: Even you yourself refuse to go there. Is it a topic that you don’t want to touch upon?

M: … Warden-san, I think you’re really doing something bad. Isn’t it a bad thing to act like there has to be something wrong with someone for them to get bullied?

E: Oh?

M: No matter the circumstances, it’s always the bullies who are in the wrong! Isn’t that obvious? Warden-san, you’re so smart, but you don’t even know things like that? Maybe you should take some lessons on morals or something.

E: …

M: Besides, even if I’ve done something wrong, there’s nothing that could justify bullying someone. Warden-san, I thought you were a nicer person.

E: So sorry that I’m not living up to your expectations.

M: If you’re reflecting on it, I’m willing to forgive you, though…

E: Could I ask the generous Muu to spoil me by letting me ask one more question, then?

M: What is it? If it’s a boring question, I don’t wanna.

E: Let’s say you’ve done nothing wrong—

M: Not “let’s say”! I have done nothing wrong!

E: Got it, got it. So, even though you’ve done nothing wrong – you got bullied. Why do you think that is?

M: I don’t know that! I mean, my family is rich, and my appearance stands out [in a good way], too… they probably did it out of envy or prejudice or something, right?

E: Right, right. And here I was with the theory that you were originally in the opposite position…

M: (slams her hands down)

E: …!

M: What are you saying…?

E: Just that it could also be speculated that you bullied someone and the tables turned on you.

M: Do you know what an awful thing you’re saying right now?

E: What are you getting this angry for? You’ve done nothing wrong, right?

M: Warden-san… I hate you.

E: This is just speculation. Don’t get so mad.

M: …

E: So what? Can you not give me an answer?

M: I haven’t bullied anyone. I’d never do such a mean thing! I’ve never hit anyone or poured water over anyone’s head. I wouldn’t do something like that! I’m not lying! I’m not telling you lies! I really haven’t done anything!

E: I see. I’ll take note of that.

M: … Um… um, by the way, Warden-san! I don’t know about this, but…

E: What?

M: You forgave me because I just gave my bullies their payback, right?

E: …Well… I guess so.

M: What was it called again… Revenge… Revenge? That means revenge can be [an acceptable motivator], right? And if you don’t forgive me this time, that’d mean that it’s not. If we leave aside the thing you said earlier about me maybe having bullied someone before – not that I actually did that, of course!

E: Sure.

M: So if I paid back what my bullies did to me, that would be revenge, right? And if you feel like I had no other choice than that, then don’t you have to forgive me?

E: … Uh… I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say…

M: You see, if you think that me bullying someone back after being bullied is the natural course of events, then wouldn’t it be bad to bully me back again in return?

E: …

M: But if you were like, “I won’t forgive you, Muu! Revenge is bad!,” then wouldn’t that imply that it’s also bad for me to bully someone back after they bullied me? Since we’ve all done something bad anyway, doesn’t that mean that I’ve not done anything wrong in the end?

E: …I think I’m kinda… starting to get your point… maybe…

M: … Warden-san, are you maybe not that intelligent, after all…?

E: Well, sorry about that.

M: Well, I guess it’s to be expected. You talk to a rabbit, after all. (giggles) Either way, you’ve understood that I haven’t done anything wrong, so it’s okay!

E: I sure have understood that talking to you isn’t getting me anywhere. But I guess since you made this explanation, I’ll take it into consideration.

M: Ah, but if you don’t forgive me, Haruka-kun will die, so I think it’d be best to not do that.

E: …!

(bell rings, machinery whirrs)

E: So you’ve heard about that nonsense too?

M: Yeah. Haruka-kun told me. So I could rest easy, according to him. That made me happy… It made me really feel our friendship!

E: You know about it and you’re not trying to stop him? Haruka, that is?

M: Why would I? Haruka-kun says he wants to do it, so there’s nothing I can do, right?

E: But you’re calling him your friend.

M: Isn’t it exactly because he’s my friend? Isn’t friendship about letting your friends do the things they want? … Are you about to tell me “that’s not what friendship is”? Then what is friendship? You’re together because it’s beneficial for everyone involved, aren’t you?

E: I don’t think Haruka is benefitting from that at all.

M: No way… It’s not like you could know what’s good for him.

E: …You sure are tough to beat.

M: I really don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Warden-san. It’s Haruka-kun’s personal freedom to decide what he wants to do, and I’m not doing anything wrong. It’s not like I’ve asked him to do it!

E: I see. That’s how it is, huh. You don’t say anything; just because you’re present, your surroundings’ wishes change to benefit you— Oh, so that’s it. Like a born queen. No, it’s like you’re influencing your surroundings not with words, but with pheromones… Just like a queen bee.

M: Pheromones…? I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I don’t like that lewd-sounding stuff…

E: That’s not the nuance I was talking about.

M: Either way, there’s people who deserve to be unforgiven more than I do, so I think you should focus your efforts on them instead. Like, Kotoko-san has done something bad, for example. Ah, but what she did was approved by you, wasn’t it?

E: …You’re making my blood boil.

M: Anyway… I think you would do good to forgive me. Then Haruka-kun will be safe too. Ah, actually, couldn’t you just forgive everyone? Then Kotoko-san won’t run amok, and you won’t have to think about all the difficult stuff.

E: That is… a very attractive proposal.

M: Right? (giggles)

E: Abandoning all the thinking… How nice it would be if I could just do that.

M: … If you ask me, I don’t really get why you don’t do it…

E: Because this is the role I’m playing.

M: But the role was given to you, wasn’t it? You didn’t end up doing this because you wanted to, right? It’s not a dream you’ve had for a long time or anything, right, Warden-san? So there’s no need to let it tie you down. Couldn’t you just quit?

E: What are you…

M: Warden-san, we call you “Warden” because that’s what you are, right? I was assigned to be a prisoner, but that doesn’t mean my heart will become just that of a “prisoner” too. After all, I’m still me.

E: …!

M: Warden-san, are you okay? Are you feeling sick again?

E: (heavy breathing)

M: That’s because you keep thinking too much about difficult things. Just stop. Being the Warden, that is.

E: … Just— shut up, already! Prisoner no.4, Muu! Sing your sins!

#milgram #milgram music videos #muu kusunoki #milgram muu #milgram es #translation #fan translation #audio drama #the links might not work for the americans yet if you're here early bc it only comes out at midnight but. y'know #this sure is. yeah. (deep breath) yeah.#please forgive me if I messed up on the revenge-related mental gymnastics lmao my brain is not big enough for this

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sanemifromcriagslist · 9 months

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hii, this is my first time doing a request (i hope this is where i do it)

(feel free to ignore this if u are uncomfortable writing on this topic, i’d get it completely ^^ )

rengoku with a partner who has troubles with food (meaning like, they don’t have much of an appetite and have a very hard time trying foods due to fear or taste and texture, like to eat very few food types, and forget to eat enough meals often) possibly??

Bento Boxes || Kyojuro Rengoku

Synopsis - Kyojuro and his partner + their food struggles

Warnings - Struggles involving food, mentions of throwing up, a singular judgemental asshat. Possibly more?? { Let me know if any are founded please 🙏 }

A/n - Hard core relate

Word count - 516

↳ I feel like he would share his food with you.

↳ With the whole texture thing, if you ask him to, he’d be willing to describe it to you.

↳ Kyojuro would most definitely spoon feed you if you want.

↳ Me personally, I can’t stand the smell of chicken noodles, I always throw up 😭

↳ So if certain smells bother you, he wouldn’t eat that food around you, so you don’t get sick!

↳ I feel like when he first learned you tend to forget meals, he’d would be reminding you when it was time to eat, but this would always be interrupted by his missions.

↳ So he’d set up a schedule for you to follow and depending if you yourself are a demon slayer or not, he’d either get your Kasagi crow or Senjuro to help keep you on track.

↳ Resident pretty boy Kyojuro will even buy you pretty bento boxes as encouragement! Like one with Hello Kitty or a pretty green one!

{ Ignore timeline issues. 🌚 }

↳ I’m gonna out him. He can’t cook. He’s tried and either he burns the food or undercooks it. He can’t win in the kitchen.

↳ But… Senjuro can! And I feel like it’s common knowledge within the fandom that Senjuro been headcanoned to enjoy cooking, right?

{ I have no idea if he actually enjoys cooking T-T }

↳ Senjuro will make all the food you want! He’s also known to keep a list of foods you like and can eat because he’ll make you food even if you don’t ask!

↳ I love him so much! Senjuro is such a cutie!!!!

↳ He’s offered to take you to Shinobu to understand why there are these issues with food. Whether you go or not is entirely up to you!

↳ If there are reasons behind these struggles, he would never judge. He’s your number 1 cheerleader!

↳ If you wanted to try a food, but were extremely anxious, because of taste or texture, he’d hype you up!

↳ NEVER BACK DOWN NEVER WHAT?? 🗣️🗣️💥💥

↳ If someone were to, I dunno… say something negative about you or your food struggles…

↳ They’d wake up the next morning with their body buried in dirt, only their head above the ground.

↳ If you were catch him doing this, well, he’d…

↳ :DDD

↳ He’d smile at you at you, like the pretty boy he is and say:

↳ “Go back to bed love, I’ll finish this and come back to you.”

↳ JAJRBSIZNBFIEUB

↳ That or he’d lecture them 😭

↳ Oh my god, Mitsuri would be so nice about it too!

↳ Like if Mitsuri came to train with you two, or go out to eat with you guys one day, she would always be so supportive.

↳ Like, you don’t eat something on your plate, but don’t want to waste food, she’ll eat it for you if you ask!

↳ Or if there’s something on her plate you’d like to try, she’d offer you a bite!

↳ Oh my god, kyojuro would too!!

↳ I love them so much, I’m totally normal about them 🌚

↳ Gah, rengoku would be as helpful as you want him to be, and he’d support you. No matter how you’d go about the situation.

thank you!! ♡

#demon slayer #demon slayer kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer kny #demon slayer kny x reader #demon slayer x reader #rengoku kyojuro #demon slayer kyojuro #demon slayer kyojuro rengoku #demon slayer rengoku #kny kyojuro #kny kyojuro rengoku #kyojuro x reader #kyojuro rengoku x reader #rengoku x reader #rengoku #hiro answers! ♡

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inventors-fair · 1 year

Text

Named Common Contest: Range of Playables

I have yet another confession; feels like I’ve been doing a lot of those these days. Maybe it was the fact that I’ve been doing a lot of work outside the Fair, or the fact that I’ve been really Magic’d out with fatigue and whatnot, but I came up with this contest more as a cool idea for the future and less about something I was personally interested in/something I’d build myself. We get a lot more entries on average, and hoo boy, commentary’s still a lot of work for a Saturday, but with this, I felt really backed into a corner. How am I supposed to write about this?

With fun. From the perspective of fun. That’s what makes the most sense. Am I going to apply my normal sensibilities? Yes, but designing for new players and kids and weird people is something that I’m drawn to, because I’m often surrounded by new players, kids, etc. So maybe this is a root return. But y’all don’t need to hear that. You want the goods. It’s nice to see your work appreciated and talked about. That’s...why this whole thing exists, heh.

BY THE WAY: Very important to note. If your card doesn’t meet the qualifications for the contest, in the future, it may not be considered at all. Please, please read what the contest is looking for. Carefully.

Judge Picks are cards that I want to showcase for some reason or other, cards that I like personally or that have good design sensibilities. Let’s see.

@10001gecs — Paul Bunyan, Forest Feller

As many Fair veterans know, I am not a man who is beholden to shenanigans. Shenanigans include outside/non-Magic IPs in otherwise serious contests. However, I hate to admit it, but this card’s really well-made. I feel that there were a lot of well-designed green cards this week? I’m worried about bias, but I always am—thought not as much as your opponents should be worried about getting smacked in the face with Giants.

All the same, let’s get some parts out of the way. For one, a legendary name without the legendary supertype on an effect that definitely needs to be legendary? That’s a bit of an issue. While I like the Giant archetypes, too, the fact that Giant Ox is a vehicle-based card and this card has nothing mechanically to do with that is a bit of a misstep to me. I would suggest taking a step back and considering what your card actually does versus what it might be sensible in some ways to do. Yes, Giant ____ is the meme, but how can you use that in other ways?

@bergdg — Krenko and Mizzix

They’re gonna kiss! ... Anyway. What they’re actually going to do is be pretty okay. I like the overall fun factor that you’re going for. It does feel super weird that this card only has one of their colors when all the other team-ups are, well, teamed up. Still, concept is neat. Krenko’s Command is one of those cards that my kids like so I’m very familiar with the attachment, heh.

The fact that “the exiled card” can potentially refer to other cards besides Krenko’s Command is problematic in execution, considering other spells/abilities that could exile cards. Additionally... Well, I don’t feel the team-up, honestly. It’s not particularly resonant with either one of their normal abilities and it’s not particularly strong either. Honestly, I think if you wanted to commit to the team-up, this wasn’t the contest for it; a new Krenko might have been a better option overall.

EDIT: I’m actually wrong about that exiling part! Florence pointed out that 607.2A takes care of that. Who’da thunk!

@ct-mayor — Nit, Restorer of the Old Ways

I’ll admit, even though I’m kind of a fan of Hieroglyphic Illumination myself, I haven’t considered it a popular or resonant enough card for someone to be a fan of it. Still, it makes sense, and this card’s not bad! The name “Nit” isn’t, uh, quite resonant with me in the same way? Considering the English word, it’s a little odd. But overall flavor-wise, that studious aspect comes across.

“Win the game” effects are a hard balance. I think cycling into a four-of with this card and then just recasting your illuminations is pretty rough to go up against, but it’s not out of the question. The fact that it’s all centered around a single card with no other interaction if you don’t have them makes it feel a little too specific even for this contest. If you don’t have any of that specific card, what’s the point? Yes, there’s build-around-ness, but no card exists in a vacuum. Consider how your card needs to interact with the greater formats in which it would be played.

@deg99 — Invigorating Geomancer (JUDGE PICK)

This card is inviting infinite loops. How? ... Wait, gimme a second. ... Okay, well, Sakura-Tribe Scout, two Retreat to Coralhelms, Zuran Orb, and Junktroller can get you infinite life, but maybe I’m overthinking the loop. The point is: this one is actually really good. Lava Dart, IMO, isn’t too powerful for standard, and burn needs all the help that it can get at this point. I’m not quite certain what “Invigorating” is going for here? The mood’s a little odd, but the point is, this card can be crazy powerful with the right build. Frankly, I’m imagining this in Pioneer with some weird Jund decks, and it’s hecka fun.

It’s specific without being too powerful, although that loop, with land sacrificing, could mean awful things for other formats. The ability to just loop your Mountains is...crazy good. REALLY good. I think just about any mono-red deck with Armageddony effects will go nuts for this. Wow, actually, can you imagine? Old red “destroy all lands” cards are basically negated. That’s silly and ridiculous. I love it; it won’t impact the formats in which it would be played normally. Limited might mean more land sacrifice cards, or just permanent sacrifice, which is interesting to me... I wonder what other mechanics we might see!

@demimonde-semigoddess — Stillborn Demon

I’m a huge fan of visceral reactions. The term “Stillborn” to describe anything in Magic evokes a truly awful feeling for me. There are some descriptors that extend beyond the realm of natural human encounters, but the grotesquery of that concept here is...genuinely off-putting. Any other name would have been preferable. Within reason.

Card-wise, it’s certainly fine, and I suppose people are still making Shadowborn Apostle decks (although I’ve never actually played against them? Weird. They’re still kinda pricey.) here and there. The issue comes from the fact that, well, do you want to be sacrificing your Apostles, really? The Apostles are utilized to tutor demons, not to be fodder. If THIS is the demon that you’re looking for, well, you might be in limited, which is vaguely understandable, but constructed? It feels antithetical. As a card normally, it’s perfectly serviceable as an uncommon flying beater, nothing wrong with that.

@dimestoretajic — Kenji, Sokenzan Artist

I double-checked to make sure that Iron Apprentice was the card I thought, and wow, there you go! Kenji’s part of the sacrifice crew, and that archetype could be really nasty on Kamigawa. Maybe we’ll see him in another world. I like the fact that I can kind of picture this guy, an artist with all his little robots, shaping them to hone his skill. Maybe he’s a blade artisan of sorts! It would explain the first strike and the general warrior feel to him.

Sacrificing artifacts is great. The bonuses from the creatures and the huge bonuses from Iron Apprentice are even bigger. I feel that you may have boxed yourself in a little with them. Getting bigger is nice, but is there anything more? This card feels a tiny bit underwhelming without that direction. But, it’s okay to just call a card a bomb as it goes. I wish he felt a little more legendary and I wish that we could see more of his artistry. Still, someone could make the Sokenzan-Forge deck if they like him enough, right? I suppose that’s the point of this whole contest, heh.

@greensunzenith — Shadowborn Gravecaller

I feel that this card is close and that you’ve got some good things going for you. Shadowborn Apostle was NOT the right choice for this card. This isn’t going to be the last time I go over this, as y’all have seen, but Shadowborn Apostle fulfills a very specific deckbuilding archetype. Adding additional cards that aren’t apostles or demons is just going to make the deck worse and the math checks out on this. How many of this card would you want? What would you put into the deck?

Most importantly: would adding this card genuinely be any better than adding in another Shadowborn Apostle? Frankly, I don’t think so. Whatever they’re doing, the statistics are against you. Maybe in a Commander deck? In limited, that first ability is phenomenal, don’t get me wrong. But with all the other aspects, knowing what the deck wants to go for, I don’t feel that it’s the right choice for the Apostles.

@hypexion — Amp-Amp, Shock Jock (JUDGE PICK)

I hatelove this card. I have NO idea how to feel about it. A single splice card in standard isn’t out of the question if we have those other weird one-offs, the cyclings and flashbacks. But like, I know for a fact that this card’s probably not going to herald the return of a weird mechanic that I’ve still had trouble explaining to the kids. And yet, and yet! It’s just so fun and quite well-executed. Having a deck built around this card would be quite weird. What’re you gonna do? For five mana, I’m gonna Mystic Speculation/Shock every turn. What a twist.

Genuinely, I don’t think this card’s right for a standard environment, but I do want to commend it for pushing this contest to the absolute limit without going out of the bounds of realism. It’s phenomenally designed and equally silly. There’s all the radical complexity of Kamigawa with the silliness of the Akki and the thoughtfulness of how to design strange cards. I’m really happy that you submitted this.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Necroprankster

Contrary to the Shock above, there’s no way in hell that Exhume is coming back to standard. It’s one of the most powerful reanimation spells ever printed, and at common, it wouldn’t see the light of day. As a rare? Perhaps. This card could have gone with Unearth (the card) and I would have been far more receptive to it; after all, this card’s three mana, Unearth can see it, you can kinda chain them together, yadda yadda.

Aside from THAT little piece, though, I think this card’s actually really good! The concept of choices and control and potential unearthing (heh) is really neat. It’s an uncommon that cares about relevant commons in an archetype that matters, it’s small but powerful, it doesn’t overstay its welcome with its ETB, and I really like the name. There’s that modern-Grimm feel to it that was a little more popular in the 00’s but hell, I like it all the same, you know? I’ll be honest, between the name and flavor text, I almost don’t need art direction. Not bad, captain.

@just--a--penguin — Foolhardy Excavator

I kind of want to know your thought process behind bringing back a bulk common from Onslaught into a standard-legal contest. I want to say firstly: I can see how this card would be incredibly good in, like, a limited format where there’s morph/manifest and there needs to be hate for it. That much I get. And you know what, I’m gonna pause my own tirade, because in terms of creative expressions, I can see the implications of new environments with new mechanics and old cards, and that’s fine. That’s another part of this whole contest I’m learning to appreciate.

Couple important things: For one, the first ability needs to shuffle, which you might’ve just forgotten, and that’s fine. For two, “foolhardy” probably isn’t the best term here. Look at the second ability you’ve made. This excavator, whoever they are, is here to deal damage. Maybe they’re foolhardy to us, but who are they in the grand scheme of things? They’re forceful, blunt, barbaric, and there aren’t any consequences befalling them. Adjective choice matters for polish. I feel that this card could be pretty fun until you turn-four break open their 8-drop beast. Whoops.

@lich-of-the-golgari — Venser’s Last Will

Firstly, this contest specified that the card to which you were referencing was supposed to be a common. Please ensure that you read all the contest requirements carefully. In the future, submissions that don’t follow Fair criteria may be ineligible.

From a story perspective, I’m struggling to find the sense of this card. Venser didn’t have a will, nor did he know he was going to perish on Mirrodin. The “last of his legacy” was the spark he gave to Karn, arguable. Mechanically, the wording is missing the shuffle clause, and the replacement effect should be “once each turn” and also be a trigger of sorts; how is this restriction checked without a “may” clause? The bottom line is that this card does not encourage the kind of cohesive deckbuilding we were looking for with this contest.

@little-red-rabbit — Squadron Falconer

Everyone loves Squadron Hawk! Except my kids when I play against them, but that’s a whole other story. The point is, Squadron Hawk is great and I think the name you chose is awesome. There are a couple small mechanical things we’ll go for afterwards, but just to close out the good things, I think the idea of this guy being...carried? By the hawks? It makes mechanical sense, even if it is a touch silly, heh. I really like the way he forces an answer to the hawks. It does feel slightly redundant since the hawks can already search for themselves; perhaps consider a benefit to the birds as opposed to the falconer themself?

The first ability needs a shuffle clause, which is always important when you’re searching. The second ability has, er, some extra words that might have been left over? I believe it should be worded “As long as you control two or more creatures named Squadron Hawk, Squadron Falconer has flying.” There we go.

@nine-effing-hells — Igniter of Horizons

Great balls o’ fire. Can cards...DO that? “...if it was put onto” etc.? I honestly don’t know the precedent. This card seems kind of fun, actually, and I wonder what the design space for cards like that it. Like a card that has an effect if it was milled by card X or whatever, exile it from your graveyard, big buff. Maybe. Anyway, dragons though! I think that Dragon’s Approach is versatile enough to be reprinted basically everywhere. I know that I have a kid whose M.O. is dragons, and he’d love to see this card. To be fair, he’d love to see any dragon. I suppose that if you’re going to build the deck casually, this is the card you’d be going for, right? There aren’t too many other cards you’d really want if you’re that dead-set.

I’m not going to check the wording on your card there. I assume that the shift from the targets to “permanents and/or players” checks out. Trample is a fun one there. As a body by itself, the card is good, and as a Dragon’s Approach payoff, it’s also pretty fun. I’m a little curious about the name? Not sure what you’re going for there, but it’s really cool, actually. Maybe there’s an explanation I missed, maybe not. Point is, card’s decent, does what it says. Is it any better than a better dragon like, I’unno, Ancient Copper? Obviously not but we don’t talk about that. It cares about what it wants to care about. Ooh, maybe if there was one for each archetype...

@noodlegirl-googlyeyes — Counterspellatog

So we did talk in the workshop about the potential for cards that cared about your opponents’ cards instead of your own, and I was iffy about the idea because this contest was more about the deckbuilding fun than, like, pure hate/interaction. Seeing this card, I still don’t know how to feel; I WANT to feel a little more justified, because wow, Atogs are a nuisance, but maybe not. Then I think about how this card’s implying that Counterspell will be in standard and I feel a little less iffy about my position. The fact is that, until the tides change immensely, Counterspell’s just not coming back to standard, and that’s what that’s.

I think the name’s just past the edge of silly, too, but it doesn’t make it not fun to say. I also do want to note that if you just have effects that put counters on things, this card works just fine. Still, it’s...a sideboard card at most and awkward most often. Just not quite the kind of thing we were thinking about for this contest. What a throwback, though. Through this contest we really get to see the personality of players and the ways in which they express what they think is cool. This is no exception.

@railway-covidae — Persistent Farmer (JUDGE PICK)

This card technically isn’t eligible because it’s a common itself and you were supposed to be designing for uncommon and up, but that’s an easy mistake to make and/or an easy fix. Sometimes there’s grace. For this farmer, there’s none. Let’s get two small templating things out of the way first. With the mana ability, milling should be part of the cost. Maybe it was intentional that it wasn’t, but Millikin implies otherwise as to how it should be. With the return ability, I think it needs to target? There’s no reason why it shouldn’t and it’s important that it does for stack reasons and whatever.

But the rest of this card’s really, REALLY cool. This peasant is a menace. He’s a mana dork (definitely not common) where you can build around that graveyard theme... Hey, haven’t we been here before, but differently? NGL, it’s funny to me that there were two Innistradian cards based around the G/B graveyard-filling archetype that I really liked this week despite only having played that in limited once. Anyway, casual players who like filling the yard will absolutely love this card. Mulch is fun, the grossness is just creepy enough not to be directly off-putting unless you’re crazy squeamish, and I’m glad Mulch got some love. Very fun.

@real-aspen-hours — Wastes Tender

Sorry, didn’t quite have the time to mock this one up. Anyway, this card’s missing ooooone small thing. Do you remember what it is? .... Time’s up! That’s right, the Eldrazi with colored symbols in their costs need (and I say “need,” I mean that in the metaphysical sense more than rules) the ability Devoid to make ‘em colorless. Womp. That said, this card’s awesome as a ramp spell. I think that the Wastes players will like that. Wastes was a great archetype! Very strange environment, ngl, but all the same.

This card is definitely from a different era, but if Arboreal Grazer can have its day, then so can the Wastes Tender. I mean, I would have liked a slightly less Waste-y name and you could drop the “far” from the flavor text, but the mood you’re going for is actually super cool. Indeed, a “perversion of growth” comes across in both the mechanics and the card’s overall feel; from the wastes grow more nothing, more horror, the Scions of tomorrow. Not bad, not bad.

@reaperfromtheabyss — Commando Consecrator

Of all the cards to pick for this contest, I genuinely did not expect Cathar Commando to be among them. Honestly, I really like how this card plays as a rare! Even if you don’t have the other Commandos (and if you’re P1P1 going for this, you’re gonna get some), returning a small creature is just as awesome. Humans, sacrifice, and spirits alike will enjoy that ETB, and it’s an on-curve beater at the very least. Cathar Commando, though, huh.

The only question is flavor weirdness. Sort of. How do angels on Innistrad go about their tactics? The Commando is depicted as being borderline dishonorable, or at least a little gruesome when it comes to executing her prey. Why would they want to be consecrated? Or need to, either. Perhaps it’s a small blessing, that it’s a gift because the angels are returning them. No matter. The point is, I suppose, that Angels and Soldiers have that kind of relationship, and that’s okay. Gotta say, I’m a fan of Commando as a card. Flashing in a first-striker and maybe getting it back with another Consecrator later is pretty good! Pretty decent stuff. I think that whether or not someone’s going to build a deck is a little up in the air, but for limited, this card’s pretty great.

@snugz — Eager Whelp

Ey, another Dragon’s Approach card. This one is definitely a little different, but I think it’s still pretty good. The expectations of the body-to-cost ratio is fine, and having a phoenix-like body swinging in is pretty great. If you search for this card using the Approaches, you’ll have an 8/2 flying hasty dragon! That’s pretty good, if a little weak for its cost. If you don’t get any DA’s in limited, then you’re kind of out of luck, but then it raises the question of how many dragons-to-Approaches are you running for cards like this to be worth it.

If you really want to go balls to the wall in standard, then I can see this card being pretty good even if the toughness leaves a lot to be desired. You know, I should be thinking of Arena, too, even though the mere notion fills me with...shuddering. I kid, though, I kid; I guess there’s the question of whether or not that easy casual environment would be down to get these sorts of cards. Maybe it’s a little late to be thinking of that crucible, but regardless. I would feel bad if my awesome dragon ended up getting Shock’d to death by the goblins deck after all the setup I had put into it, but the feeling is certainly solid.

@squeezyboi — Spell Piercer

So...yeah, unfortunately, this card’s not eligible either. I really should have checked some of these beforehand. Again, the actual, physical, other card had to be named and referenced, not just alluded to by the name. Card’s basically fine, maybe two mana, “its” not “it’s.” But I can’t give further critique in the same vein. The workshop’s here in Discord to ensure you’re on the right path, and double-check the contest requirements.

@stareyedesper — Bloodthirsty Sadist

That’s certainty a card name. I think that there’s something to be said for the sadism of vampires on Innistrad or otherwise, and it makes sense here. Dead Weight was an awesome card and I know its got some awesome limited hype around it. This card does indeed feel like it was made for limited, or for friends to build specific decks against each other. But getting an on-color aura’s still important, yeah? Flavor’s pretty good, and from a balance perspective, it’s really specific but I still feel the mana cost could be upped or the toughness could be ticked down just by one, perhaps. It’s way strong in the right matchup.

The wording feels a little off. Let me see... “When ~ enters the battlefield, search your library or graveyard for a card named Dead Weight, reveal it, then shuffle. If an opponent controls a Human, you may attach that card to that Human. Otherwise, put it into your hand.” The term “add it to your hand” is erroneous, and “Human” needs to be capitalized at all times. There are a couple mechanical differences with targeting, but you can take it or leave it.

@wolkemesser — Vincent, Pit Gourmand (JUDGE PICK)

Every week. Every week, I’m either picking apart wording like I’m getting cat hair off a black dress with your cards, or I’m astounded by the new weirdness you’ve presented and there’s so much to talk about. Well! I’m not gonna look a gift demon in the mouth. This card is awesome. This is the PAYOFF for all those Shadowborn Apostles, the demon for which one searches, and following that, the rest of the deck is indeed full of Shadowborns ready to be eaten, which helps in deck construction. Yes! That’s the way to do it.

I’m almost positive the last replacement should only look at spells and abilities your opponents control, but that’s not too bad, all things considered, and the control deck that you can run with this is nasty if gone unanswered. Everyone sacrifice things! I’m just gonna throw an old piece of meat away. Jeez... I want to say that this card feels too weird to really be viable, and that’s what my brain says, but as a design exercise, hell, we’ve seen weirder, and who knows! Maybe I’m overreacting. I probably am. Fantastic job with a staggeringly powerful creature. This is how to do Shadowborn right.

@yd12k — Gnawbone, the Infestation

I’m not sure what to make of this second ability. The deathtouch is fine, and I like the last ability. Here’s the thing, though: cascade is absolutely useless. The reason is that every card in your deck, with Relentless Rats, is gonna want to be Relentless Rats. So what are you going to cascade into? What’s the standard format where Relentless Rats, this Kamigawa legend, and the ability cascade are all going to be together?

This card seems like it could be fun on the surface but ultimately the elements all clash with one another in a way that’s either mechanically disruptive or flavorfully not-quite-meshed. Relentless Rats (which, FWIW, was only common for one set, and for good reason in my opinion) was a brave choice and I understand the desire to make that cool stuff happen. This isn’t the card you want to go for with it, I don’t think.

Phew. Tune in next week. Bring a friend. @abelzumi

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #named common contest #commentary #inventor's fair

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birdofdawning · 1 year

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The Woman From the Sea

6. Orderliness

The beginning is here; the previous part is here.

Jane has been wearing gloves since the Woman From the Sea met her. They are black woollen fingerless gloves, and she wore them while she ate and then while she washed the dishes. She’s wearing a sweater too, but this doesn’t seem as odd. Her hands seem to be stiff or sore too, judging by how she moves them. Cutlery was just a little bit tricky for her, and she gritted her teeth several times as she manoeuvred the plates with her fingertips while she washed them. An injury? But in both hands? The Woman From the Sea is curious, but she is also shy; she knows Jane is angry with her.

“Okay, you can have this room. I changed the sheets this afternoon. Aired it out in case you were staying.” Jane opens a door off the hall and the Woman From the Sea steps into a small, white room with an iron-framed bed taking up most of the space. The window faces east, and she can see a rotary washing line in the twilight. “Yeah, it’s pretty basic,” Janes says, looking around. “But at least you didn’t turn up here in winter. These side rooms get icy. I usually sleep in the common room through January and February. Stay by the fire.”

“It’s very nice,” says the Woman From the Sea politely. “Um, I guess I could sleep in this?” she gestures down at her borrowed clothes.

“Oh! You probably want a shower! And a change of clothes too, hang-on.” Jane darts out of the room and is back a minute later, carrying some more t-shirts and pants. “Sorry, not used to guests (obviously). Uh, I have fresh underwear but nothing, uh new new — would boxers be… Oh, hey, maybe don’t look in there…"

But it is too late. Exploring the room, the Woman From the Sea has opened the trunk at the foot of the bed and is staring, eyebrows raised. “Oh!”

“Not mine!” Jane hastens to assure her, cheeks red. “As you probably guessed, it’s been all male crews before me. So when I took over I had a big tidy up and…” she gestures at the trunk and cringes. “I didn’t want to… I don’t know, burn it all or whatever; I mean, I’m not always gonna be the keeper…”

The Woman From the Sea reaches in and examines the contents. “What an exceptionally large collection of pornographic magazines,” she says.

“Yeah. Well. You know. Guys,” says Jane. “I actually forgot it was in here.”

“There is material here from the Seventies!” The Woman From the Sea has started making piles on the floor, only half-listening to Jane who has started explaining about the shower, and tank water, and possibly there are some warnings about brevity and economy. But she is content for the first time in many, many days, sorting out the various periodicals of explicit pornography. First chronologically — year, month, issue — then by title. Perhaps she pauses over the older covers, just for a moment, admiring some of the sleeker women of the Sixties and Seventies. She takes note of two issues she will examine more closely later. When she is finished she carefully stacks the periodicals back into the trunk, keeping them in order.

“So you’re easy to entertain,” says Jane, making her jump. She looks up and realises that Jane has been watching bemusedly from the doorway this whole time. Or perhaps not: she has a towel now too.

“I like to organise things,” explains the Woman From the Sea, rising.

Jane hands over the towel and the pile of clothes. “Well, don’t touch my books. Or dvds. I know where everything is. Or at least,” she adds, “ask me first. Or take one at a time?”

The Woman From the Sea hugs the clean clothes. “Thank you, Jane,” she says, smiling shyly.

“Yeah, well.” Jane looks away. The sharp angles of her face catch the light in a way that pleases the eye. “I’m gonna guess you need me to explain about the shower again?”

“Yes, please.” And the Woman From the Sea follows her down into the laundry house.

She decides that Jane striding forward in a shapeless woollen sweater and work slacks is currently more interesting than the old trunk and its salacious contents.

#I'm so sorry I don't know what this is #I do not understand pornography so please excuse my bloodlessness #rizzoli and isles #maura isles #jane rizzoli #jane and maura #canon divergence #the woman from the sea #Jane is a lighthouse keeper

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watching-pictures-move · 2 years

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Movie Review | Midnight Run (Brest, 1988)

When compared to some of the other performances that Robert De Niro was giving in his prime (roughly 1973 to 1997, although there are worthwhile films before and after), his work in Midnight Run might seem low key, maybe even underwhelming. Certainly he hits a lot of the same notes as he did in his easy paycheque period, which started roughly with Meet the Parents. (For the record, I think he’s pretty committed in that movie, but you do see a certain shtickiness develop.) You get a lot of the raised eyebrows, a lot of the indignation and a hell of a lot of the profane outbursts. But what I think grounds his work here is the sense of weariness he brings to the role. This is a character who has been in an unrewarding line of work for far too long, whose integrity is not valued by the disreputable characters he’s often surrounded by, and whose morale has been steadily broken down as a result. If anything, the performance this has most in common with is not another De Niro character, but the one played by Robert Forster in Jackie Brown, another man in the bail bonds business who is just too damn tired of the bullshit he’s waded through for years.

It’s also wise for De Niro to turn down his intensity here, as it allows us to focus on the performance by Charles Grodin as the deeply aggravating but ultimately honourable man he’s tasked with transporting across the country. I’m starting to run out of things to say about Grodin’s acting, as he so reliably plays a certain breed of white collar professional to such memorable comic effect, but I think this movie really plays to his strengths of precise, even-toned line readings. There are a lot of big laughs in the movie, and they frequently come from Grodin attempting to apply a certain logic to a totally unreceptive De Niro. Listen to this exchange, about both characters seething from their respective betrayals at the hands of the other:

"You lied to me first!"

"What the... You lied to me first!"

"Yes! Yes. But you didn't know I was lying to you when you lied to me down by the river. So as far as you knew, you lied to me first!"

"How can I argue with this guy. I don't know what the fuck he's talking about."

If you’re not chuckling at least a bit, I can’t help you. But the exchange also reveals a certain truth about both characters, about their need to maintain a certain integrity and to be able to look at themselves in the mirror even when they’re working at cross purposes.

This is directed by Martin Brest, and scratches the same action comedy itch as his earlier hit, Beverly Hills Cop. This is probably a “better” movie, in that it juggles the intricacies of its plot more deftly, and with a better sense of timing in producing the complications that meet our heroes. It also has a better rounded cast, filling almost every scene with a nicely textured performance. But at the same time, there’s something to be said about the earlier movie’s effectiveness as a star vehicle, an entire movie tailored to capitalize on the formidable charisma of prime era Eddie Murphy. (While I wouldn’t call it a favourite, I do revisit it with some regularity.) Brest isn’t a good action director in the technical sense, but what he does well in both movies is find ways to fill in the gaps of the action scenes with the niceties of the performances. Savour the banter between Judge Reinhold and John Ashton as they’re pinned down by the villain’s henchman in that movie, and savour the interplay here between Ashton, De Niro and Grodin as they’re attacked by hired killers in a helicopter. This was the only scene I really remembered from my viewing years ago, and I’m pleased to report that I still laughed. I will say that this movie needed better action comedy music. Danny Elfman occasionally does a zany action theme, but for the most part the score consists of generic blues rock. There are no synth stylings by Harold Faltemeyer, no “Axel F.”, no “Bit By Bit” from Fletch, not even a “Shakedown” by Bob Seger from Beverly Hills Cop II.

I watched Beethoven late last month and was in the mood for more Grodin, and voila, Midnight Run appeared on the Criterion Channel. While there are likely more reasonable explanations, I can only assume that their employees have been breathlessly following my online activity and as such will take full credit. Of course, this is on the service as part of a Yaphet Kotto retrospective. This may not be the best representation of Kotto’s full talents, but he is effective as a gruff FBI agent, his deadpan reactions hiding his bone-deep exasperation from the proceedings, even as they occur in completely different parts of the country. Such is the power of Charles Grodin that he can annoy across state lines.

#film #movie review #midnight run #martin brest

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the-travelling-witch · 1 year

Note

So I’m staying on anon bc I’m taking a hiatus for now but I just had to say something about the whole situation you posted about

My ‘friend’ is exactly the same and I just don’t understand the reason. Like, you think I’m a certain way because I play a game? That’s like me judging you and saying judgemental things about how you don’t have a life because you play something I don’t like, it’s ridiculous.

I don’t get this whole ‘only p**os’ play the game - yes, there are some really weird fuckers who sexualise the children and the majority of the fan base doesn’t agree with it and also don’t condone it.

Like are people just hating Genshin because it’s popular? It’s got some serious in game issues, it’s not perfect, but most people just don’t have a reason

‘it’s an anime game’ okay, and? It’s not to your taste, so what? doesn’t mean it’s better or worse than another game.

‘it’s gacha’ so is every game that’s popular right now, especially fps - like don’t tell me otherwise when you’re opening loot boxes which is essentially the same thing as pulling for characters.

My ‘friend’ got so offended when I said Genshin was a game I could see him playing - because he likes chill games and personally Genshin can be quite relaxing, especially when you’re exploring for the first time !! And he likes grindy games and hey, Genshin is pretty grindy to make a good character build, but he just says these half assed insults similar to the one that guy you mentioned instead of actually giving it a chance.

I’m not a man hater or anything but some guys are just brainless. They think their opinion is superior and if you don’t agree, your opinion is ‘mid’ or a ‘bad take’ like we don’t always have to agree, just respect the things I like and I’ll respect your interests.

It really is not that hard

- bunny 🐰 ( hi hollyleaf I hope you’re having a nice day apart from this <33 )

sorry you had to experience something similar but at the same time, why judge someone by what they play or just because you don’t agree with that choice

as you said, genshin has some actual issues you could talk about but most people who want to hate on the game don’t even look that far but pick the few weirdos (whose voices are always the loudest somehow) and use them as low-hanging fruit to drag the game and its player base

also the term ‘anime’ is so broad; at the end of the day league (because the guy recommended that) is also an animated game+ the artworks/ designs of the characters aren’t that much more realistic (someone pointed out the proportions on especially the female characters and i don’t think i need to say much about that)

most loot box systems only give you cosmetics too, he even admitted he only gets skins and new champions, which is the same as genshin more or less, so why hate on gacha when it’s basically the same mechanics just under a term you don use?

honestly, i can see why you recommended it, i probably would’ve done the same (i have, in fact, recommended the game to someone before); pretty rude of this guy to insult your interest like this though, i hope you didn’t take it seriously

ugh, not the fucking ‘mid’ response, please get out of here and let people enjoy things, jesus fucking christ; you don’t have to justify yourself with me, i know you’re not a ‘man hater’ because i use common sense to deduce that these statements don’t directly translate to ‘all men’; as i like to say it’s not all and not only men, women can be accused of this too, for both of us it just happened to be a guy and that’s all there is to it

and you’re right, it’s not that hard

(i’m doing good and i was hardly bothered by it, i just wanted to share with the class; anyway, i hope you’re doing well yourself <3)

#coffee & tea break #my regulars ♡#letter from: the gorgeous honeybun ❀#sorry i took so long #<3

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abimopectore9 · 2 years

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rachel rachel!! sun, venus, and 3H please <3

Gi!! ♥️ thanks for asking.

Sun name 5 things you like about yourself?

1- My intelligence. I’m always learning new things, reading, writing, trying to improve myself. It’s quite nice knowing stuff 😂

2- Honesty. I don’t usually hesitate or beat around the bush with people. What you see is what you get. I’m usually very vocal about things I like and don’t like (especially things I don’t like). The fact that I have the ability to call people on their bullshit bothers a lot of humans out here, but I love it!

3- Common sense. It seems that for some reason people don’t have common sense now?? I don’t know if I say this as an antisocial person or someone who has to deal with people on a daily basis, but you just have to think. Working retail really messed me up.

4- My boobies? 👀 I have a love-hate relationship with my body. I like to think I’m very flirty and would lower my shirt if I ever need a favor from someone, but I hate them most of the time because I can’t sleep in my stomach and they get in the way. I do love my hair though!

5- My memory! I have a really good memory, specially for small details. My dad is pretty much like that x10. He’s able to remember the exact date Stayin’ Alive came out and things like that. But me? You told me once you had a dog named Rick when you were 3? I’ll remember that.

Venus describe your ideal type.

This is the question that made me realize I was gay!

Since I was a kid, people had been asking what was my type in men. I always answer “I don’t know, I like everybody”. It took me 19 years to understand that I’m very gay. But being specific, I don’t think I have a type. Maybe light eyes? Taller than me? I don’t mind.

3H what are some of the topics you like to talk about the most?

Gosh, anything and everything.

You read books? Great, I do too! These are my favorites and why. Wanna make bread? I know a great recipe! You like my tattoos? Thanks! We can go and get one together! What is making you sleepy? Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of hormones, my friend! Why should abortion be legalized? Sit down, let’s chat!

I tell you I know a lot! Did you know heels were originally created for men? I need a whole day to go through everything I like to talk about, which is weird because I’m not very social.

You can be the judge of that!

#thecollectionsof #abimopectore9 #Thank you and love you

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meetmeinthefamilyvideo · 3 years

Text

Love is in the air

Bucky Barnes x afab!Reader

Summary: in which your body betrays you in an unfortunate moment with your partner and you have an honest conversation about your bodies.

Warnings: SMUT MINORS DNI, queefing, p in v sex, talk about vaginas, flatulence talk, mentions of not so nice partners?, insecurities about bodies, so much fluff it’s even disgusting.

Word count: 673 short and sweet!

Notes: if you didn’t know, queefing is when a vagina releases a “flatulence” when air is trapped inside. It is a common occurrence in penetrative sex since air comes in and out. It is a SUPER common occurrence and i wanted to write about it to try and normalize it a little bit.

It was at this moment, that you wish for a meeting to be called that tells you an intergalactic threat is coming to kill you all…

“Fuck doll, i missed filling your tight little hole so much”

Face pressed to the pillows, ass up and hitting Bucky’s thighs as he thrusted into you. Your fingers grip the covers and your ears were filled with a mix of both of your moans and skin slapping skin, the two of you were insatiable having not seen each other in a few weeks due to missions.

“Bucky, please don’t stop I’m so close!” You exclaim grinding back against him harder than before.

“Right there with ya, gorgeous, you can let go” he gripped your hips tighter.

You both reached your highs and that’s when it happened. Bucky slided out of you soliciting groans from the both of you because of the sensitivity, you went to move and…

*pfffftt*

You froze, that wasn’t a fart. It came out of your vagina. YOU QUEEFED IN FRONT OF YOUR BOYFRIEND.

You close your eyes and wish to be swiftly killed as to avoid the embarrassment that includes facing your boyfriend after completely ruining a very sexy moment.

Bucky made his way towards you and tried to get your attention. You didn’t even realize this because you were so consumed in your thoughts until you heard him calling your name and taking your face in his hands.

“Doll are you ok?” Your boyfriend inquired.

“Baby, talk to me!”

He saw how you were flustered and ashamed so he tried to make you comfortable. He offered to pass you a shirt and he put on his boxers again. You two sat for a minute in silence until you broke it.

“I’m sorry that happened, I’m really embarrassed” you told him with pain in your eyes.

“What, that you farted? That’s fine remember when that happened to me that one time while you were giving me a lap dance?” He asked.

“I queefed, that sound came out of my vagina” you explained and Bucky got really worried.

“What? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” he worriedly told you.

“No, no it happens when air gets trapped inside and they say it’s common during sex specially when it’s rough sex and it doesn’t hurt, but I didn’t know it would happen and I’m really sorry and…why are you smiling?” You were confused now, why isn’t he upset at you?

“You mean, this happened because I fucked you really really good? That’s freaking great I love queefs” he said proud of himself for no apparent reason.

“It doesn’t really work that way but fine, are you really not disgusted by me? Guys are usually pretty not into when that happens” you were reminded by your ex who would judge you for the smallest of things.

One time you queefed when with him and he demonized you for it until your relationship ended. Calling you nasty, implying you had something wrong with you and ultimately using it as an excuse for when you found out he had been cheating on you. The other girls weren’t dirty pigs like you.

“Oh baby, not at all. Your body reacted to something and it’s normal, besides if it means I’m a good sex-haver it’s awesome!” Still joking around to make you feel better about it, “If it’s not hurting your body then I don’t mind it at all baby, if anyone ever told you something about your body reacting naturally then they’re an idiot” he said tracing circles in your hand.

You hugged him and exchanged ‘I love you’s’ when he said,

“I’m not gonna lie it was pretty funny”

You punched him in the arm and started laughing uncontrollably. You both started recreating the sound it made and holding each other when you felt an air lifted around you, making you realize that a partner who loves you is someone who is there always, not only in the world-bending orgasms but also in the uncontrollable queefs.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #marvel characters #bucky barnes x avenger!reader #the avengers #marvel #body insecurity tw

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kjmsupremacist · 2 years

Text

baby, you’re my angel (chan/felix)

Mildly popular TikTok songwriter Felix meets Chan, famous on TikTok for his music and music reviews. They bond over their common ground, friendship blossoming easy and sweet. There’s two problems. One: Felix thinks he likes Chan more than just as friends. Two: Chan is almost fifteen years his senior.

Chapter 11 | prev next mlist

Characters: Felix, Chan, the rest of skz

Genre: college au, romance, fluff, smut, angst

Pairing: Chan/Felix

Warnings: swearing, age gap, daddy kink, riding, discussions of somnophilia

Rating: Explicit

Length: 3.5k

just a friendly reminder that i dont condone age gap in real life, this is just fiction, im just having fun, etc :) also ummm thank u all? for the love? it’s been so fun! i’ve left a longer note at the end, but for now, please enjoy!

“Good work today,” Changbin says, clapping Felix on the shoulder affectionately. “Get something delicious to eat tonight, alright?”

Felix nods. “Chan’s cooking for me,” he reassures him.

“I said something delicious,” Changbin deadpans, though his eyes are sparkling. “Tell that idiot hi for me, won’t you? He’s never in.”

“Tell him yourself,” Felix replies as they round the corner, pointing to the idiot in question, who’s waiting for Felix in the lobby, coat and keys in hand.

“Hyung!” Changbin exclaims, striding up to say hello.

Felix is just about two months into his new job. The summer is winding down, VidCon is next weekend, and Felix’s career is skyrocketing. He has an album in the works, has gained tens of thousands of followers on TikTok, and it’s only the beginning. Things are good.

He hears laughter floating down the hall and turns to see Jisung and Minho walking towards them. Minho’s taken Jisung under his wing the way Chan and Changbin have taken to Felix; Jisung jokes about “pulling a Chanlix” with Minho to Felix and their friends when they’re alone. Felix isn’t sure how much of it is actually a joke, but it’s certainly not his place to judge.

“Hey, superstar,” Jisung says when he spots Felix. “What’s up?”

“Ready for dinnertime,” Felix says as his stomach growls. “I got busy recording, didn’t eat lunch.”

Jisung smacks him. “Don’t tell me things like that if I can’t do anything about them! All it does is make me worry.”

“If I didn’t tell you, you’d hit me twice,” Felix points out.

“You have dinner plans, at least?” Jisung asks.

Felix jerks his chin toward Chan, who’s currently butting his forehead against one of Changbin’s shoulders and laughing. “That one is cooking for me,” he says. “We might film something, too; people say they don’t see enough of us these days. Obviously I can’t explain the album yet, and I’m running out of excuses, so…”

“I see,” Jisung says. “Good, then. Otherwise I’d drag you with me to join the others.”

Felix smiles. Hyunjin and Seungmin both recently got hired—Hyunjin as a production fellow at another label; Seungmin as a composer for yet another. They’re both hoping to pivot at some point—Hyunjin wants to pursue his dancing, and Seungmin wants to sing—but they’re happy right now. They, along with Jisung, share a pretty nice apartment in the city. They’re only a twenty-minute bus ride away from Felix’s place. It’s nice to have them all in the same city, and nicer still that they’re close enough to their alma mater that they can visit Jeongin when school starts up again in a month or so.

“I shouldn’t keep Felix waiting for his dinner,” Felix hears Changbin say. He turns, and sees Changbin grinning at him, hands in his pockets. “Go on. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Good night!” Felix replies, bowing as he walks past them, back towards his office.

“Hey, Lix,” Chan says quietly, offering Felix a fond smile before raising his head to address Minho and Jisung. “You guys headed out? Let’s walk together.”

“Changbin’s not working you too hard, is he?” Minho asks Felix as they all walk out the front doors.

“Nah,” Felix says, shaking his head. “If anything, it’s me who’s pushing. I’m so excited to get this album done and out in the world.”

Minho smiles. “Nothing like the work ethic of a recent graduate, with everything to prove and everything to lose, hm?” he says. “Remember when we were like that, Chan?”

Chan laughs. “You’re still like that,” he points out. “You’re just less sunshine-and-rainbows about it now. You still work yourself to the bone.”

“So do you,” Minho points out. “It’s why we’re both still single.”

Chan turns, giving him a breezy smile. “Well, I won’t sacrifice my work for a relationship. My ideal partner is someone who likes my work just like I do.”

“Yeah,” Minho says. “We’re both gonna die alone.”

Jisung pinches Felix’s wrist, and Felix presses his lips together so he doesn’t laugh.

They say their goodnights, waving as they go their separate ways, and Felix slides into the passenger seat of Chan’s car. Chan shuts his door, and suddenly Felix’s world is very quiet.

“Hi,” Felix says softly.

Chan smiles at him. “Hi,” he replies. “How’s your week been?”

“Busy,” Felix says. “But good-busy. Missed you, though.”

“Missed you, too,” Chan says. He starts the car, stretches his arm behind Felix’s headrest to turn and look out the back so he can get out of the spot. “But we have all weekend.”

“Mm,” Felix agrees, leaning back and relaxing into the seat as Chan pulls out of the parking lot.

“I was thinking jjajangmyeon for dinner?” Chan suggests. “It’s easy, and yummy.”

“Works for me,” Felix says, nodding. “Out of the packet, right? Because if you try and tell me jjajangmyeon from scratch is easy, I’ll—”

Chan laughs, bright and loud and happy. “No, definitely out of the packet.”

They’re going to Felix’s today, which means the drive is a little longer, though not by much. While Felix’s building certainly doesn’t have a locked garage like Chan’s does, it has a parking lot with plenty of guest spaces, so Chan pulls into one of those, and they head inside together and up the slightly rickety elevator to Felix’s floor.

Chan’s only been over a handful of times, but he already knows the place like it’s his own. He knows better than Felix where the prepackaged noodles are (third shelf in the pantry); he knows where the missing pot lid got off to (mixed in the with the plates); he knows which one of Felix’s burners requires a match to help it light (back left, so he doesn’t use it).

Felix putters along behind him, cleaning as he goes, handing off utensils and clearing counter space. It’s easy and natural, almost domestic. They’ve done it a hundred times before; with any luck, they’ll do it a hundred-thousand times more.

“It’s funny,” Felix says quietly when the noodles are bubbling. “This time last year you were still living in Seoul. You were only visiting Australia. This time last year you’d only just reviewed my work.”

Chan smiles at him. “And now, here we are.”

“Here we are,” Felix says, nodding. “Do you,” he ventures. “Do you think you’ll go back? To Korea?”

“Oh, I’m sure I will, eventually,” Chan says. “I’d like to. I miss it. But…” He turns his head, looks out the window. “I dunno, definitely not yet. I like my life here.” He pauses, turning back. When his gaze falls on Felix, the love there is almost unbearable. “There are a lot of things that I like about my life here.”

Felix feels like he’s glowing. “I love you,” he says, just above a whisper.

Chan pushes himself off the counter and across the space between them, sticking his face in Felix’s face, grinning. “I love you too, baby,” he replies, punctuating it with a sound kiss. They hear fizzing and Chan makes a noise of distress, setting Felix aside. “No! No boiling over.”

Felix watches Chan fight their noodles, laughing.

After dinner, they start to do the dishes but quickly get distracted. If Chan complains later, Felix is blaming it all on him, and he’s serious about that—Chan was the one who started it, after all, giving Felix a kiss every time he handed him a dish. It’s not his fault, Felix thinks as he’s carried off to his bedroom in Chan’s arms, that the dishwashing stopped and kissing kept going.

His back hits the bed and the suddenness of it forces trapped giggles out of Felix’s lungs. Chan’s laughing too when he kisses him, too much teeth because he can’t stop smiling but Felix doesn’t care. He’s in love—this is love, like he always wanted, like he always imagined, like he worried he would never have.

Chan kisses down his neck, making a small frustrated noise when he hits the collar of Felix’s shirt. “Get undressed,” he says, pulling back and unbuttoning his own shirt. Felix struggles to obey, wriggling out of his shorts and waiting for Chan to pull them the rest of the way off.

And because Chan knows Felix’s place like it’s his own, he knows better than Felix where he keeps the lube (second drawer of his bedside table). He pops the cap and spreads a layer across his fingers, bending down to kiss Felix as he does it. It’s only been a couple of days since they last fucked, but they were long days, hard days, days spent alone and buried in work. Felix knows Chan will want to take his time tonight. He doesn’t mind.

“Chan,” Felix says when Chan pulls away, sits back to spread Felix and circle a finger around his hole.

“Yes, baby,” Chan says, the question more implied than it is spoken. He pauses, fingertip at his entrance.

Felix shakes his head. “Nothing,” he says, smiling. “I’m just—happy, that’s all.” It’s like a revelation, the joy and the naming of the joy. Like he’s cementing it, like he’s caught it now after what feels like years of chasing, and can finally hold it up to the light.

“That can go on the list of absolutely ridiculous things to say right before your boyfriend starts fingerfucking you, but okay,” Chan says, rolling his eyes fondly. He doesn’t wait for a rebuttal, just pushes his finger in, and if Felix had one for him to begin with, he certainly doesn’t remember it now. Besides, what’s more important is that Chan called himself Felix’s boyfriend, which is true and something they’ve discussed, but not something they often have purpose to say out loud.

It feels good to hear, after all this time.

Chan opens him up slow and gentle, pressing against his walls to stretch him, laying kisses down on the seat of his belly like miniature confessions to keep his mind busy. The light snaking in around the shitty curtains turns golden, then orange, and then suddenly dim and blue. The room glows with the promise of night, and Felix trembles under Chan’s lips and hands, skin slipping against the smooth sheets.

“Think you’re ready?” Chan asks at length, pumping four fingers in and out with ease, smearing the insides of Felix’s thighs with lube.

“Yes,” Felix says, too in it to even think about giving him attitude, eyes too full of stars.

Chan must know; he smiles lazily, pulling his fingers out and wiping them on a discarded shirt. “Sit up, then,” he says. “I want you in my lap, I want you close.”

Felix likes the sound of that. He rolls onto his side, pushing himself up with heavy limbs as Chan crawls up the bed and settles against the pillow, one hand around his cock, tugging slowly to spread the lube. Not, Felix thinks, that he needs it.

He clambers onto Chan’s lap, clutching his shoulders as he balances his knees on either side of Chan’s hips, and then sinks down, Chan guiding his cock into Felix’s body as he goes. Felix gasps, leaning in and mouthing over Chan’s neck, his pulse point, his Adam’s apple, to try and muffle the little whimpers that always seem to come out when he feels Chan’s cock for the first time, filling him up with a familiar, dull ache.

Chan’s hand is on the base of his skull, supporting his head. “Okay, angel?”

“Yeah,” Felix breathes. “Just so good. You can move, daddy, please move.”

Chan rolls his hips up in response, and Felix hiccups out a moan. “God, you feel good,” Chan sighs, his other hand pressing against the small of Felix’ back, pulling him into his chest. Felix rests his cheek on Chan’s shoulders, letting out soft moans at every little movement, happy to melt into Chan’s touch. “Comfy?” Chan asks.

“Mm-hm,” Felix says, “could fall asleep like this, and if I did I hope you know you’d better keep fucking me,” he adds, and Chan laughs.

“Think you could come in your sleep?” he asks.

“I could,” Felix says, “if it were you fucking me.”

“Of course it would be me, silly,” Chan says. “Who else is here?”

Felix just hums, too lost in pleasure to try and come up with a clever response. He presses his lips to the junction of Chan’s shoulder and his neck, flicking his tongue out just to get a taste of him. Chan rocks his hips up into Felix’s body, cock up against Felix’s prostate, until the arousal is all Felix can feel, until there isn’t room for anything else.

The hand on the back of Felix’s head disappears; a few seconds later, he feels the pads of Chan’s fingers digging into his ass. Felix moans weakly, trying to move his hips in time with Chan’s, trying to give back. Chan squeezes his hand, and Felix falls limp again. He feels so thoroughly owned by Chan. He doesn’t need to give him anything else. He’s already given Chan everything. And he knows he’ll keep doing it, keeping giving himself away to him, offering himself up as Chan’s prize for winning his heart. That part of this has always remained the same, Felix thinks, since the beginning.

“Baby,” Chan says softly. He’s got his head tilted towards Felix; he can feel his breath on his cheek.

Felix looks up, raising his head, and Chan ducks his head, catching Felix’s lips and kissing him. Felix sighs, sitting up a little taller, crossing his arms behind Chan’s head, biceps resting on top of his shoulders, wrists hanging loose. He kisses back, leaning in, daring Chan to reclaim the space he’s taking, daring Chan to claim him.

Chan juts his chin out, nipping at Felix’s lips, sinking his front teeth into the bottom one until it throbs. Felix almost hopes he bleeds—it’s the weekend, after all. He’ll have time to heal before he has to go make appearances. So he only whines, grinding down on Chan, bracing a hand against his sternum.

Chan breaks the kiss so he can use his mouth on Felix’s nipples instead. Felix gives an embarrassingly high-pitched moan, hands flying to Chan’s hair, arching his back so he can push his chest forward, wordlessly begging for more. Chan flicks his tongue back and forth, a wordless answer, yes.

He keeps at this until Felix is trembling and his nipples are red and puffy and slick with Chan’s spit. Chan relents, rewarding Felix with a kiss to the tip of his nose before relaxing back against the headboard and refocusing his attention on fucking Felix instead. Felix presses his nose to Chan’s cheek, leaving little kisses along his jaw.

“You know what?” Chan says breathlessly.

“What?” Felix asks blearily.

“I was making fun earlier, but I didn’t really mean it,” Chan says. “I mean, I get it. I’m happy, too.”

Felix laughs weakly, the noise punched out of him by the next thrust. “What an absolutely ridiculous thing to say,” he murmurs, and Chan laughs, too.

“I always like it when you cry,” Chan says. “But I like it when you’re laughing, too.”

Felix stutters over giggles. “I don’t know how I feel,” he says. “I feel like I’m gonna fall apart.”

“So fall apart,” Chan says. “I’ll catch you.”

“Ridiculous,” Felix repeats, but then Chan reaches between their bodies and takes hold of Felix’s cock, pumping his hand in time with the rocking of his hips, and Felix’s mouth locks open. He moans with each exhale, overcome with pleasure, with the building orgasm that seems to simmer just beneath his skin, waiting.

Chan closes his mouth over the hollow of Felix’s throat, and it breaks. Felix convulses, clenching down on Chan’s cock as he comes in sticky ribbons of white across their chests, cursing softly with the little breath that he has.

“So good,” Chan says, “just like that, baby, gonna make me—” He moans low and deep in his chest, hips slowing to a stop. Felix feels the pulse of his cock, feels the wet heat flood him. He drops his sweaty forehead against Chan’s sturdy shoulder and closes his eyes.

He must drop off briefly, because when he opens his eyes he’s standing, propped up against Chan’s side in his bathroom, water already running. He feels come drying on his leg—probably Chan’s, but who really knows, and his lips twitch in the attempt at a smile.

“Just a quick rinse,” Chan coaxes. “The sheets are even clean. Just a quick rinse, and then we can sleep.”

Felix lets Chan manhandle him, pliant as ever, stumbling through his shower and then back out to his bedroom. Chan tosses him a t-shirt that he barely manages to struggle into, and then they both collapse on the bed, pulling the blankets up around them with clumsy fingers. Felix slots himself against Chan, resting his hand on his chest so he can feel his heartbeat, feel the rise and fall of his breath.

“Hey,” Chan says after a few moments of peaceful silence have passed between them. “Hey, look at me.”

Felix cranes his neck up, unwilling to actually sit up properly. “Yeah?”

“You changed my life,” Chan says. “I’m serious, you did. And—I dunno, I think the change would’ve come eventually, with or without you, but I… I’m glad it was you.” He brushes some hair off of Felix’s forehead. “I’m glad.”

Felix smiles at him. “I’m glad it was me, too,” he says.

“Yeah,” Chan says. “And—it’s not like I spent all that time looking for someone to fill the hole that Sana left behind.” Felix goes still, listening intently. It’s not like it’s a taboo subject between them, but it’s sad, so they rarely talk about it. About her. “I have to fill that hole myself, or at least make my peace with it. I’m not saying I thought you’d be able to do it for me.

“But I am saying it’s been easier, with you here. And I know I’ve said that before, but I just—I want you to know that I mean it.” Chan pauses, eyes thoughtful. “Or maybe what I’m trying to say is I’d like it if you stayed. With me.” He hesitates, maybe trying to gauge Felix’s reaction. “Because I don’t think I’m going to want anything else anytime soon.”

“Oh,” Felix says in a very small voice. He wants to say so many things, he doesn’t even know where to begin. He just knows that his heart is so full, and that he’s so in love. “I’m not going anywhere,” he manages. “Uh, you know—you know when you were talking about dating, and you said it was scary being over thirty, because everybody wanted a ring? And that it was nice with me, because there wasn’t that kind of expectation?”

“Yes,” Chan says slowly. “That was before—everything, before everything happened, you know.”

Felix’s breath catches in his throat. “Yeah,” he says. “That’s the thing. What if—what if I’m just as scary?”

A beat, and then Chan laughs, wrapping his arms around Felix and holding him close. “Alright, cool it, Quicksilver,” he says. “We have time, we can slow it down. And listen, we’ll talk about it later. We will. Right now, though, we need to worry about telling people about us—we need to tell your parents before we even start thinking about anything else.”

“Yeah, I know,” Felix says, wriggling an arm free so he can grab Chan’s left hand and bring it to his mouth. He kisses his palm; the hollow, flat center. “I’m just saying.” He kisses the hard bone of the heel of his hand, then the row of calluses along the top. “I’m just saying,” he repeats, kissing the spot at the base of Chan’s fourth finger where a ring would sit, “things are different now. And I’m fine with that, as long as you are.”

Chan laughs again, this time deep in his chest, quiet and content. “I am, you know I am,” he says. “We’ll just figure it out as we go, yeah? We’ve done okay for ourselves so far by doing that. If it ain’t broke, you know.”

Felix closes his eyes, humming his agreement. Yes, they’ll have to tell people eventually if they want this to last—and Felix wants it to last. He knows it won’t be easy, but he also knows it’s okay. It’s something they’ll face together, and that makes it bearable. And in a way, he’s excited. He doesn’t want to hide it, hide how much he loves Chan, how happy this makes him. He’s excited to show him off to the rest of the world, excited for what’s in store for them.

But for now, they’ll focus their attention on the little things. They’ll go to VidCon, enjoy the free perks that come along with it, get ready for Felix’s album release. For now, they’ll pretend to be friends, just friends. For now, they still have their little world of peace, where it’s just the two of them.

And Felix is okay with keeping it that way for a little while longer.

hi everybody! Ummmm this is kind of wack? I can’t believe we’re done? I feel like I just started writing this, but also I feel like I started writing it forever ago. Thank you all for your kindness and your support, your patience and your forgiveness (lol). I’ve had an absolute blast with this story, and I’ve enjoyed reading your comments and watching all of you fall in love with this chanlix :’).

I will be back soon with more stray kids content (and eventually more chanlix, because I love them so)! In the meantime, keep an eye on my Tumblr; I should be opening up my requests again in a couple of months, at which point you can get me to write more of whatever you want ((within the bounds of my rules ofc!)), so do stop by!

For now though, thank you again, and I hope you’ll stick with me. I don’t intend on quitting writing and ficdom anytime soon :) I have a lot more in store!

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seaside-writings · 2 years

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Hey, all you lovely and wonderful people!

Once again this is just a simple little prompt list that is made up of old sayings that I thought would be fun to write stories around or to add into stories.

I also really just wanted to post one more prompt list before February ended!

So please enjoy these prompts, and if any of you use them please tag/credit me so I can see what you all came up with!

I hope you all stay blessed and safe throughout your day.

Lots of Love & Wishes: Celia 💙

Prompts:

"A stitch in time saves nine." - "The pot calling the kettle black." - "Not my circus, not my monkeys." - "There is no cow on the ice." - "A rising tide lifts all boats." - "You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." - "Pretty is as pretty does." - "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." - "You're a day late and a dollar short." - "There's no use crying over spilled milk." - "Fortune favors the brave." - "Strike while the irons hot." - "Share and share alike." - "The apple never falls far from the tree." - "As I live and breathe." - "You're preaching to the choir." - "Any job worth doing is worth doing well." - "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." - "Every dog has his day." - "If it had been a snake, it would have bitten you." - "Hurry up, we're burning daylight." - "Many hands make light work." - "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched." - "A rolling stone gathers no moss." - "You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." - "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." - "Don't judge a book by its cover." - "A watched pot never boils." - "Too many cooks spoil the gravy." - "The early bird catches the worm." - "Don't put the cart before the horse." - "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." - "A penny saved is a penny earned." - "Absence makes the heart grow founder." - "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." - "Make hay while the sun shines." - "There's no accounting for taste." - "Beggars can't be choosers." - "Don't take any wooden nickels." - "Birds of a feather flock together." - "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." - "A trouble shared is a trouble halved." - "Home is where the heart is." - "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." - "This isn't my first rodeo." - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." - "More than you can shake a stick at." - "There's more than one way to skin a cat." - "It doesn't amount to a hill of beans." - "Where's there's a will, there's a way." - "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." - "You're the cat's meow." - "Don't buy a pig in a poke." - "You're making a mountain out of a molehill." - "It doesn't cut the mustard." - "I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck." - "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." - "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." - "It was like herding cats." - "One man's trash is another man's treasure." - "Early to bed and early rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise." - "You're the bee's knees." - "You should know a man seven years before you stir his fire." - "Take it with a grain of salt." - "Common sense is not so common." - "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." - "Old keys won't open new doors." - "You get what you give." - "You reap what you sow." - "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." - "Kill them with kindness."

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ddarker-dreams · 3 years

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Yan Childe, Diluc, Kaeya, Zhongli, Beidou & Ningguang / Courting Darling.

Warnings: Stalking, implied blackmail, kidnapping, and gaslighting. Note: this is a bit of an amalgamation from different asks i’ve gotten, put into one thing bc i thirst for these six characters so hard .

Childe:

“What’s life without a little adventure? You can stand to miss work for a day or two, it’ll still be there waiting for you when we get back. People have even gone so far as to say I’m an absolute joy to be around. You want to know who said that? Sorry, that source is staying a secret.”

Childe is an erratic whirlwind of highs and lows. You never know what to expect from him, and he likes it that way, always keeping you on your toes. He doesn’t bother with having his friendliness appear genuine. If you want to doubt his goodwill, then so be it, he won’t stop you. It just makes it all the more interesting to keep you around should you be wary of his presence.

He doesn’t care for the traditional conventions surrounding romance. It isn’t his thing, and he’s used to being considered the odd one out of every crowd, so why stop now? Childe doesn’t tone down any aspects of his bloodthirsty personality in your presence. It’s difficult to tell how serious he’s being since most of it takes the form of jokes or other lighthearted jests. In his mind, the fact he’s even spending so much time with you should make it obvious he’s interested. Whether that’s good or not.

You’re going to be dragged all over the place. Childe’s stamina is seemingly an infinite well, as he takes you from activity to activity. By the end of the day, you’ll be exhausted. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take no for an answer, weaseling his way into your schedule despite your protests. Childe is particularly fond of getting into situations where a fight is inevitable, purposefully taking you to areas with monsters to show off his combat prowess.

“Did you get a look at that, [First]? Aha, I haven’t had this much fun in ages! You already want to head back? Hm, I don’t know, the night is still young. Stop dragging your feet or I might just have to carry you. Not that I’m complaining, should that be the outcome. It’s up to you. Oh! Now that’s the spirit! I’ll try not to be hurt by how fast you’re moving now.”

Diluc:

“Ah, [First], I take it you’re doing well. I couldn’t help but notice you eyeing this book at the market earlier. I’ve had a copy of it for ages, but with how busy things are, rarely do I have time to read. I’d be appreciative should you accept this and give it a better home.”

Diluc is self-assured in many areas of his life, romance is not one of them. He knows how to carry himself in the company of businessmen, staying polite and vigilant, but this rigid method doesn’t work in his favor when it comes to wooing you. To soften the blow on his side, Diluc tells himself that it was never about a relationship anyway. That his main priority was and will always be to ensure your safety. He tells himself this, but... isn’t sure if he really believes it.

He’s a perfect example of pining from afar. Subconsciously, he’ll drift towards areas you tend to linger around, hoping to spot you amidst the bustling crowds. Each time he tells himself that this’ll finally be the time he approaches you. The opportunity is set before him, waiting to be taken advantage of, but he rarely follows through with his desire.

It frustrates Diluc to no end how easily others flock to you. He’ll stand there, still as a statue, eyes boring into whatever pest currently holds your attention. This would be the push to finally send him your way. It’s a surprise to you both when Mondstadt’s wine tycoon materializes by your side, politely asking to speak in private. Truth be told, he just can’t stand the thought of another person holding your attention that isn’t him.

“I apologize for my abruptness back there. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about for some time, and well... would you consider having dinner with me tonight? I’d appreciate your company.”

Kaeya:

“It’s a funny thing, really. How we keep bumping into one another like this. Ah... that suspicious expression, it wounds me deep, sweetheart. When did you start looking at me like that, I wonder?”

There’s no doubting Kaeya’s interest in you, from the first time he sauntered over to you and started a conversation. The problem you have is deciding how genuine his advances are. While Kaeya might not be the textbook definition of a heart-wrenching playboy, you’re familiar enough with the many rumors surrounding him to be wary. It doesn’t help that he’ll point this out to you when guessing the source of your apprehension.

His methods are, oddly enough, effective. Kaeya balances the various aspects of seduction with ease. He reveals just enough about himself to draw out your attention, before focusing the conversation back onto you. You’ll never get to stop and realize how little you know about the man sitting in front of you, he makes certain of that.

Kaeya might hide certain aspects of himself, but his dubious morality is never concealed. He has you entirely wrapped around his finger, words validating his actions falling from his lips with the utmost ease; he’s a force to be reckoned with. You’ll start a conversation heated about something you’ve learned, only for it to end wondering why you were ever upset in the first place.

“Now, now, there’s no need to get all riled up over something like this. Don’t you trust me by now? When have I ever given you reason to doubt me? You need to take a look at the bigger picture. Hey, take a seat. I’ll sit here all night explaining to you if it’s necessary.”

→[More underneath the cut].

Zhongli:

“There must be something that I can assist you with. It may not look it, but I’m familiar with many fields of work, even obscure ones. Please allow me to lend a hand.”

Zhongli, despite having been around for many centuries, is somewhat clueless in romantic pursuits. He’s aware of his fondness for you, but doesn’t know what to do with it. This leads him to becoming your shadow for some time. He focuses on what he knows best: observation and processing new information. Your every little movement will be analyzed and tuck into the back of his mind for later usage.

Zhongli’s soft over the idea of you coming to rely on him for everything. He prides himself on his wealth of knowledge and work ethic, believing it a strong appeal, one that he puts on full display when you’re around. It’s not rare for you to overhear neighbors and friends speak highly about Zhongli. They’ll mention in passing how they were having difficulty with something, only for Zhongli to come around and help without asking for anything in return.

This is exactly what he’s been hoping and waiting for. Zhongli has patience and sets himself up to be a desirable partner in your eyes, the efforts from his labor coming into fruition. Before you even speak to him for the first time, you’re likely to think highly of him, having heard all the ways he’s helped people close to you. Now that the stage is properly set, he’s ready to make his interest in you more evident.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, [First]. Oh? You can say the same for me? Well, I hope I can live up to your expectations. I had just been on my way to Yanshang Teahouse, would you care to join me? My treat, of course.”

Beidou:

“You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a voyage with my crew and I. I’ll set up a nice cabin just for you, how does that sound? Hm? Special treatment? Don’t worry your pretty little head about that, lass.”

Beidou’s attention is overwhelming and oftentimes dangerous. Traditional social conventions are nothing but a waste of time for her, meaning that common courtesy is disregarded in favor of always speaking her mind. Which might not be so bad if she wasn’t so amorous. Even the most oblivious person couldn’t miss Beidou’s overt favor towards you.

This reverent display of affection is only exacerbated when she’s drunk, face flushed and an arm swung tightly around your shoulder. She doesn’t care who sees, who’s judging, or what gossip will be born from her actions. Beidou makes a point of showing everyone in the vicinity that even if you aren’t officially partners yet, a claim has been staked on you.

Whether it be coercion or some other unsightly method, Beidou is intent on bringing you on her ship at least once. Or that’s how she initially phrased it to you. Imagine your surprise, that when you finally caved so she’d drop the subject, her crew was untying the ropes keeping the boat at port.

“The fun’s just getting started, you haven’t seen anything yet. Don’t get all teary-eyed yet, sweetheart, I know you’ll come around. This’ll be a story sung by sailors for generations to come.”

Ningguang:

“If I’m being honest, not many are given the opportunity to speak to me outside of business-related ventures. I never thought I’d find it this... pleasant. I hope you’ll continue to entertain me as you do now.”

Ningguang starts off her wooing in a subtle, almost coquettish manner. She is confident in her charm and brilliance. Not many have been gifted in the art of conversation to the same extent Ningguang has, her silver tongue paired with quick intellect making it difficult for you to escape. She’ll corner you verbally without you even noticing it.

Ningguang finds amusement in how you stumble over your words, pure of heart and not chained down by special interests. Your forthright but considerate demeanor intoxicates her. She’s used to people cowering in her presence or trying too hard to pursue their goals. You might even earn a rare compliment or two, disguised as politeness, that doesn’t register for hours.

She is a lady of fine taste. The sky’s the limit when it comes to her wealth, which is unrivaled throughout Tevyat, and you’ll be quick to notice this. Ningguang is most partial to sending you traditional Liyue adornments, believing the rich culture behind each piece suits your beauty. She’s also fond of the fact that when you wear her gifts, everyone in the vicinity will know it’s from her, due to its extraordinarily high cost.

“Do you like my latest gift, little dove? It was made custom with you in mind, an unrivaled display of craftmanship, if I may add. Wear this and carry me with you... always.”

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greenshirtimagines · 3 years

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Todoroki with an S/o who gets hit by a truth quirk

A/n: Short, poorly written hcs that I tried to make have a cute ending.

“Ugh… what happened?”

After being attacked so many times in the short span of under a year, you were pretty good at sensing danger

But walking past an elementary school with the love of your life was not where you had sensed it

Big mistake

Cute little 5 year olds running around and losing control of their quirks was common, and even if you were hit with a quirk you had gotten used to that too

But you’d never been hit with a truth quirk

“You don’t remember, (Y/n)? You were hit with a truth quirk.”

“Oh no, that’s bad.”

“Why is it bad? Have you been lying about something?”

“No it’s just that I have many feelings that I like to keep hidden because they’re not very nice or just better kept unsaid and now I’m afraid I’ll upset someone or embarass myself.”

“I’m sure you’ll be alright, love. Recovery Girl said that the effects of the quirk shouldn’t last more than 24 hours.”

“TWENTY-FOURS HOURS?! THAT’S TERRIBLE! THAT MEANS I’LL BE UNDER THE EFFECT OF THE QUIRK TOMORROW TOO! I’LL DEFINITELY SAY SOMETHING BAD!

And you did

In fact, you said many bad things

“SHUT UP BAKUGOU YOU’RE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ANNOYING BRAT WITH CRIPPLING INSECURITY!”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I’LL KILL YOU!”

“Bakugou, please understand that (Y/n) is under the effect of a Quirk-”

“I DON’T CARE!

“MIDORIYA-KUN IS WAY BETTER THAN YOU!”

“DON’T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO THAT LOSER! YOU WANNA FIGHT MEEEEEEE?! I’LL DESTROY YOU!!”

“MINETA EVERYONE HATES YOU AND I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU’RE STILL HERE!”

*cue sobbing*

“Uraraka-chaaaaaaan! I think you and Midoriya-kun should just kiss already!”

“W-WHAT”

“Aizawa-sensei, you look like a hobo!”

“I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS CLASS EXCEPT BAKUGOU AND MINETA!”

Todoroki tried his best to remind everyone that it was just the effect of the quirk, and protect you from Bakugou’s wrath, but it didn’t stop anyone from getting worked up.

The second class was over, you all but sprinted to your dorm room and locked it, not wanting to see anyone out of shame and embarrassment.

“(Y/n), please let me in,” Todoroki said, softly knocking at your door. “I know you must be embarrassed about earlier but everyone knows you were under the effect of the quirk.”

“I’m still under it, Shouto. Just come back when it wears off. I don’t want to embarrass myself, least of all in front of you.”

“You know I won’t judge you, love. I don’t care about anything you might say, I just care about helping you.”

You slowly opened the door.

“You’re so perfect. I just wanna marry you sometimes.”

Oh come on

You were about to shut the door again, before he stopped you.

“Um, thank you, darling. But I think we should wait. First we should make sure that we get our careers as heroes stabilized.”

“Wait, what?” You said, looking at him confused. “Does that mean you want to marry me?”

“Yes,” he said. “I want to spend my future with you. Isn’t that what people who love each other do?”

#todoroki x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #bnha x reader #mha x reader #boku no hero academia x reader #my hero academia x reader #shouto x reader #todoroki x reader fluff

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bigboomboi · 3 years

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Kindered Sparks

This is my entry for @gg9183’s soulmate collab - Oof, I was almost late for your birthday ( I know that I'm technically no where near late, but I put this out so much later than I would've rathered. Sorry, I'm a Virgo, mate.) Anyhoo! Happy Birthday! And congratulations on your amazing Milestone! Thank you for organizing this collab too and allowing me to be apart of it! Honestly, I love soulmate pieces so much, so I was so excited seeing this prompt (I'm excited to read the others as well!) My friend helped me put together an idea for a SM connection and I really enjoyed writing it, hope you do as well :) Happy reading!

Fem!reader x Denki Kaminari

Soulmates au; People are born with a dream realm connecting them to their Soulmate. Warning; harsh language, Hurt/comfort, pretty fluffy, cursing. Implied readerxfemale relationship. BakuKiri relationship (I got bullied last time I didn't say that was a pairing, so, just being safe)

Word count; 4.6K

“Another lonely night in this stupid world.” Y/N grumbled staring up at her dreamy night sky.

A sky she was supposed to share with someone else.

In this wonderful, bittersweet world, you were tied to another person. Destiny decided from day one of your birth who you’d be with for the rest of your life and then set you in a special plane of existence only accessible when you fell asleep, once you turned the ripe age of fifteen. The kindred-plane.

A place specially made for you and your soulmate to meet each night when you fall asleep. It was a place to get to know each other without the prying eyes of all those around. A shared dream land you could even decorate and make your own. It was your partner’s and your safe space.

It was a place you guys could explore together, where your imaginations combined like an amazing world of minecraft. Some people made completely different lives in their heads at night. Others used it to see their long distance lovers. Hell, there was a blog story sharing what sounded like a whole scripted tv show where a woman’s soulmate had set off to save her from an uncompromising kingdom.

Sadly though, your shared safe space could be destroyed in a matter of moments. It wasn’t unheard of for your soulmate to reject destiny’s plan and divide your dreams. You could absolutely reject your soulmate and quite literally lock them out of your dreams. All presence of them would disappear from your dreams within a few nights, sometimes even faster, and you’d be left alone with only your creations.

Of course, being divided from your soulmate hurt. But something hurt much worse.

Your soulmate being unintentionally stolen from you. A divide where you lose your soulmate despite neither saying they’d like to divide. A situation where your soulmate dies.

Y/N sighed at the reminiscent of her once was soulmate. So sweet and kind, someone Y/N fully imagined meeting one day in the daylight. Yet, now at the sad age of seventeen, Y/N had no dreams of ever seeing her soulmate ever again.

She only had the one year of memories they made…

“Class, This Y/N. She will be joining our class for her final year of hero training, treat her well.” Aizawa introduced her to the class of 3-A.

“Thank you, Sensei” Y/N bowed slightly. “Nice to meet you all.”

Not even a moment of silence was granted before the class erupted in questions. Half about her quirk, the other half about where she was from. A few off hand questions about why she transferred. All a mess.

“Enough!” Aizawa shouted, hushing the entire class. “You all can get to know her later, on your own terms. For now, Y/N please take your seat.”

Y/N nodded and scurried back to the only free seat in the back. Between a pretty pinkette and sweet looking round faced brunette. Before she was even seated, Aizawa began his lesson.

Y/N quietly sat through the classes of her day, ignoring the judging looks aimed her way, as the new girl. She could hear the quiet whispers going around, speculating what type of person she was and tried to ignore those as well. She was well aware of the fact that she appeared very off-standish.

Dark eye bags, complete resting bitch face that quite literally screamed ‘I will stab you with a pencil if you speak to me’, earbuds tucked into each ear and a hunched over form that could rival Quasimodo. Thankfully, the aura she set into place actually warded off her new classmates for several days.

Up until a week later in the common room where her bubble was invaded.

She didn’t look up at the person sitting next to her and subtly tried to turn up her music. She felt the presence of several others join her and they all stared at her silently until finally, the pinkette she sat next to on her first day, plucked her book from her hands. Y/N slowly looked up at her dully and raised an eyebrow.

She reached out for her book, but the girl pulled it back out of her reach. She tried again, reaching forwards further, but the book was yoinked by a strip of tape, pulling it across the coffee table. Gritting her teeth slightly, Y/N stood up to reach across the table and the music in her ears paused.

The girl had unplugged her headphones.

“You just have no regard for personal belongings of others, hm?” Y/N sighed, sitting down.

“We just want to get to know our new classmate!” The pink girl grinned. “I’m Mina!”

“Hi, Mina. Now give me back my shit.” Y/N tried to grab her phone, only for someone behind her to tug her ear buds away. “Seriously?”

“We’ll give you back your things if you let us get to know you.” Mina smiled.

“Or, you could just give it back.” Y/N tried to grab her earbuds from the bright blonde behind her.

“Nope.’ He said, a grin on his face as well. “I’m Kaminari Denki, nice to meet ya, beautiful.”

Y/N sighed and rolled her eyes. “Or, I could just take my stuff back.”

“You could but there’s five of us and one of you, good luck.” A bitch faced blonde mumbled, flipping through her book.

“Fine. Here’s one thing about me.” Suddenly she appeared behind the bitch blonde and snatched her book. Another one of her appeared behind the one who taped her book away and grabbed her book mark. Two other Y/N’s came into existence on opposite sides of her seating couch to grab her phone and ear buds. All while the original Y/N sat in her place. “Don’t touch my things.”

“Woah, you can make multiple you’s!” The redhead gasped excitedly. “That’s so manly!”

“That’s so cool! They feel so real!” Kaminari said, poking the side of the one near him. It yelped and swatted his hand.

“They are real! Don’t poke me, I’m ticklish!” Y/N snapped, rubbing her side.

“Woah, can you feel this?’ The tape one reached out to pinch the clone’s arm.

Y/N’s other clone smacked him with her book. “Yes, I can feel that! Ow!”

“So your quirk is duplicating yourself? Boring…” Bitch face rolled his eyes, another Y/N appeared behind him and swatted the back of his head.

“My quirk is omni-replication. I can create continuous versions of myself and others. But they can act on their own.” Y/N sighed, bringing herself her book.

“Woah, make another me!” Kaminari grabbed her arm.

“G-Get off of me!” Y/N shoved him away, ignoring the literal spark between them. “I can’t make one of you now!”

“But you just said-.” Mina tried.

“I have to know your ins and outs. Otherwise I’d just make a weird melty blob of you.” Y/N sighed. “I need to know more about you guys before I can make you. I need to know you, how you fight, how your quirk works, I need to know how to play the game before I can participate.”

“So, what I’m hearing is…” Mina smirked. “You need to get to know us to succeed.”

“Oh god…” Y/N groaned. “I have no choice in this do I?”

“We have a specialty of making friends with people that don’t want to be friends.” The red head threw his arm over bitch face’s shoulder.

And thus a new friendship was born.

“Bakugo, why do you keep moving my pillow in our dreams, it’s so not manly.” Kirishima whined.

“Neither is the massive rock sitting in the middle of nowhere, dude.” Bakugo argued.

“It’s not just a rock.” Kirishima mock sniffled. “It’s a boulder.”

Y/N snickered at the reference that earned the kind redhead a smack to the back of his head. “Are you delivering pizza on it?”

“Yes!” Kiri grinned.

“No! Don’t encourage him!” Bakugo shouted.

“Aye, don’t shout at me. Your boyfriend is a literal rock, he’s encouraging himself.” Y/N laughed, throwing a fry at him.

“Oh yeah, what trash has your soulmate cluttered in your dream world?” Bakugo argued back.

Y/N’s laughter silenced and immediately her lips curled into a scowl. A light switched on and they remembered the one rule they had set in place. No one talks about Y/N’s soulmate. Or lack thereof.

“Bakugo!” Mina snapped.

“Shit, I didn’t-.” Y/N didn’t give him the time to apologize and stood up from the lunch table.

“Wait, no, Y/N! He didn’t mean to!” Kaminari grabbed her arm.

She flicked him in the forehead and pulled away. “No, it’s fine. You guys talk about your soulmate shit, I’m going to the training field.”

“Wait, Y/N, really!” Mina tried. “It’s just, we’re so used to casually talking about it!”

“I don’t care if you guys talk about yours, but you know I don’t have one, so we don’t bring up mine!” She huffed, before taking a breath. “You know what? Never mind.”

Y/N ignored her friend’s protest and stomped out of the dinning hall. She rushed to the training area, stopping by the locker room to change and grab gear, briefly.

Activating her quirk she began fist fighting her clone, taking her anger out on herself. Very early on into her friendship with the group she told them she didn’t want to talk about the soulmate shit. At least not her own. She told them she didn’t have one, leaving them to believe she never did.

They were incredibly understanding after they found that it upset her. So much, to the point that she copied Kirishima to punch himself when he kept asking. After that ordeal and several days of being ignored, they respected her wishes of not bringing it up.

She knocked herself down and punched herself in the face. She turned off the connection to the clone so she wouldn’t feel the pain herself. Disconnected clones only had a few minutes to live really and faded away with enough damage. Once that one faded, she created another in its space and continued pounding away.

“Stupid soulmate bullshit.” She huffed each word with a punch. “Stupid divide rule.” Another clone. “Stupid. Fucking. Erg- Everything!”

Y/N beat her final clone to death and didn’t bring a new one out. She sniffled, the tears she’d been holding back for years now finally breaking her dam. She hated the horrible lonely feeling she had been surrounded by for so long. She missed out on so much sleep, just to avoid going to her dream world. She set alarms to wake her up every hour or so to stay away from it and at this point, she was losing her mind.

She cried more thinking back to the last time she had been in her kindred-plane. She’d avoided it for a few days before exhaustion actually hit her like a bus and made her sleep. This time her plain little dream seemed to have adopted new items in her absence.

A bundle of comic books, a guitar, even a really, really big pikachu plushie.

Not that they were placed anywhere in particular. The guitar was outside of the little home she had reimagined, laying haphazardly on the ground. The pikachu was placed in front of a tree, facing it and the books were strewn across her loveseat couch. It was like her dream realm had become a lost and found for thrown away items from other planes. Which, honestly, Y/N could believe, as she didn’t use it so much.

She wished she could just give away her realm and dream of nothingness.

“Y/N?” She jumped, hearing her name and quickly wiped away her tears, ignoring the way they stung her open knuckles.

“Kaminari, I’m not really in the mood to talk.” Y/N muttered.

“Okay, that’s fine. We both know I talk enough for the both of us.” He joked, coming to sit in front of her.

Y/N turned to look away from his seating and ignored him, but he set off into a spiel about a new game he got. He did what he did best when one of his friends were upset, he talked. And normally that worked, but minutes into his yabbering, she started crying again.

“Hey, no! No crying! Crying is sad!” Kaminari tried.

“I am sad Kami!” She snapped. “I am really fucking sad! Everyone gets to have stupid fucking soulmate but me! And all because mine fucking died!”

Kaminari immediately paused his frantic attempts to calm her. “Huh, I thought you said you didn’t have one?”

“I don’t because she died! My god damn soulmate died literally months after meeting each other damn it!” Y/N yelled, sinking her fingers into her hair. “And now my kindred-plane is empty and lonely and shit keeps getting piled into it like a fucking trash can!”

Kaminari was silent for a moment while she cried. He slowly crawled over, closer to her and pulled her into a hug. This wasn’t a moment for talking randomly and he knew that. So they sat for the rest of the lunch period in silence, save for her soft hiccups.

After that, somehow, Y/N started talking to her friends the next day. She rationalized that it wasn’t their fault she was sensitive about the subject, they didn’t deserve the aggression. So with a tense apology, she was back to sitting with them at lunch and hanging out.

Y/N was determined to not let her disrupted dreamland destroy her outside reality.

“Okay, really?” Y/N blinked at the ugly rug that appeared draped over her bookshelf. “How the hell did you even get there?”

She tugged it down and stared at it in disgusted contemplation. “Guess you get to go in front of the fireplace…”

Y/N walked towards the warmth and paused, noting that it felt like it took a few more steps than usual. She looked around and found that the picture she carefully centered on the wall was no longer centered. Was her house getting bigger? More and more shit was popping up out of nowhere and her place felt spaceyer…

“What the actual fuck universe?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows and laid down the new rug.

An odd whooshing noise sounded behind her and she turned around to see a lamp fizzled into existence, a hand accompanying it this time. Y/N fumbled over own feet trying to hurry and grab it. Someone was putting shit in her realm and she was about to find out who.

Actually she wasn’t.

The moment she grabbed the hovering wrist, it was like she had rubbed her socks across her new rug a million times and then touched an outlet. The hand shocked her, hard. She yelped and fell backwards on her butt, accidently taking the lamp down too, except when it fell apart it fell backwards toward the floating hand and disappeared from her plane.

Y/N gasped sitting up out of her bed, the shock kicking her out of her own dream. “Ow, what the hell?”

Y/N looked over at her clock, finding that it was five in the morning. She sighed and climbed out of her bed, grabbing her ear buds and phone. There was no school the next day, it was Saturday so she aimed to sneak down to the common room and spend her day dead on the couch, fighting off sleep again.

Not ten minutes after snuggling into a comfy spot on the couch, it dipped slowly as someone sat on the other end of it. She looked up from her book, to find Kaminari on the other end. He held up a bag of doritos in exchange for her company.

“What are you doing up?” She asked, pulling out her ear buds.

“Got startled awake by something in my dream world.” He answered, holding the bag out to her.

“Ah, that sucks.” She hummed apologetically.

“What about you?” He asked carefully.

Y/N snorted. “Kami, you know I don’t sleep.”

“Yeah, I know, but you’ve been up for the past few days.” He sighed, remembering seeing her in the kitchen at three am. “You’re going to trash your health if you don’t sleep.”

“Eh, it’s alright.” She crunched on a chip, before yawning. “Plus, you stay up every night gaming, bite me.”

“Gladly.” He winked. “But seriously, a lonely dream realm can’t be all bad.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if he was going to continue this topic of conversation. And he did. “I mean mine’s pretty lonely and I think it’s alright.”

“What?” She furrowed his eyebrows.

“My kindred-plane has but just me since like, forever, and I don’t think it’s that bad.” He shrugged.

Kaminari didn’t have a soulmate? That didn’t make sense, he’d tell them about all the adventures he’d run on in his dream. “You said you were helping some Jill girl fight zombies and stuff, just the other day.”

“Yeah, Jill Valentine. From Resident Evil.” He laughed. “I figured out a long time ago that I could just make her up in my dreams if I played the game until I fell asleep. She’s not my soulmate-.”

“You don’t have one…” Y/N whispered, sitting up.

“Nope, never did.” He offered her more chips, but Y/N just looked at him with sad eyes.

She cried in his arms about her soulmate dying and it turned out he never had one in the first place. “Don’t look so sad, Sunshine. It’s okay.”

“Denki, you don’t have a soulmate. That shit sucks.” Y/N flailed her hands.

“Yeah, but at least I didn’t get attached to mine and then they died. That sucks even more.” Kaminari argued.

Y/N slumped back against the couch. “This soulmate business is quite literal shit.”

“Yeah, but other people are pretty happy with it, so it’s okay to me really.” Kaminari hummed, nonchalantly. “Plus, no one can yell at me for my taste in decorations. That can really make or break a relationship ya know.”

Y/N laughed. “Oh yeah, totally. If my soulmate tried to decorate our space with half the shit that seems to appear in my room I’d have to throw hands.”

“Stuff appears in your dream?” Kaminari asked. “What, like, someone’s statue of Scooby doo?”

“Kaminari Denki, please tell me you don’t have a statue of Scooby doo in your kindred.” She tried not to laugh.

“No!” He said quickly. “I have a statue of Scrappy Doo.”

“Oh my god, no, you don’t!” She gasped.

“Yep! There’s a pond in front of my house and he’s in the dead center of it.” He grinned proudly. “And he looks amazing there.”

“Oh I bet he does.” Y/N snickered. “Bet he pulls the whole place together.”

“As a matter of fact he does.” Kaminari declared smugly. “What about your plane? What’s one big special thing you’ve got in it?”

Y/N hummed and thought for a second. “There’s a really big oak tree just behind my house and it’s covered in string lights, with a small ladder up the trunk. There’s a flat area in some of the branches so I can sit up there and read.”

“That sounds beautiful.” Kaminari said, fondly. “I have a tree kind of like that in mine too.”

“Does yours have a massive Pikachu in front of it?” She taunted, laughing.

She just barely missed the furrowing of his eyebrows before he answered. “I’m not entirely sure, I think, I’d have to take a look. I hope I do though, otherwise, I’d have to come steal yours.”

“Absolutely not! He’s my friend!” Y/N gasped and shoved at his leg. “Stick with your Scrappy Doo statue.”

Kaminari smiled. “Fine, fine. But if I don’t have a Pikachu in my dream, you owe me.”

“Mmhm, sure.” Y/N grinned.

For the next few months, Y/N and Kaminari grew closer, having bonded over their lack of soulmates. While they grew closer, not only did Y/N become happier, her kindred-plane seemed to get brighter, despite all the random things finding purchase in her realm and the fact that it was still growing. It was nice, she didn’t hate spending the night there anymore. She didn’t run into the disembodied hand anymore, but that was okay.

With what was happening in reality, she wasn’t too bothered by her dreams anymore. Instead, she focused on her friends, they were a wonderful reminder that life didn’t go to complete shit. For the first time, she actually let these people get close to her and drag her out of her hole she kept herself in.

… And out into the living room to watch the boys yell at each other over Mario Kart.

Y/N cursed and pushed Kaminari’s face away from her own as he laved his tongue across her cheek. “Denki, I swear to god if you don’t stop licking me, I’m going to bite you!”

“Ooh! Promise?” He flirted, smirking. “What else are you gonna do with that mouth?”

“Hurt your feelings, Sparkler boy.” She laughed, squishing his cheeks.

Kaminari threw himself into her arms, taking her to the floor. “So mean, I thought you loved me!”

“Oh yeah, she totally loves you with the way she made you beat yourself up today.” Bakugo snickered.

“Yeah, dude, she used your quirk against you better than you.” Kirishima pipped up.

“Hey, hey, clones don’t get fried when they use their ultimate! They just disappear and another one pops up!” Kaminari argued in defense.

“Jesus, Denki, you’re heavy!” Y/N shoved at his body, half heartedly. “Get off, you loser.”

“Uhg, fine, only because I have a race to win.” He rolled off her, to grab his switch controller.

“Oh thank god, I was going into the light for a second there.” Y/N gasped, dramatically.

Kaminari pinched her leg in retaliation. “Hey, I’m not that heavy!”

“Your head is though.” She stuck her tongue out.

“So mean.” He pouted as she turned to lay her head in his lap.

Y/N giggled as she pulled out her phone, to scroll through Tumblr for a fic to read. Moments went by before a snapchat notification popped up. Tapping on it, she found a common message from Mina.

‘You guys are too cute.’- Pinkiepie

‘We’re just friends, Mi.’-Y/N

A snap picture appeared in their feed and she tapped it open. There she was laying in Kaminari’s lap and there he was looking down at her, sweetly. ‘He’s giving you major heart eyes.’- Pinkiepie

‘Stop taking pictures of people, it’s stalkery.’- Y/N

‘That’s why you took a ss.’ -Pinkiepie

‘Oh fuck off.’- Y/N

‘Oh come on, just give him a chance, neither of you have sm’s so your not stealing him from anyone.’- Pinkiepie

‘You’re*’- Y/N

Y/N sighed and looked up to Kaminari’s face above hers. It apparently hadn’t been uncommon knowledge that Kaminari was Soulmateless, probably why the group had been so confused as to why she was so upset about it. It was normal to them, because it had always been Kaminari’s story.

Would it be so bad to make her own soulmate? Most divided soulmates stayed by themselves for the rest of their lives, but would it be alright if they didn’t?

“Oh, guys! I meant to tell you; I think I actually do have a soulmate!” Kaminari blurted into the air.

His admission quite literally derailed the entire room. Bakugo drove off the map in Mario Kart, Kirishima completely looked away from the game and Mina choked on her spit and her eyes flew to Y/N who paled significantly.

Sero was the only one who appeared unaffected. “Guys, he’s probably just saying that to throw us off, he’s in last.”

“I’m gonna blow you up, you put me in fourth with your little stunt.” Bakugo threatened.

“No, I’m serious!” Kaminari argued. “Over the last few months my dreams have been changing and stuff. Like it was making room for another person. My house is super spacy now, new decorations have been showing up for no reason, like there was a vase of flowers on the floor near my door, and my curtains changed colour, they’re a cute lavender colour now. Plus there’s a really big pikachu next to a beautiful oak tree in my yard.”

“Woah, dude, really?” Kirishima paused the race and turned to his friend.

“Yeah, totally.” Kaminari nodded, subtly looking down to meet Y/N’s wide eyes. “I was super confused for a while.”

“Holy shit, you’re serious.” Sero laughed. “Have you met them yet? Or are they just leaving surprises for you?”

“Well, I’ve seen her a few times, but I haven’t got the chance to talk to her yet, she wakes up pretty fast.” Kaminari shrugged.

“That’s so good Denki, I’m so happy for you.” Mina said softly as Y/N sat up.

“Me too, Denks. But speaking of waking up, I’m tired, so I’m gonna go take a nap.” Y/N hummed, yawning.

“Okay, see you later, Y/N.” They all chimed as she walked away.

“Yeah, see you later.” Kaminari called, carefully.

Y/N tried her best to contain herself and all but ran to her dorm. Along the way, her phone buzzed, no doubt a message from Mina. Once she was in her room, she flew to her bed, never had she been so eager to fall asleep before.

She quickly responded to Mina, ensuring her that she was alright and actually wanted to sleep. Y/N even sent her a reassuring picture of her smile with a short caption ‘I’m off to go see a Pikachu.’ After that, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, but it was too long.

Y/N blinked open her eyes, finally appearing in her kindred-plane and spun around, trying to identify things in her dream house. She hurried to open the door and looked over to her tree, with the ever so famous Pikachu there. She turned and jogged in the opposite direction for the one thing she needed to see to make sure she was correct.

There it was. Scrappy Doo. In the middle of her pond.

Y/N jumped up and down, squealing to herself. It was happening, oh my god, it was happening. Now she just had to wait.

And wait she did. She had run back to her tree and climbed up to sit and await her soulmate. The soulmate she actually had again. Someone to share her dream world with again.

She had a soulmate.

Quietly for the next hour, Y/N sat and read one of her books, waiting almost patiently for him. She’d made it through the third chapter when a voice startled her away from the pages.

“Sorry, I couldn’t fall asleep for the life of me.” Kaminari said, smiling.

Y/N bit her lip and grinned. “I thought you missed my cue for a bit there."

"No, I was just a little too excited to fall asleep." He crawled up into her tree nook. "You see, I suddenly got a new person roaming my world almost like, uh, a forever person or something. What's it called?"

"Mm, I don't know. Kinda sounds like you've got a soulmate there, Denki." Y/N whispered as he came closer.

"Fucking finally." He muttered, leaning forwards to connect their lips.

But before he could make contact he ran into her hand first. “But, really, we are going to have to talk about your decorating choices.”

“Yeah, yeah, we can talk about that after this.” Kaminari chuckled and moved her hand to kiss her.

#mha soulmate au #denki kaminari x reader #denki kaminari #bnha denki #bnha x reader #mha oneshot #bnha oneshots #fem reader #female reader #bi reader #pan reader #reader is attracted to multiple genders #gracies soulmate collab #soulmates au

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sunlight-moonrise · 4 years

Text

Sugar, Spice, and Everything (Not So) Nice (Reid Imagine)

Summary: Being a Barista and falling for a regular is as cliche as it gets. Having that customer become your new professor? Not so much.

A/N: *Peeks head out* Hello everyone. I have come back from my unannounced hiatus to show off this baby. Major thanks to @definitelynotkatesblog and @clean-bands-dirty-stories for helping me put this fic together. This was written for the lovely @httpnxtt for the secret-fic-swap in the Discord (thanks @imagining-in-the-margins.) I hope you all enjoy this smutty goodness.

Category: Smut

Content Warnings: Face Slapping, Degradation, Slight Hair Pulling, Oral Sex (male receiving), Fingering, Spanking, Penetrative Sex, Unprotected Sex/Creampie

Word Count: 6.4K

Masterlist

Being a barista is pretty awesome. Sure, there were bitchy customers and super early mornings but it had it’s redeeming perks. We got free coffee, tea, and snacks during our shifts, which served the caffeine addict in me. I also learned how to make popular lattes, mochas, and frappes that I ended up making at home for myself one too many times. While there were the occasional assholes who couldn’t appear human before getting their hands on some caffeine, there were the regulars who made it worth it. Most of the regulars were so sweet, I appreciated a familiar face when they came in. Some.. more than others.

“He’s baaaaaaaaack,” my coworker Hazel whispered to me in a sing-song voice as she scribbled a customer’s name on a cup. I turned to see who she was talking about, but I already had an inkling about who it was.

My suspicions were correct. I turned to see one of our kindest regulars, my personal favorite customer, Dr. Spencer Reid. Is it weird to know the full name -including the honorific- of a customer? Possibly. But when I’d asked for his name to write on his cup the first time he came in, he accidentally gave me his full name.

“Dr. Reid- uh, Spencer. Sorry, work habit.” He stuttered, avoiding my eyes after the mistake.

“No worries! What can I get started for you?”

As a Criminology major, I learned to study the people who catch my attention before indulging them. Call it an old habit.

Dr. Spencer Reid had earned his title and then some. He’d joined the FBI at only 22, having six degrees under his belt by the age of 27. He’d written several dissertations and co-wrote novels with his colleague, David Rossi. Someone with his reputation could be a pompous ass and have a leg to stand on, which is what made his humbled demeanor so much sweeter. He was also incredibly easy on the eyes, which was a nice little bow on top.

Hazel liked to joke about how we’d make a cute couple but I know she only did it to watch me get flustered.

I walked towards the counter to take his order, leaving Hazel with the task of refilling the caramel syrup. I’m always the one to help him since he very aptly pointed out that I’m the only one who makes his coffee just how he likes it.

Some days, he’d let me surprise him with a random creation. I’d confirm if he wanted caffeine (he always did), iced or not, and any flavor requests. He’d take his drink, tip me handsomely and let me know his thoughts on the drink the next time he came in. So far, his favorite was the almond milk honey latte I’d concocted. It was nice to have a little bit of fun, especially with regulars who were as consistent as him.

“Hey Doc, what can I get ya’?” I asked.

“The usual, please,” he said with a smile. I nodded and set off to make his drink: a venti dark roast with a shit ton of sugar, a dash of nutmeg, and a tiny bit of cinnamon.

“Of course!” I quickly go to fill his order, making sure to put a complimentary treat in a bag for him. I know he had the ultimate sweet tooth so I try to sneak him a confection whenever I can. At first, he was a bit reluctant to take the free pastries, but nowadays he usually smiles when he sees the small bag.

“Here ya’ go.” I handed him his steamy cup of caffeine along with the little treat, seeing him smile at the small pun I add to his cup, “Have a BREW-tiful day, Doctor!” I watched as his lips landed on the rim of the cup, taking a long sip of the hot coffee. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, the sight making my cheeks promptly flush. I cleared my throat before asking, “Is it good?”

“It’s always good when you make it,” he stated matter of factly, a small smile touching his lips. The heat in my cheeks rose again. “Will you be taking a course this summer?” he asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. My first day is actually later today. I’m surprised the class section was open, to be honest.” Super surprised actually. I’d been trying to enroll in this class for the past couple of semesters but it was always full by the time I was able to even load the registration page.

“Well, I’ll wish you luck, but I’m sure you won’t need it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I can just tell.” He stated calmly, like it was common knowledge. I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. Before he could respond, an insistent cough caught both of our attention. I peeked over Spencer’s shoulder to see a customer waiting for his order to be taken. I turned my attention back to the Doctor, an annoyed look painted on my face. He nodded, taking a hint from the impatient mouth breather behind him.

“Thank you for the coffee. Enjoy the rest of your day. I hope that class goes well.”

“Bye, you too.” I waved, watching as he exited the door. I turned to the waiting customer, a bit miffed that he interrupted our conversation. But because I was at work, I plastered a fake smile on my face so that he wouldn’t see just how annoyed I was. “Welcome, how may I help you?”

●●●

After clocking out at 2:30 PM, I made a dash for the building where my class would be held. It’s not supposed to start for another half-hour, but I wanted to be sure to get there in time to choose a good seat and settle in before the rest of the class arrived.

Luckily room 301 was relatively empty so I was able to score a perfect seat by the window. I decided to kill some time by listening to some music and doodling randomly in my notebook. Some time had passed when I felt someone take the seat next to me. I turned to see a young man occupying the chair beside mine. He looked to be a frat boy based on the Greek letters he was sporting. Who wears a cap and hoodie in this weather? I really hope he didn’t expect to cheat off of me- although these types of guys always seem to do so.

I was about to return to my doodle when I felt a poke on my shoulder. I turned to give the offender my full attention, removing one of the earbuds from my ears.

“Hey, I’m Tony,” frat boy said, with a wide smile adorning his face. I must admit, his boyish grin melted the slight annoyance I had begun to stir toward him. I returned his greeting and introduced myself as well. “I don’t mean to be a bother,” he continued, “but I like to have at least one buddy in each of my classes. In case we need help or miss an assignment or something.”

I nodded my head - a friend in a class was always useful when it came to studying and swapping notes. We chatted a bit more, learning about each other’s major and why we both decided to take a summer course. Tony is a double major and this course will satisfy the credits he needs for his psychology requirement. This is why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

It wasn’t until I heard the hush of the classroom that I realized the class was about to begin. I turned back to my notebook, preparing to jot down some important information despite it being the first day of class.

“Good morning class.” Wait. That voice... I didn’t even need to pick my head up to know who had spoken. “This is Criminal Psychology and I am your instructor, Doctor Spencer Reid. Unfortunately, Professor Monroe could not cover this course so I’ll be his permanent replacement. Now…”

I raised my head, watching as he continued to talk about what is to be expected in this course while a TA handed out the syllabus. He went on, able to capture the attention of everyone while speaking of the experiences he had with an array of criminals. His eyes scanned the room and for a brief moment I thought they would land on me, but they continued to take in the mass amount of students before him.

My concentration was broken by Tony passing me a copy of the syllabus. I scanned it over, making sure to highlight all the important dates. I didn’t want any exams or projects conflicting with my work schedule. I also made note of how the overall grade system is broken down. The whole thing seems pretty fair and everything was spaced out enough where I wouldn’t feel too overwhelmed with the workload.

“… and that pretty much wraps it up. Does anyone have any questions?” I tuned in just as he was pulling the first class to a close. No one raised their hands, so he dismissed us with a reminder to read the first chapter of the textbook and to check for any emails.

“So do you want to grab lunch?” Tony asked from beside me. I contemplated whether or not to go with him. He must have seen the hesitation in my face because he quickly added, “Not as a date or anything, I just wanted to grab a bite and I didn’t want to do it alone.”

“Sure,” I smiled, “Let me just ask the professor a quick question about his office hours and I’ll meet you at the food court.”

“Sweet, I’ll see you in a bit.” With that, Tony gathered his stuff and exited the back door.

I focused my attention on the podium, seeing a gaggle of girls surrounding him asking redundant questions. From what I could hear, their questions could have been answered if they’d read the syllabus. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, they were probably more focused on him rather than what he was saying during class. I waited a few more minutes for them to finish up before I made my way to him.

“So do I call you Doctor or Professor now?” I laughed.

“From you, I’d respond to either,” he replied warmly. The comment made me blush. If he looked into my eyes at that moment, he’d see more stars in them than the night sky. I bit my lip to stop the idiotic grin from spreading across my face.

He’s your professor, get a hold of yourself.

“How can I help?” he asked, bringing me back to the original reason as to why I was standing in front of him without a cash register between us.

I cleared my throat. “Um, I was wondering if it was possible to see you outside your normal office hours? I usually work the morning shifts and I don’t want to flood your emails with my questions.” I asked.

“Of course,” he said. “You can come to my office at whatever time works best for you. I know balancing a work and school schedule can be hard. Besides, I’m usually there handling paperwork anyway.” He gave a small shrug, pushing his hands in his pockets.

“Thank you so much. I look forward to the rest of the semester Professor Reid.” I liked the way his newfound honorific rolled off my tongue.

“Goodbye, Y/N.”

“Goodbye, Professor.” With that, I left and headed out to meet Tony.

I was able to find him at the food court. We got some food and chatted more about our classes as well as life outside of school. He made it easy to be his friend, and it was nice having someone to talk to. He works as a waiter so we shared our customer service horror stories and tales of sneaking food at work. It was a nice distraction that took my mind off of Dr. Reid and the ongoing battle of calling him Doctor or Professor. As Tony rambled, my mind wandered about other things I’d like to call Spencer instead.

●●●

In that short span of two weeks, we already had an exam, an oral presentation, and a report on the psychoanalysis of serial killers. Not one day had been wasted, but this is what to be expected from a summer course. The essay was due the day before. Now we had to wait for our grades which gave us a moment to take a breath.

I was worried that my paper was subpar; especially since I chose to write about Andrei Chikatilo, a serial killer from Ukraine. He wasn’t as popular as those in America, so I ended up spending hours on deep research to find substantial information about his crimes. It also didn’t help that some of the original reports weren’t in English. I had worked hard, and hoped Professor Reid would see that, even if my writing could sometimes be a little weak. I was worried about the grade as our research papers held the weight of 20% of our final mark.

“Hello? Earth to Y/N! Anyone in there?” Hazel’s voice pierced through my worry bubble, her hand waving in front of my face. I shook my head, trying to focus on restocking the coffee beans.

“Sorry Haze, I’m thinking about this class.”

“Funny you say that; your favorite professor just walked in. Thought you might want to take his order.” She wagged her brows at me, making kissy faces as I hurried to the front register, trying my best to not let my eagerness be so glaringly obvious.

There he was, in his usual handsome glory, patiently waiting for me to take his order. He greeted me with a small smile that I happily returned.

“Hey Doc, what can I get you today?”

He debated for a moment before saying, “Surprise me.”

“Gotcha.” I already had an in my head; it’d been a while since he asked me to make him a random drink so I’d had plenty of time to plan. We got an early shipment of ingredients for our fall-themed drinks and I figured he would appreciate some pumpkin spice in his caffeine. “How are the papers coming along?” I asked casually as I rang him up.

“Pretty well. I’m almost done, so you’ll all receive your grades later today.” Wow, that was fast. I wondered if he stayed up reading all those papers to be done by today. Probably not, a TA must have helped him.

“I am a bit nervous about mine, especially since it’s worth a huge part of our final grade.” I really wanted to get an A in this course, but it was hard juggling everything in such a short amount of time.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” he reassured. “I haven’t properly finished yours yet but it looked great just from what I’ve seen thus far.” His words gave me a little reassurance.

“Thanks. I put a lot of effort into it. Let me grab your coffee now.” Spencer walked towards the pick-up station while I grabbed a venti cup for his drink. Just when I was about to make his order, I saw another familiar face come up to the register. “Tony, hey!” I shouted, placing the cup back down, “What can I get you?”

This was the first time he’d been here, despite him saying for the past few days that he’d stop by for a visit, even with the promise of a cake pop if he did. It was nice to see another familiar face.

“Hey coffee girl, how you doin’ today?”

“Just peachy. My feet are killing me, though.” Just saying the words caused the ache on the soles of my feet to spike higher. I thanked my lucky stars I was almost done with this eight-hour shift.

“Give me the chance to sweep you off your feet, I promise you won’t regret it.” he offered boldly. It wasn’t the first time he’d joked about taking me out. I laughed, especially since he had a girlfriend. She met us for lunch one day and we became fast friends- she was an incredibly sweet and intelligent girl, polite and elegant as well. It is a wonder how his frat boy charm won her over but opposites attract, I guess.

“Shut up, Casanova. What are you gonna have?”

“I’ll have a grande iced matcha latte, please.” I should’ve known. He told me that he loves matcha flavored food and drinks the first time we grabbed lunch after class. He had complained that there was no good place to get one on campus.

“Coming right up.” I quickly filled his order since it was faster to make compared to the pumpkin spiced latte. I handed him his bribe-cake pop, matcha flavor of course, while he waited for me to finish making his drink.

“By the way, we’re still studying at the library for the exam later tonight, right?” Tony asked.

“Yup, I’ll meet you at 8.”

“Copy that, see you later coffee girl.” He turned to leave while I turned to make Professor Reid’s order. I put extra whip cream and a bit more syrup to satiate his sweet tooth. I grabbed a fresh chocolate muffin from the display case and popped it into a bag for him as well, drawing yet another pun on the good doctors bag. “Thanks for being such a TEA-rrific professor!”

“Here ya’ go Doc,” I called out before placing his drink and muffin on the counter. I looked up to see him no longer smiling. “Is everything okay?”

Ignoring my question, he said, “I wasn’t aware you were so close to Mr. Montgomery.”

“Oh yeah, we study together once in a while.” I could have sworn I saw his frown deepen before his features became void of any emotions. He shifted his eyes downward, his hand moving rapidly to grab the cup.

“I should get going.”

“Oh, okay” Before I could say goodbye, he was already halfway out the door.

That was weird. I looked at the counter and noticed that he left the cupcake behind. Maybe he was in a rush?

I shook my head. I needed to concentrate on making it through the last couple of hours of work.

●●●

I made my way to the classroom, smiling at Tony as he pulled out my seat for me. Professor Reid walked in a few minutes later, his tall figure drawing all the attention to the center of the small stage. He let us know he already graded the papers and that they would be distributed by the TA before the end of class. I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach but decided to brush it off and pay attention in class. Despite my attempts to focus on his lecture, I found my mind wandering every so often anyway.

I couldn’t help but think he was less animated today. Usually, he taught with such passion that the class couldn’t take their eyes off him. But today, it felt as if we were all in a boring seminar with an ancient professor. Tony kept glancing at the clock, probably also wondering why time felt like it was going by so slowly.

I couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling the entire class. It didn’t help matters that every time I would raise my hand to answer a question, he would call on another student. What the hell did I do?

I decided to tune out the rest of the class. There is no point in being an actively engaged student if I wasn’t going to get treated like one. I’d just get the notes from Tony later.

Thirty minutes before the end of class, the TA handed out our essays while Professor Reid wrapped.

“Some of you did very well, while a few others struggled with the assignment.” His eyes landed on mine as he said that. It was the first time he had glanced in my direction the whole class. He moved on to the other side of the room. My mind was probably just playing tricks on me. “If you have any questions you can see me at my office hours next week or send me an email. You are dismissed.”

The TA finally made his way over to me, handing my essay in a slight fold. I looked at the grade on top and almost dropped the paper. My heart sped up as I stared at the letter in bright red ink. No way, no way this could be my report. I looked at the right-hand corner and saw my name at the top. I read through the first page and saw they were indeed my words.

How the fuck was it possible that I got a D on this paper? I knew my writing wasn’t the strongest, but a D?

“How you’d do?” Tony asked. For a moment I forgot I was in a room with other people.

I cleared my throat, trying to relive the lump so that he didn’t hear the croak in my voice. “Umm, not what I expected. I’m going to try to speak to him about it.” Tony was a smart kid, so I was sure he could see how tense I was. Luckily he didn’t question me any further and instead told me he’d text me later before leaving the classroom.

Fortunately, there were no other students in the classroom to slow me down this time. I walked right up to the podium, watching as Professor Reid placed some papers in his satchel.

“Professor, I need to speak with you.”

“Not now, I’m busy,” he replied, not even bothering to glance in my direction. This can’t be real. The sweet, kind Doc could not be the man acting like a total asshole right now.

“I really need to discuss with you my paper,” I pressed, raising my voice a little louder in an attempt to get his attention. That was wishful thinking on my part since he continued to fiddle with his satchel.

“I said I’m busy,” he uttered once again, his voice void of any emotion. He was about to walk past me, ignoring my whole being. His blatant disregard made my cheeks burn, and not in the usual way they usually did when I was around him.

“Spencer,” I barked, “We need to talk. Now.” For a few moments, he stood in front of me, his back facing my direction.

I was about to speak again before I heard him say, “My office. Half an hour.” He exited, leaving me alone in an empty classroom. The only things keeping me company were the fuming feelings swirling inside me and the failed paper clutched at my fist.

●●●

I knocked on his office door ten minutes earlier than he’d told me. The anger in my gut brewed hotter the longer I waited. As soon as I heard a “Come in,” I rushed through the door, slamming it behind me. He regarded me coolly, but didn’t comment on my actions.

“What can I do for you Ms. (Y/L/N)?” I walked up to his large desk, not bothering to take a seat in the chair in front of me. I took a moment to calm myself down before replying.

“Well, you can start by explaining to me why I got such a low score on my paper.” I guess he didn’t like being the only one of us sitting down because he stood up and leaned against the wall behind him.

“It did not meet the requirements for a passing grade as outlined in the rubric. The information given was boring and the overall topic was uninteresting. It was tedious to get through,” he responded nonchalantly, like he was giving me a weather report.

“You said that you enjoyed it so far.” I rebutted, placing my hands on the desk. I needed something to offer me stability so that I wasn’t visibly shaking.

“I’d mistaken your work for another student’s. Maybe Mr. Montgomery,” he dryly clipped.

A bitter laugh escaped me as I put the puzzle together. Was- was he serious? Was this man acting like this because of Tony? The audacity! The laugh that bubbled from my lips must have unsettled him. He left his position from the wall in favor of standing in front of me.

“You want to know what I think?” I didn’t give him a chance to respond before continuing, “I think you’re jealous that I have another guy that isn’t you getting friendly with me at the shop and because of your inability to keep your---“

“That is enough,” he grounded out, shaking his head. But I didn’t stop talking.

“--private feelings away from your professional ones, you decided to give me a failing grade. Do you know how hard I worked in-” my voice rose up higher and higher until I was yelling.

“I said that’s enough,” he said again, louder this time. But I wasn’t done.

“-this class? This is my life, my fucking future on the line. I’ve told you how important this all is to me and you don’t even give a shit! You’re going to let your interpretation of my relationship with another student influence the way you do your job? And here I thought you were a decent man, Professor.” I hissed, “Do you even give a damn abo-”

“Enough,” he roared, slamming his hands on the desk and caging me against the wood. His breathing was matching the upbeat pace of my own. His quick movement and the sheer volume of his voice caught me off guard, effectively silencing me.

“I don’t deserve to be punished over your envy,” I whispered, locking eyes with him in a steady gaze.

“You want to see a real punishment, darling?” he hissed, the heat of his words almost breaking my glare, his breath fanning along my face.

We stared at one another for a while, neither of us willing to be the first to back down. The tension between us kept rising and rising until the inevitable happened. I couldn’t be sure who made the first move but before I knew it, our lips collided with a mix of rage and desperation. My arms draped around his neck as he pressed me on to the desk. He placed his hands on the back of my thighs, lifting me up high enough until I was perched on the cool wooden surface.

Spencer’s lips were soft, a stark contrast to the harsh way he was kissing me. His tongue parted my lips, gliding over mine with fervor. I couldn’t help but moan as he rolled his hips into me. He continued his rough grind, keeping my legs open as we moved as close together as our bodies would allow. He overwhelmed my senses- the smell of him, the taste of him, the feel of him. Everything was making me absolutely feral for this man.

I never expected the gentle Dr. Reid to be so fervent, so sensual. The kindhearted, sweet professor who regularly drank his weight in caffeine never gave me this impression. But then again, I’m sure he was shocked by my attitude as well. He knew me as the friendly, bubbly barista, now student, who enjoyed his class. He was about to meet a whole new side of me, just like I was going to for him.

Spencer pulled away from me, our mouths making an audible ‘pop’ sound from the sudden separation. I tried to catch my breath as he stared at me, our chests rising and falling together. If I were to move a bit closer to him, we would be touching once again.

He took a few steps back before motioning me to step in front of him. “I want you to get down on your knees. Now.” I wasn’t going to argue with him, mainly because I wanted the exact same thing he did. I kneeled down, keeping my eyes on his face.

“You going to shut me up, Professor?” I teased, feeling powerful, even though he was looming over me. He didn’t reply, just continued to look down on me with those honey colored eyes- full of lust and rage.

I watched as he slowly placed his hands on his slacks, undoing the belt and buttons. He drew down his pants and boxers at the same time, just low enough to reveal his impressive size. My mouth salivated at the sight of his bulge as he came closer to me.

“We’re going to put that smart mouth to better use. Open.” He said, gripping my face between his fingers, forcing me to follow his orders. I opened my mouth slightly, not giving him exactly what he wanted. Instead of ordering my mouth to open further like I expected, he placed his thumb inside. He pushed the digit deep, pressing it against my tongue. I moaned around the finger, softly nibbling at the skin. He continued to slide his finger within my mouth before dragging it out completely. He wiped the excess spit on my cheek before lightly smacking it. The small shock of pain sent a shiver down my spine.

“Open, and do it right this time.”

I obeyed, opening wide enough to accept him into my mouth. My lips were stretched almost uncomfortably in an attempt to fit around him. He was so hot and thick, I couldn’t help but hum at the taste of him on my tongue. The soft “fuck” that fell from his lips had me purring around him. I went to place my hands on the remaining portion that couldn’t fit, but he batted them away.

“You’re using only your mouth.”

Fine, have it your way, Sir.

I placed my hands behind me as I bobbed my head, hallowing my cheeks with every rise. His shallow thrusts encouraged me to suck harder. I slowly pulled away to run my tongue against the vein protruding on the underside of his cock. I was rewarded with a groan escaping his lips.

“I should have known that you would be so good at this, darling,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse as he tried to control his grunts.

I made sure to look in his eyes as I swirled my tongue around the head of his cock. The face he made was purely angelic. The muscles of his neck protruded more evidently and his breathing became more labored. I placed him back in my mouth, this time taking my time to go down on him.

“That’s right, Princess. Show me what a good girl you are for me.” He moaned as I felt his hands weave in my hair before he pushed my head down on to him, causing me to gag around him, tears pricking my eyes. He continued his thrusts into my mouth, barely allowing me a chance to breathe. My nose repeatedly touched the base of him as I swallowed around his hard length.

Spencer tightened his fingers in my hair and I knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. The pace was brutal, but I enjoyed the rough treatment. Knowing that I was the one making him feel good was such a turn on. He buried himself deep in my throat after a few more thrusts to finish. I swallowed his release like the greedy brat that we both now knew I was.

He eventually pulled out, a satisfied sigh leaving his lips. I swiped the back off my hand across my mouth to clean off any leftover spit and cum.

“Get up,” he ordered, his voice hoarse.

I did so, rubbing the ache in my knees as I slowly rose. “I want you bent over the desk,” he continued.

“I want you to answer my previous question.” I quipped.

“You’re not in the position to be making commands,” he growled. He wrapped his fingers in my hair again, pulling just roughly enough so that I was looking up at his face. “If you want this to end well for you, I suggest bending over my desk before I stuff my cock in that bratty little mouth of yours again.”

He released me, eyes still on my face waiting for me to follow through on his order. I turned to his desk and did as he asked, bending over the wood until my chest laid flat against the surface. I waited as patiently as I could for him. It felt as if I was in this position for an eternity before he touched me. He pushed both my underwear and skirt down to my knees before placing his hands on my hips. I heard it before I felt it- the smack on my ass that caused me to yelp.

“Fuck, Spencer. What the—” I was cut off with another resounding smack.

“Did you really think that I wasn’t going to give you a real punishment, darling?” I took a deep breath as another shiver went down my spine. He had no business sounding so hot right now. Another smack, this time on my opposite cheek, had me biting down on my lip to stop myself from crying out.

“This” *SMACK* “Is” *SMACK* “What” *SMACK* “Happens” *SMACK* “To” *SMACK* “Bratty” *SMACK* “Little” *SMACK* “Girls” *SMACK*. A sob ripped from my chest as the last blow landed. My ass was on fire and surely littered with his hand prints.

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood since you sucked me off so nicely, or I would have made that worse.”

Gee, thanks.

“You look like such a dirty slut like this.” I felt a finger enter me easily, the wetness gathered there making my entrance ready to take him. “So wet. Was it the spanking that got you like this, or your mouth around my cock?” A moan was my only reply as he added another finger, the two digits moving in a scissoring motion.

“Are you gonna be my sweet girl, now?” He asked as I moved my hips along his fingers, desperately trying to seek some more relief for the fire burning between my thighs as his mouth littered marks along my thighs. I closed my eyes, focusing on the pleasure he was giving me as he curled his fingers, a slow moan falling from my lips. He pulled them out of me, wiping the slickness against my still burning ass. Fucking bastard. I wiggled my hips against him, hoping he would grant me a reprieve and put his fingers back inside me. Instead, he spanked my ass one more time- one quick, sharp blow against the bruised cheek.

Just when I was about to yell at him, he placed the head of his member against my entrance. He moved up and down my drenched entrance before penetrating me in one full thrust. I took a short breath in, trying to get used to feeling so full. He was stretching me out in the most amazing way.

Spencer waited until I was grinding against him before he pulled out and pushed back into me. “Look at you, such a wanton little bitch aren’t you?” He could call me whatever he wanted, as long as he didn’t stop fucking me.

He kept a steady pace, making sure to grind into me every time he slammed back in. The obscene sound of our skin smacking against one another��s and the moans escaping our throats was an erotic symphony that had my body heat raising the temperature in the room.

He hitched my leg on top of the desk, entering in an angle that made the pleasure so much better. I couldn’t stop the whines that kept escaping my mouth every time he pounded into me. His hand stayed upon my leg, holding me down and limiting my movements. His nails dug into the skin so harshly I was sure there would be bruises left in their wake.

“Fuck, you feel so good wrapped around me,” he hissed under his breath. “Should have known you just needed to be fucked like the cheap whore you are.” He sped up, hips snapping at an almost punishing pace. The desk creaked every time he slammed into me. I hoped no one was nearby to hear what was going on. A whine left my throat when I felt his fingers rub against my clit. I was so close now.

“Should I stay inside you? Fill you up so you walk around campus carrying my child?” He growls, his pace increasing with each passing moment. “Knock you up so the whole campus knows what a whore you are for me?” He asks, earning a cry ripped from my throat.

“Who’s fucking you?” he grunted. I don’t know how he expected me to form a coherent statement at this current moment. My eyes could barely stay open at this point.

“Spencer, please.” He smacked the outside of my thigh.

“Try again, who’s fucking you?”

“You are, Doctor.” Apparently, that was the wrong answer too, because it earned me another smack on my thigh. I had tears streaming down my face from the pleasurable pain he was giving me.

“You have one more chance or else I’m not letting you come. Now, who’s is fucking you?”

“Professor Reid!” I cried out.

“That’s right darling. Now come on my cock.” A harsh bite on my neck was the ultimate push that had me seeing stars. Spencer thrusted a few more times before fully sheathing himself within me.

He slumped over me, the feel of his breath against my neck causing me to shiver once more. We took a moment to have the high leave our body before he pulled out of me, a gasp leaving the both of us. Spencer was the first to break the silence between us.

“Would you like to have dinner with me?” he asked, his voice a bit shy.

I giggled at his demeanor. A few moments ago, he was fucking me senseless and spanking me over his desk like a porno, and now he was asking me out to dinner.

“Absolutely,” I smiled. “But I should probably cancel my study plans.” I quickly added.

He led me to the faculty bathroom so I could freshen myself up. When I emerged, he was back to being the prim and proper professor I knew him to be. Just before we left his office, he leaned down and whispered, “By the way, you got an A.”

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