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exhaslo · 6 months

Note

hey in the mean time I wanted to request something sweet but spicy 😋, so what about (collage?)

Bully!miguel ? X a nobody!fem reader (like someone that the popular kids doesn’t even know about or care into that much offend 😔 and is often bullied by different people and get in the middle of the fight, well tried not to and only get push,nudge, or whatever) and Miguel who is a bullied nerd and saw her one day that catch his eyes it was reader who’s was running into her next period.

Smut pls and fluff PLS 😭🙏 (love any ending 🫶😼) HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY! bye eshalo (I think I spelled it wrong 😔 I’m sorry)

Okay, I think I got a unique idea for this. Gonna spice it up a bit if that's okay~ ;)

Summary: The biggest bully in school had got his eye on the 'ghost' of the college.

Warning: Minors DNI, bullying, smut, fingering, oral (f-receiving)

-----------

There was a popular rumor throughout the college of a ghost that wandered the halls. At first, many people did not believe it since the rumor had only begun a year ago; but, as the weeks passed more and more people saw the ghost. It became a game after two months. Whoever can catch the ghost will win a prize.

It was all fun and games until you found out that you were the ghost. The tears that streamed down your face that night were heavy. You knew that you avoided people and didn't like to get involved, but to be called a ghost. This was worse than the bullying you had throughout middle school and high school.

It only got worse from there. You were afraid to do anything. Every time you stepped out of your private dorm, people could claim they saw the ghost and tried to catch you. You nearly weep every time you even tried to go study. It was all a joke to everyone.

"I hate this," You cried softly as you sat in the staircase of your dorm building.

"Hate what?"

"Being called the ghost." You whimpered. It took you a moment before gasping, "W-Who's there?"

You rubbed your eyes as Miguel walked up the stairs. Your eyes widen in shock. The college's biggest bully stood right below you. His tall and overwhelming features standing out. He gave you a cold stare as he observed you from head to toe.

"You're a pretty cute ghost,"

Miguel smirked as he watched you flinch. Truth be told, Miguel knew exactly who you were. He had his eyes on you since you started this college. Miguel had bullied a lot of people, but watching you get bullied erked him. He wanted to be the shoulder for you to cry on, but how could he approach you? He already had a bad reputation.

"Y-You're-"

"Miguel O'Hara, pleasure to meet you."

Within an instant, Miguel hovered before you. He grabbed your hand and kissed it. You withdrew your hand, walking backwards towards the wall. Your heart was racing a mile a minute as you tried to come up with words. He was too close.

"So the ghost can be touched," Miguel said with a smug grin. You bit your lower lip,

"I-I'm not a ghost!"

"I know you're not," Miguel had your back pressed against the wall, "I've had my eye on you for a while now. I want to get to know you. Will you let me do that?"

You gulped as you looked up into his eyes. The biggest threat in this campus wanted to get close to you? As scared as you were, you couldn't help but agree. This was going to be your way of having protection. Besides, Miguel was good looking. Perhaps with him around, you wouldn't be called a ghost anymore.

--------

It had only been a month since Miguel became your personal bodyguard as you called it. He stuck by your side like glue, keeping you company and helping you avoid those pranksters. You loved having Miguel by yourself. He made you laugh and helped you come out of your shell. Not to mention he was hot. You had dreamed about him far too many times to count, but it wasn't like you were going to make a move anytime soon.

Miguel on the other hand was holding back so much. He wanted to press you against a wall and ravish you with kisses. He wanted to mark you as his. To make you scream his name. Miguel was ready to go all primal on you. Every time he hung out with you, he had to take care of his erection afterwards. You were just so quiet, so shy. He loved hearing your voice.

Today was going to be like any other day. Miguel had already taken care of some annoying pests and was ready to destress with you. He made his way over to your dorm, imagining the smile on your face. Right as he walked up the stairs, he heard sobbing. Those sobs belonged to you!

"(Y/N)! What's wrong?" Miguel asked.

You whimpered, rubbing your eyes as Miguel stood before you. You could see the anger on his face as he slowly approached you, taking the net off your head. He bend down and stroked your cheek before taking off some of the rope that got tangled around your arms and legs.

"I-I just...I just went to check on my mail..." You cried softly. Miguel shushed you, helping you up, "T-They just laughed."

"C'mon, let's go into your room."

Miguel took your key and opened your door. He let you in first before following and shutting the door behind. With a quick lock, he approached you once more and wiped your tears away.

"Don't cry, (Y/n)."

"But Miguel, they still think I'm a ghost." You whimpered. Miguel let out a soft sigh as he leaned forward, kissing you,

"Can I do that to a ghost?"

"N-No?"

"What about this?"

Miguel's hand stroked down your sides as he kept kissing you. You're sad whimpers turned into pleasure ones as Miguel cheered you up. His soft touch was not what you were expecting. It sent shivers up your spine. His tongue licked your lips, demanding entrance. You obeyed, allowing him to bully you for once.

Miguel liked how easily you gave in. His gaze met with yours as he slid your shorts down. His bulge making contact with your panties, grinding against you softly. He didn't want to take things too far, but who knows what will happen. Miguel watched you gasp, holding onto his arms as he moved his hips against yours.

"Can a ghost feel this?" Miguel groaned lowly, his fingers rubbing circles against your clit.

"N-No~"

"Good. I'm going to treat you right, (Y/N). I'll show those guys that they messed with the wrong person. You're my girl."

"H-Hah~ Miguel~"

You whimpered a moan as you moved your hips against his hand. Your back arched against the bed as his fingers started to pump inside your tight gummy walls. His fingers alone were stretching you out. It made your vision blur slightly as you became overwhelmed with pleasure. Each pump and curl of his fingers made the knot in your stomach tighten.

Miguel licked his lips as he took your panties off, throwing them across your room. He watched as your juices spilled over his hand once he made you cum. Your face was red with embarrassment. It was cute. Miguel took his fingers out, giving them a lick,

"Ghosts can't be this cute or red in the face," He teased.

"M-Miguel." You stuttered, trying to hide your face.

Miguel only responded with a hum as he spread your legs. You tried to protest, but gasped loudly as he flicked his tongue against your clit. You arched your back, moaning his name as Miguel held you in place. His tongue swirling around your folds, giving each part of you a taste. No ghost could taste this sweet. No ghost could moan this deliciously.

"M-Mig!"

Your cries were music to his ears. Miguel was going to make this school regret bullying you. You were his. Miguel lapped up your juices as you cam against his tongue. Your throbbing pussy was just asking to be filled, but that had to wait. Miguel had already pushed you to your limit for today.

"Rest up, (Y/n). I promise I'll make you feel even better next time, but I have to teach someone a lesson," Miguel hummed as he licked his lips. You were a panting mess against your bed,

"B-But-"

"I won't let anyone bully you again. You're my girl. Now stay here until I get back. I'm going to finish this later."

You just nodded and blushed madly as you saw his tight erection against his pants. Covering your face, you watched as Miguel left your room with his head held high. You whimpered quietly, still flustered from the orgasm he gave you,

"I'm your ghost~"

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

Hope you liked the twist I did with your prompt!!

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara smut #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel spiderman #atsv miguel #across the spiderverse

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the-one-who-lambs · 7 months

Note

uhh hello!! sorry if this is a tall order LOL but I wanna ask, do you have any narilamb fanfic recs? :D I already read yours and I really like bamsara’s and I’m waiting for epicaandk’s to update (that one is my fav ever <3) but idk what to read now lol

Tall order?? Naaaaah, I'm always happy to give recs. Oh boy, I'm gonna go in reverse chronological order.

If you've read all of my narilamb fics (have you seriously? I'm impressed, that's probably well over half the 150k+ I've written for this damn fandom. Also, to anyone seeing this from a reblog, my stuff is over at onethirdofimpossible!) then here we go!

You already mentioned it, but The Rehabilitation of Death is excellent so far! This one is by @bamsara who is new to the CotL fandom but apparently not new to fanfic writing; they have a really popular FNAF fic and I assume the well-deserved attention this fic's been getting is a byproduct of the popularity they've already gotten in other fandoms. :D Welcome, bamsara! Many of the fic writers in this fandom are friends with each other already, but we don't bite if you wanna say hi.

Feel No Evil and Language Barrier, both by @payasita. I always love how payasita portrays this duo (in both digital art and writing), with so much sass and repressed loneliness, knowing they're stuck together for eternity and making the best of it. (And maybe falling in love, depending on how dense Narinder keeps being.) What makes these come alive for me is how well thought out the setting is outside the Lamb and Narinder. The descriptions and weight of emotions really pop here.

LITERALLY ANYTHING written by pavi / @i-eat-deodorant. Depending on how spicy you want your fics to be he has even more here. Character analysis, diction, pacing, etc. are consistently 10/10. Top-quality banter between a sassy Lamb and tired old man Narinder. We constantly bounce ideas off each other and inspire each other a lot but I promise I'm not hyping him up just because he's my friend oh my god please just go bless your eyes.

It Was For You, O Death by blueberry-muffin-massacre (if they have a tumblr, let me know so I can tag!). An intriguing alternative ending to the final battle wherein the Lamb chooses a secret third option by refusing to give up the Red Crown and still observing Narinder as the God of Death. So many details are so well thought out and duality their relationship is nicely characterized-- both genuine care for each other and also quite unhealthy. A fine line treaded well!

Confessional by jusmove (again, lmk if they have a tumblr). Been a while since I've read it, but I love how the Lamb chips at Narinder's very carefully built emotional walls. Their personalities are very well fleshed out here, especially Narinder's cognitive dissonance at being able to process love.

Confession by @thewitchoftheweed. I didn't expect a part two to this one, but my god I was so thrilled when it did update. Narinder and Lamb with their unique and parallel loneliness and their fucked-up sense of everything. Their relationship is very rocky here, and I love how they navigate it: with tension and eventual, pained acceptance. Mind the rating.

Of Character Development and Being Dense by @calliecature. A short and sweet narilamb classic. They're both mutually pining and one of them is too emotionally repressed to realize it. Guess who.

Not An Offering, But a Gift by @checkplzjuliet. Small confession fic. I especially love how Narinder's descriptions twist the knife of his situation here, and how Lambert is a total foil for him! There are a lot of good things happening in such a short span, which is impressive.

Also, if you think you've read all my narilamb fics... I do have a secret one out there too. Just so you know.

Happy reading!

I'm already friends with many of the people here, but if any of the writers I've tagged have been kinda wanting to reach out for a while but feel a little anxious... Don't be. I've made my best friends in this fandom by literally just waiting for some of my readers to get over whatever assumption they have that I'm cool and say hi. Or being the more confident one first.

#hannah's rambles #cult of the lamb #narilamb #cotl #fanfic #fic rec

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caeunot · 3 months

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hii first of all i love your writing and im so glad i came across your fics 🖤 i was wondering if you could maybe write a johnnie x fem reader, enemies to lovers fic? or something along the lines of johnnie and fem reader always bullying each other a bit only to realise they've been crushing on each other the whole time?

johnnie guilbert x reader

enemies to lovers 18+

➷ you hated his guts, everything about him irritated you and made your skin crawl. you are friends with jake and you absolutely love him to bits so you spending time with him normally equals to you having to be around johnnie. these feelings aren't without reason though, your not the type of girl to hate on others very easily.

it happened a few years back, when your own youtube career recently jumpstarted and you started spending time with other similar youtubers near you. this is how you originally met johnnie, even before jake. you were first invited to a party hosted by some popular la youtuber at the time and you obviously took the invite since you knew this would not only help you make more friends in the industry but to also promote yourself!

you were greeting everyone and taking many pictures as the night went on, fully using this opportunity to the best of your ability. as it hit 12 you decided to look around and scope out the last person you want to introduce yourself to before you head home. you saw a short-ish guy with deep red emo hair swooped to the side with harsh makeup around his eyes and you were immediately intriged. you preferred a more grunge look yourself so seeing someone with such familiar fashion made you feel at ease.

"hey im y/n!" you say, introducing yourself. "do I know you?" he says coldly as he turns to see who was speaking to him. "no but everyone will soon the way my channel is going" you say with some sass so you can counter his rudeness. "you have way too much confidence" he says with a smirk. "so I've been told".

"what's your name?" you ask, "my names johnnie, johnnie guilbert". "well nice to meet you johnnie" you say with a smile. "what do you do for a living? if I can ask", " I make youtube videos and I also make some music on the side!" he says. you two talk for a little longer before you check the time seeing its quite past what you had planned. "hey it was great meeting you! I don't want to stay too long so I think I should get going!"

as you say goodbye and walk away you feel him grab you by your wrist, you turn around. "wait don't go yet, your the most interesting person I've spoken to today and I don't want to go home just yet" you bite your lip, "fine, how about I just walk you to your car then". he rolls his eyes, "is that all? anyways I don't even have a car, I came with uber"

"wait why did you take an uber?", you say confused, "do I really have to say". "yes", " okay, I can't drive.. happy?" you scrunch up your face, you don't feel comfortable letting him go home with an uber this time of night. "I don't mind giving you a lift! then you can talk to me during the ride all you want"

you walked him to your car and he got in on the passenger seat, let me just say that convincing him to let you take him home was harder than you imagined, but you could see in his face he appreciated it.

"why are you doing this again?" he asks as you start driving. "because I'm a nice person and I don't trust ubers". he nods, "I like your piercings" he says, observing your face in the dim lighting. "thanks!" you say as you stick out your tongue, showing your snake eyes. "oh shit I've never seen that in person before, it looks great". you blush slightly, "it was pretty painful and it's hard to upkeep but I don't regret it at all".

he brushes his hands through his hair, probably anxious from the small talk. "this might sound weird but, do you have a girlfriend" you ask. "I don't, why?", "it's because I figured that if u did she would be the one driving u home from a party, so I was just curious". "haven't had one in years", he says leaning back. "really? your really hot so I'd imagine girls would be all over you".

he laughs, "maybe in the past but not anymore, my sense of fashion and my lack of confidence kinda makes getting a girlfriend hard" he says, opening up to you effortlessly. "I think emo guys are hot" you turn and look at him.

"what are you implying?" he says, giving a lewd grin. "that if I had the choice to either have sex with you or not have sex with you that I would". you notice him squirm slightly in his seat. "if you mean that, pull over" he says

you do as he says and you climb into the back seat. you crawl into his lap and find yourself grabbing and pulling on anything you can find as you feel his tounge slip deep into your mouth, tasting the alcohol he had ingested that night. you wish you could recall the rest but you were much drunker than you thought you were and ended up slightly blacking out.

the moral of the story is that you gave him your number, and he never came back after that. not a call, not even a single text. you never ever hooked up with guys, this was your first time. and you hate how knowing a guy for just one hour could make you feel such strong feelings towards him, for johnnies case those feelings were a mix of lust and disgust.

back to current times, you ended up meeting jake a year later and that's when you saw johnnie again for the first time since that night. but instead of apologizing or at least being honest he instead found himself ignoring you. this frustrated you the most, you despise a man who cannot own up to his actions, let alone not even acknowledging them. every time you found yourself around him you felt your blood boil and you just wanted to give him a peice of your mind, but you can't.

you can't since it's been 5 months since and neither of you have said anything at all, 5 months of pure pretend. jake noticed your dislike towards his roommate but he didn't want to get involved in any issues that didn't require him, which you appreciated greatly.

after a lot of convincing, jake did eventually get the both of you to film a video together with him. it was one of those food rating videos and the goal was to order one type of food for everyone, jake said that I will do the drinks, johnnie the main and jake the desert. you were dreading this.

and you have been dreading this day for the past month since jake started bringing it up. you couldn't even handle being in the same room as him for a few minutes let alone a whole video.

"let's plan what we will order now so that we don't have to think to hard tomorrow!' jake says as you sat down on the couch next to him and opposite from johnnie. "I already know what I'm making you guys eat", "let it be actual food and not just chicken nuggets please" jake says jokingly. "knowing johnnie he will probably poison mine" you say with a scoff. a few minutes later jake started getting a call from someone and had to leave, aka leaving you alone with johnnie.

"why would you say that?" johnnie said to you the moment jake left the room. "say what?", "say that I'd poison your food, it's rude". you laugh from the pure nerve this guy has. "don't fuck with me, don't act like your the victim here". "says the one starting unnecessary shit". " I'm not starting anything, you started and I'm just continuing". the tension in the room was cut as jake walks back in, "sorry guys that was my studio, anyways where were we!" he looks between the two of you and johnnie gets up and leaves, saying he's not feeling well.

that evening you sat down in the passengers seat of jakes car, you breathe in and out meditatively to calm your nerves. "okay everything is orderd we just gotta wait for the food!" jake says climbing into his seat of the car and started prepping for the recording. you fiddle with your rings and move around your hair for a solid 12 minutes before johnnie got in the car with the food in hand.

the video started off fine, you didn't laugh at his jokes and he didn't laugh at yours. you two didn't even make eye contact, that was untill it was jakes turn. "okay guys for johnnie I got him a really massive chocolate chip cookie because hes a basic bitch and I got y/n a gummy lunchable because she's never had one" you laugh since the idea for having gummy pizza seems so obscure. "jake that's so wrong you know I love lunchables". jake turns to you as if implying you should give him a piece.

"I rather not" you say softly, but not soft enough to where johnnie couldn't hear you, "it's literally just a lunchable what's your problem". " I never said I had a problem, it's not my fault you don't have manners and can't ask for something yourself". "I literally just said that I love lunchables, stop starting shit were recording".

jake turns around to face the both of you, "what the fuck guys, what's your problem", you look at johnnie, "ask him". " you guys are acting like fucking toddlers either tell me what happened or just sort your issues alone, like now" he says as he gets out of his car, "there's no point in keeping on filming so let's just go inside okay".

you go inside and sit down and you feel as if your in the third grade getting detention from your angry teacher Mr Webber. "so.. what happend, you two have been like this since the moment you met and I don't understand, y/n, johnnie,I love you both so much but I can't handle this bad energy", you stay quiet and so does johnnie. "okay if you guys are going to be like that I'm going to my room, just please sort something out because I promised our fans we were doing a collab". he says walking off into his room.

you bite the inside of your mouth and look around, not able to handle the awkward silence. "johnnie I just have to ask you one question, why?" he makes an upset face, "what do you mean 'why'", " you know what I mean" you say in almost a defeated tone. you stand up and walk towards where he is sitting, "I mean why didn't you text me back, why did you ghost me" he looks away. "don't be a coward please, im tired of our crap". upon hearing this he stands up.

"fine okay, I'm a fucking coward. I was too scared to message you back because I was drunk and you were drunk and I knew for a fact that nothing would happen between us because I mean look at you, your gorgeous and I know if we somehow started something in the future I would feel so guilty that we hooked up the night we met, I've only ever had sex with two people y/n!! that's you and my ex and I feel guilty for it every day because sleeping with random people is not me!!"

your feel as if your in shock, almost frozen in place. you brush your hand through your hair about to say something but nothing comes out. "I never met to hurt you at all I just, I'm stupid I'm fucking st-" you cut him off by putting your lips on his, he doesn't push you away and instead takes his arms and grabs onto you tight while pushing you against the nearest wall. "I sware I'm not usually like this" he says, breaking the kiss,"you just.. do something to me"

'fuck' you mutter as you grab onto his hair as the kiss becomes more and more passionate. he takes his hands off the wall and starts to remove your baby tee, exposing your lacy black bra. as he did this you hear something behind you and look to see jake, his mouth dropped right to the floor. johnnie immediately stood in front of you to cover your exposed skin and when he heard jake walk away he helped you put your shirt back on. "I'm so sorry" he says with the most guilty look on his face.

"shh don't be it's okay!" you say holding his face and giving him a soft kiss, "I definitely overreacted to everything because of how much I liked you, it hurt me so much that someone I felt so strongly about could shove me aside like you did". " I haven't gone a day without regretting what I did" he says. you felt so relieved that this issue between you two was finally sorted out.

"what now?" you ask, indentifying the elephant in the room. "its my turn to say sorry I shouldnt have kissed you like that it was impulsive and careless of me".

"y/n". " yes?", you ask completely confused. "I've never met someone I've wanted more then you in this moment, I want you and all of you" he says walking towards you and holding your waist, "let's not torture each other as we have, please" you smile "I'm all yours".

❣

#johnnie guilbert #johnnie guilbert x reader #jake and johnnie #x reader #johnnie guilbert fluff #johnnie guilbert imagine #johnnie guilbert smut #caeunot

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worldsover · 5 months

Note

Will we ever get a sequel for Heejin's birthday fic? Just asking btw

Sorry. I am allergic to completing tasks to 100%. For example, as I mentioned in its author notes, there was never even meant to be a sequel since this was supposed to be one story, but instead I posted the incomplete version because the alternative was no story for her birthday. That being said, I do at least have a bit more written, so the same thing applies here: it's unfinished, but at least it's something?

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Heejin Birthday Fic cont.

~2.5k words, incomplete draft of the continuation to Transcendence/Pareidolia ft. Heejin

This wasn't fun. Well, it's a little fun. All the games the two of you play.

The best/worst part are all the videos she sends. She starts with the typical: eating an ice cream cone, having cream drip on her fingers; covering herself with oil and rubbing it over her entire body; holding a vibrator to her clit, waiting for your text about what position you want her in; showing her sopping pussy from various angles, and you can tell exactly which angle she sent you and why.

And then her videos get dirtier. There's Heejin on a vertical video, sitting on her bed, dildo deep inside her pussy, just talking. She talks about how she imagines your cock sliding in and out of her pussy, ramming her g-spot and fucking her senseless, while your fingers rub her clit and your mouth suck her tits. You would fill her up with your cum, dripping out of her pussy, down her legs. Then she would get the taste of your cock as she cleans it with her mouth, and how the cum mixing with her juices would taste even better as she slurps it all up. Heejin has a gift for describing things with vivid detail. You never realized just how eloquent her tongue could be. You can't wait until it's on yours again.

There are the times you meet and end up making out and nearly fucking, but you manage to stop. You keep each other on the brink. Sometimes you want to rip each other's clothes off and ravage the other right then and there, and your hearts would race at the thought of all the consequences and dangers involved with doing it outside. But you had to be patient; you were the one who suggested waiting, after all.

But the weeks pass, and you grow restless. You can't wait to claim Heejin as yours, in the most intimate way possible.

And finally, October 19 arrives.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

The restaurant is a small, cozy establishment, with warm lighting and ambient music. You and Heejin are dressed in semi-formal attire, and you admire how beautiful she looks in her black dress, with a slit up the thigh that shows off her perfect legs. You're both a little giddy with anticipation. You feel like it's Christmas, ready to open the ultimate present, even if she's the birthday girl here.

As you sit at the table, Heejin's phone lights up with birthday messages from her friends, and you can't help but wonder what they would think if they knew about you two.

"Wow, you're popular."

She giggles. "I know, it's silly. But, it's kinda sweet."

You take a sip of water. "You know, Heejin, it's been fun, these last couple of weeks, edging. I've never gone this long."

Heejin scoffs. "You're one to talk. It's been hell for me."

"I believe you."

You start to eat your food. The flavors are rich and savory, and the portions are generous. The two of you chat about the usual stuff, like work and your family and the newest set of anime coming out, but no matter how you try, you can't resist being glued to her every touch. Her finger absentmindedly twirls around a strand of hair. Her thighs shift in her seat. A napkin wipes the side of her mouth. The candlelight, and the warmth of the establishment makes her glow, and you're hopelessly under her spell.

Of course, her heel brushing against your inner thigh doesn't help.

"You seem tense," she says.

"Great observation."

"You know, for some reason, I don't feel that full, even after all I ate."

"You wanna go to another restaurant or something?"

Heejin rolls her eyes. "That's not what I'm hungry for."

Your mouth rounds to a circle.

She rubs her heel on your pants. "What?"

You throw the napkin on the table and stand up. "Excuse me, I have to use the restroom."

Heejin bites her lip as you walk away. You enter the bathroom. It's its own individual room, fancy and well-kept. You walk up to the sink and splash cold water on your face, sighing.

You use the toilet. Then, you use your phone to find the nearest hotel and its nearest vacancy. Can't even wait to bring her home. You text her your plan for the night.

Seems even that is too much waiting. A knock. She texts you back.

> open the door.

You gulp. You do, and Heejin steps in, her breathing erratic, her smile mischievous. She pulls you by your tie for a kiss, shoving you against the door. Your tongue and hers are tangling, and you reach for her breast. Your knee is lifting her skirt, and she's grinding against it.

"Heejin," you say, "we gotta, we gotta go somewhere else."

"I can kneel here." And she does just that. "We can make this quick."

She unbuckles your pants and frees your cock, your limp-cock instantly hard in the warmth of her mouth, instantly in the back of her throat.

"Heejin, no, wait, we were saving..."

Pop. "Oh, what, like you don't wanna blow your load down my throat and cum all over my tits and face?"

She's pumping, her fingers slick and tight around your shaft, your cockhead rubbing against her face. She sucks on your balls.

"I bet you'd absolutely ruin this fucking dress with your load."

In the next five minutes, Heejin proceeds to slather your cock in her spit while sucking you down with best blowjob you've ever received. Her lips and tongue are tight, and the heat of her mouth and the vacuum of her suction feels so divine around your cock. And her moans, oh, fuck, how you missed her moans around your shaft. The vibrations tickle your skin and your nerves. You're thankful for the door and the weight of your body preventing the two of you from collapsing, because the pleasure is making your knees weak. And if that wasn't enough, Heejin is relentless in her dirty talk and her sucking.

"God, your cock is fucking amazing. I wanna drink your cum forever. I wish you could shoot your cum deep in my pussy, fill me up. I can't wait to get your cock in my cunt."

She bobs faster, deeper, sucking more intensely. You're about to burst. She knows. Heejin reaches between your legs and squeezes your balls.

Then, she pulls back. Pop. "So, where's the hotel?"

✦✧✦✧✦✧

You pay for your meals, and then you're on the way to the hotel. It's a short taxi ride away, and the two of you keep your hands to yourself.

Once you're in the elevator, you hold Heejin's waist, and she faces you, giggling.

"What?" you ask.

"Nothing," she says. "Just… happy."

You lean down to kiss her. "Have I told you enough that you're the prettiest girl on the planet?"

"A couple times." She kisses back. "I don't mind you telling me more."

You brush strands of hair away from her face. She puts her hands on your face. Your hand slides up her waist to cup her cheek. She runs her thumb across your bottom lip.

Ding. The elevator doors open, and you step into the hallway. Your room is a few steps down, and you unlock the door.

It's a basic suite, and you don't waste time, dropping your stuff, locking the door, and moving to the bed, pushing Heejin down and kneeling to her height.

She giggles. "Gotta catch up, huh?"

You slide her shoes off her feet, then your own. Then, you slip your hands under her dress and hook a finger on her panties, moving them down her legs. All the while, she takes off your suit jacket and undoes your belt. You move Heejin's panties completely off her ankles. They're soaked. She lies down on the bed.

Your cock is throbbing, but you can't stop staring at the view.

She blushes. "N-no, no more edging. Please. I need to cum, so, so fucking bad. I need you in me, right fucking now."

You swallow. "Don't worry. I'll be inside you soon enough. Just, lemme get a good look of your body first."

Heejin smiles. "My body, huh? What, what's so special about it?"

"Everything."

You're on top of Heejin now, caressing her face.

"Everything," you repeat. You lower your head. "Especially your eyes." You lower your head again. "And your lips." You kiss them. "And your neck." You kiss. She moans. You continue kissing downwards, licking along her collarbone, nibbling on the side of her throat, biting her shoulder. Then you lick the valley between her breasts, pull down the neckline of her dress, and lick circles on her nipples. You hike up the hem of dres to reach a hand to her pussy. "And, this." You rub her lips.

She moans. "What… about that?"

You crawl lower, your face between her legs. You spread her lips, already wet, and you stick your tongue inside her hole. "The prettiest pussy I've ever seen." You lick up her slit.

Heejin grabs your hair and pulls you. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait anymore. Fuck me."

You wipe your mouth. "Yeah, yeah, sorry."

"Just… put it in me already."

You get on your knees and rub your cockhead against Heejin's lips, smearing pre-cum. You rub it around her clit, and she shudders, whimpering.

Heejin pushes on your chest. "Wait, hold on, sit up. I wanna watch. Please. Your cock… entering me. I can't wait to see it."

You nod. Heejin sits up too. You grab Heejin's thighs and spread them. Your cockhead rubs against Heejin's entrance again.

"Holy shit, holy shit," she says.

You lick your lips. You push your cock into Heejin's hole, and your head is swimming in her heat, her wetness. Her pussy is already sucking you in, and Heejin is already moaning, and her whole body is already trembling.

"Shit, Heejin, you're already going to cum?"

She nods. "Yes! I'm sorry, it's just, you're finally, finally inside me. I've dreamed about this, so many times, and now it's happening."

"Me too. It's fine, it's fine." You pull back, and then you thrust again, a bit deeper, and Heejin shudders again. "Holy shit."

You pump slowly, Heejin moaning louder and louder, her pussy squeezing you tighter and tighter. Your grip on her thighs is tight, and you push her down, burying your cock deeper. Her back arches, and you start thrusting faster. You grunt. Heejin's pussy is milking your cock, sucking you deeper, and you're pounding her cunt, her moans and your grunts filling the room, until she lets out a scream, a high-pitched, satisfied noise, and her walls are convulsing. And just as you said, you empty your load deep inside her, rope after rope, a thick batch of semen pooling in her hole and leaking past your shaft.

"Holy… shit," she says. Heejin's trying to catch her breath. She looks up at you, a slight smirk on her face. "You're still hard, right?"

You look down. You're still hard.

Even though her legs writhe and her toes curl, she fucks herself into your shaft, covering it in more and more cream.

"Fucking, hell, Heejin, just like that?" You clench your jaw.

"Yeah. Yeah, we just started. I love watching you pump your cock in and out of my pussy, seeing it get all sloppy."

You chuckle. "Slut."

"For you." She wraps her legs around your waist, her arms around your back. "Wreck me."

You can do nothing but comply. Heejin's eyes roll back, her lips tremble, and her nails dig into your back, and you fuck her, you fuck Heejin, hard. Using your own creampie as lube, your cock plunges and slams inside Heejin's pussy, over and over. You pick her up from the bed and pound into her as you carry her around the room, making loud wet slaps fill the air. Then, you set her down on the desk, gripping her shoulders, and the room shakes with your thrusts.

Heejin screams and babbles. You're about to cum again already, and so is she. You love her expression, like she's completely drunk to your cock as she loses herself to the pleasure of it stuffing her, pushing your first creampie out just to fill her up again. You're sure she can feel your heartbeat from how far your cock is in her womb. You slow down, then you pull out. Heejin's pussy is drooling cum, and she lies flat on the desk. Your head is so light that you only just now realize you're still cumming, so you jack off onto her body, mainly covering her dress in cum, though some of it reaches her chin. Heejin promptly licks that clean.

"Why," she says. "Why'd you stop? You're, you're still hard. Please."

"Turn around. Get on your hands and knees."

She obeys. "Yes, sir," she says, and you like the way she says that.

You grab Heejin's waist, and then you slam into her pussy. Your pace is just as brutal as when you started the night. Turns out that edging for weeks, then cumming inside a woman's tight pussy, then pulling out and painting her in your cum is more than enough to keep your cock rock hard, and Heejin is more than eager to have your cock pounding her hole as many times as you want.

After the fourth round, your fifth climax, Heejin is a mess on the bed, and so is your cock. It's covered in her cum and your cum and some of her saliva, and her tongue is lazily circling your cockhead while she rests her head on your thighs.

"Do you, do you want to keep going?"

Heejin nods. "Why? Are you tired?"

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I have another few in me. But my abs are killing me."

"Oh yeah? You should try doing planks."

"The way you do them? Yeah, ri—" You're interrupted when Heejin climbs up your body and grabs your cock. You flinch. "No, wait, wait, wait. Wait, Heejin."

"Are you afraid?"

You gulp. "Very."

"I promise it won't hurt. It'll be fun."

When Heejin says it, you believe her. "Fine. Go for it."

Heejin grins. "Awesome." As she positions herself over your shaft, the creampie you filled her with starts to leak onto your stomach, and she holds your cock to point it up towards her hole. She lowers her pussy, and your cock enters her again. She rides you, holding your cock by the base so that the entire time, you feel the entirety of her tunnel envelop you, and your cum is squishing all over her insides.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

If I do get around to finishing the story, I will probably delete this and the initial version of Transcendence, post the full version instead. Big if.

#asks #anon #loona smut #kpop smut #reader insert #male reader #artms smut

395 notes · View notes

robynlilyblack · 2 years

Text

Smart cookie

Sirius Black x fem! shy! reader

[Requested – see request here]

Summary: Sirius needs a tutor for herbology and he happens to be granted the shiest girl in the world to help him, luckily, he happens to love that about her

Warnings: swearing, mentions of food, eating and sex, one conversation of abuse, some hurt/comfort but mostly fluff, first kiss, getting together, slow burn

A/n: 6.6k words, I love this, the concept, everything i think i've created the greatest comfort fic for myself, I hope you like it too! Thank you so much for the request, enjoy x

Navigation | Sirius Black Masterlist

You fiddled nervously with your quill as you awaited his arrival, eyes continually flicking to the corner whenever someone passed by. You figured he would be late, although there was a part of you that hoped he would blow it off. Talking had never been your strong suit, it took you a while before you could openly talk to someone, it was almost like a little door into the real you that very few people got to go through.

Your Herbology professor had told you that if you tutored Sirius you wouldn’t have to do the oral presentation. It was like picking between two of your biggest fears, public speaking and one to one conversation, oh and sprinkle on top your ‘student’ being the polar opposite of you, talkative, popular, seen, while you were the invisible girl that people sometimes wondered was mute

Of course, it was clear what you picked, Sirius didn’t seem all bad. Yes, he was a flirt, someone that enjoyed kissing and sex, but there was nothing wrong with that. What you had admired about him was how he defended the people he had one night stands with, looked out for them and didn’t let anyone call them rude things. He was a gentleman, a prick when it came to pranks and Slytherins, but you figured that was routed in his family, and his loyalty to James, since that boy was clearly jealous of Snape for the longest time. All of these things made you develop a crush on the boy from afar, but he had no idea who you are

You were an observer, you liked it in ways, you knew about everyone and had the privilege of seeing both sides of the coin. But alas you were lonely, your dorm mates didn’t really speak to you since you weren’t into parties like them, of course they didn’t know that you did like parties to an extent, just not when they abandoned you with strangers or forced you to get drunk saying it will ‘loosen you up’ or ‘give you more confidence’.

Over the years, despite wishing for a voice and to be ‘normal’ you realised that those people that talk all the time, really don’t have anything interesting to say, while you could say one line and floor them if you wanted. Quality over quantity, not about how much you say but what you say the really matters

“Hi”

You were pulled out of your thoughts to see Sirius smiling down at you, eyes looking directly into yours which you hold for all of two seconds before your eyes return to the table

He grins at your reaction, this is going to be fun, he thinks as he takes a seat across from you. He says quiet for a minute, judging whether you will start off the conversation or not. He quickly figures from your fiddling hands and avoidance of his eyes that you wouldn’t be speaking any time soon

“So” he extends the syllables making you look up at him with the sweetest eyes “What are we going to go over first cutie” he says a little flirty revelling in how your eyes widen at the petname

Your mouth opens and closes a few times before you grab the book in front of you and open it up “Umm” you shuffle your chair around toward him but you can’t wait drag it on the carpet so Sirius stands and lifts his to sit next to you

Your breath hitches that he’s so close “Hi” he greets you again, a grin on his face that tells you he’s amused by the little squeak that left your mouth

“Hi” you say in the quietest voice, eyes lingering on him before you gesture to the page “I was thinking we could start with some revision” you say waiting for him to speak but he’s just listening so you continue “So we can make sure the foundations good, because if the foundations iffy then your…” fucked? You can’t say fucked…what’s another word for fucked…

“Fucked” Sirius jokes making you stare at him, did you hear…did I say that out loud? “Sorry I forget not everyone likes swearing” he apologies with a chuckle, but you can tell he’s not really sorry

You open your mouth to say no you really didn’t mind but instead you return to the book “Aconite” you say rather randomly

“Aconite” Sirius repeats in a charmed tone, merlin you must have been the shyest person he’s ever met

“Yeah, we can start with that and it has other names like…” you try to add inflection to the end turning to him and awkwardly creeping your hand over the answers on the book, an action Sirius thinks is utterly adorable

“Wolfsbane and Monk…” his eyebrows knit “Monk…” he looks at you for help

“Monkshood”

“Monkshood” he smiles at you in a way that makes your little heart jump around

You avert your eyes pulling the book towards you, flicking the page and covering the diagram, as you look back up he looks amused “Did you see it?” you cringe

He nods “I did but please continue doing that it’s so cute” he comments making your eyes go wide “So cute” he repeats smiling at you

You had never felt more flustered in your whole life, only time that rivalled it was when you were paired with Marlene and Dorca the previous year and both were flirting with you, calling you honey and sweetie pie exclusively…come to think of it you weren’t even sure they knew your real name.

After a few minutes of trying to compose yourself you pull out a bunch of cards from a small bag “These…” you pick the top one up “…will help if you like that method of learning” you say with a small smile

Sirius looks at them, taking it from you, but making sure to brush his fingers over yours, smiling as you let out another tiny hum and bite your lip

“What are these?” he asks softly, lace of confusion across his face

He’s so pretty it hurts, he’s gonna kill me isn’t he, you think then you watch him lick his lips, yup I can already feel myself entering the afterlife

“They are flashcards” that doesn’t jog anything in him making you wonder if only muggles used this technique “One side has a question, like this one is which plants leaves can cause fits of laughter and/or hysteria?”

He looks at you a little lost “Guess” you say gently

He shrugs “I don’t know it” he confesses “Sorry cutie”

You bite your lip “You can still guess, I mean what’s the worst that could happen? In an exam if you write nothing you get zero anyway but if you guess there is a small chance you are right”

Sirius head tilts, nodding lightly

“Try not thinking of the answer, try deduction, like what plants do you know don’t cause that effect? From there you can bring it down to a one in four or even one in two chance, better odds” you smile at him

He smiles back, if he was being honest he was just looking to flirt with you the whole session. Yes, he was so going to do that because you were the cutest person alive in his eyes but maybe he could actually learn something too. Everything made sense when you said it and there was the added bonus of your serene voice and temper which he just knew he’d never get enough of

“Okay…it can’t be Lovage because that’s used in potions like the draughts for confusing people, right?” you press your lips together, a small smile on your face as you stay quiet “I’ll assume I’m right cutie” he winks and your cheeks rise, closing your eyes for a second

She needs to be protected at all costs, he thinks as he resists the urge to wrap an arm around you, not wanting to make you feel uncomfortable…or perhaps cause you to combust

“Can’t be Asphodel cause that’s like a Lily…I don’t think I need to expand on why I know that” he says and you let out a tiny giggle “Not moly, bouncing blub is funny to look at and it does have tiny leaves” he bobs his head “There’s Alihotsy…Slughorn used that in a memory potion but…oh” his eyes widen “It’s it Alihotsy? I remember moony saying we should steal some for…reasons” he smirks

You giggle again, the sound warming his heart “Flip over the card and see”

He does at you say, subtly beaming that he got it right but trying to stay cool “You’re a good tutor” he compliments

You smile but shake your head “It’s just one question. I think you know more than you are…aware of” you say as if you aren’t sure how to word it

“I’m assuming they told you my score. I would say I know nothing as that’s what was going through my mind at the time…well actually I was imagining how to pull of this prank” he says smiling before realising he went a little off topic

“I know your score but in class, week to week, you do well on assignments, right?” you ask

He nods not sure where you are going with it

“Well I think you naturally are good at it, it’s more…like when you go to revise to you read it and go I know this, I remember doing this. But then weeks later at the mock exam you saw the same thing, remembered the word but couldn’t recall any information” you wonder

Sirius was a little surprised you got it, he’ll be honest the amount of people who have tried to tutor him was a lot, his friends, Lily, Marlene, couple one night stands he ended up having because he wasn’t learning so he decided to just have fun instead. He wondered if you had noticed him in class, sure mr popular but really watched him. He hadn’t noticed you beyond seeing you in class from time to time and yet you understood him.

“You’re a smart cookie” he notes nodding

Smiling you continue “I think the problem lies with you not forcibly recalling the information often, most people try to learn from scratch again but that’s when you get bored, because…”

“...you’ve already read this before” he finishes and you nod

“Really you just need a method like these flashcards, simple questions that add up to create the knowledge you’ll need in the final exam. So, these…” you flick through them “…are colour coded into 5 sections…now there are 7 weeks till the exam so a section per week, a revision week and then one last week for mock papers” you say to yourself but he is listening closely “Does that sound alright?” you check

“Seven weeks of you sounds like heaven” he wiggles his eyebrows

You shrink into yourself a little but not as much as you did at the beginning, Sirius had a nice vibe around him. Either way it was going to be an interesting 7 weeks

Week 1

He decided to meet you every day just before dinner for an hour session, more than the professor suggested but you couldn’t say no, not to his big grey eyes. His flirting never stopped, ever opportunity he decided to slip something in

“Mistletoe, you know I’m a practical learner cutie…perhaps we could find some and you could show me”

“You look pretty today little genius”

“You’re such a smart cookie, I could just eat...you...up”

The comments made your heart flutter but he did listen to you, learn from you and by the end of the week he was a whiz at the first topic

“Well done you got 18 out of 21” you smile at him “That’s an O”

He smiles back looking proud of himself “Couldn’t have done it without you cutie” he says placing his hand on your shoulder and giving it a small shake

You were slowly getting used to the touches, you tensed up but you liked them just didn’t know how to tell Sirius yet. Although the boy didn’t seem phased by it, just gave you a small smile as if to say sorry before retracting his hand. He was a naturally touchy person and you were a natural hermit who ironically loved physical touch

“Thanks Sirius” you accept the compliment before flicking to the next sections of notes “So next week we will be doing these flash cards but on Friday you’ll do both next week’s set and the ones we did this week”

“Sounds good” he grins at you, eyes flicking over your face as you turn back to the cards “So are up to anything interesting this weekend?” he inquires

You turn and blink at him, oh no the dreaded moment…small talk. You were fine with talking about Herbology, you knew about that, you were confident in it, but real-life conversation? Not so much, even if you wanted to talk to him more than anything

“Nothing really” you shake your head lightly, shying away from him

Sirius watches you carefully, to most people it looked like you weren’t interested in the slightest, but you were lucky he went through this with a certain moon back in first year

“Nothing can be the best way to spend time” he says sweetly and his heart warms at the way your lips tug upward whilst packing your belongings

Week 2

Sirius struggled with the flashcards for the first two days and it hurt to see him so low

“I got 5, 5 out of 27” he sulks, letting his forehead fall to the desk groaning

You reach out to rub his back but stop yourself “Maybe we should try a different approach” you suggest

He turns his head on the table peering up at you with the cutest eyes that sort of reminded you of your neighbour’s dog. His lips forming the smallest of smiles as he looks at you, she’s beautiful from every angle

“This topic is rather…dull” you admit, you gave him the easiest one last week but this week was the hardest, mostly because it was dry, a lot of reading and more theory that actually plants

He nods his head lifting his face which earns a giggle from you as the parchment sticks to it on the way up “Oh” he pulls it off and sets it on the table, smiling to himself as he does “It is dull, dare say as dull as Mr Binns” he complains and he sees you pout “You aren’t boring though, just the subject matter” he assures you, hand squeezing yours, taking note that you didn’t tense up at his touch as he pulls back

“Maybe you need some…” you think for a moment “… incentive” your shoulders raise

His soft smile melts into a cheeky smirk “What kind of incentive?” he raises one eyebrow leaning a little closer to you as he says it

You felt heat creep to your cheeks, you were sure he could feel the it radiating from you “Umm…”

Sirius should have felt a little bad but he couldn’t resist, your reactions were so cute he wanted to kiss you all over…maybe one day you’d let him

“Pads!” you were thankful for James’ interruption as it gave you the time you needed to compose yourself

Sirius turns from you to his friend smiling “Need something?” he asks as James approaches and helps himself to a seat

“Oh no, I was just coming to say hi” James shrugs smiling away, eventually turning to you “Hey” he greets

“Hi” you half whisper almost like you mouth the word

James tilts his head a little amused before looking at Sirius to find him watching you with eyes he knew all too well…dubbed Lily eyes by Remus

“How’s the study going? He being a good boy?” James asks with a grin that tells you he knows something you don’t, something that makes Sirius…blush?

The dusting of pink on his cheeks not going unnoticed by his friend “It’s going” Sirius says “Little harder today but in general really well” he answers honestly, not wanting to bite back with a snarky remark in front you, but James can bet his sweet dear arse he’s in for it later

“Colour me impressed” James says looking at you “You must be the only person he’s ever listened too”

Oh yeah James was going to be fed to Remus tonight…

“Speaking of, we were in the middle of something” Sirius give him a small glare that only makes his friend chuckle

James puts up his hands “Fine I’ll skedaddle” he says and Sirius looks at him funny

“Marlene” James replies and Sirius nods smiling, it was amazing how much muggle vocabulary Marlene had taught him, although this was one of the few times he actually used a phrase correctly

Once he leaves Sirius turns back to you “So incentive?” he says a lot less flirty than the first time

You nod “Like let’s say you get half of them right then you can have a snack, or a go walk or something, for example I let myself read a chapter of my book” you say

“Why half?” he questions

You let out a small laugh “He doesn’t really test this much, if it is it’s part of a bigger question, besides this stuff doesn’t cross over with the practical exam so it’s not really killing two birds you know?” you explain

He smiles, licking his lips “You really should become a teacher, you’re really good at explaining stuff simply without being condescending…plus everyone would have a crush on you” he adds winking

You just smile looking away, a part of you hoping that means he has a crush on you as you have him. Sirius eventually did get half by the end of the week, treating himself to some sweets from Honeydukes which he happily shared with you.

Week 3

This week was warm and sunny, not the best weather to be hauled up in a library and you could tell Sirius was bored. You had watched him stare out of the window for the last half an hour, dinner would be soon and he hadn’t learnt anything yet so you decided to do something a little bit brave.

“Sirius?” you gain his attention

“Mhm” he hums, turning his head but his eyes linger on the window for a couple of seconds before meeting yours “Sorry” he gives you an apologetic look, he really did want to pay attention but it was hard

You begin packing up your stuff and he panics “Hey I’ll listen, promise” he says worried with big sad eyes that were so out of character for him

You smile “Pack up and follow me” is all you say before moving to place your quills and books in your bag

Sirius looks at you for a minute then does as you say, quietly following you through the castle and out into the castle grounds. You pass by plenty of sunbathing students, groups of friends in circles and quite a few couples have soft core porn sessions on the grass. Eventually you lead him to a quieter area, approaching a picnic bench hidden from view by high bushes, but gave a beautiful view of black lake along with some shelter from the sun thanks to the overhanging branches from nearby trees

“This place better?” you ask quietly, taking a seat on the bench and beginning to get your stuff out

He nods, taking a moment to let his heart stop fluttering before he speaks “It’s perfect” he says talking a seat beside you instead of across, but keeps a healthy inch between you both

You open up the book, skimming the pages to find where you were at while Sirius observes the way the light hits off your features

“You’re perfect” he whispers to himself

Week 4

“What you reading?” Sirius asks as he plops himself next to you

You don’t say anything at first just place the bookmark in and hand it to him “It’s called Lord of the Rings…that’s the first book of the triology” you add as he looks over the cover, opening up the first page and admiring the map

“What’s this?” he points to the illustration

You shuffle closer to him “It’s middle earth, where the story takes place” you inform him, legs touching as you point to places on the map explaining the different areas

As you speak he just listens, letting you talk and fill the conversation. Over the last weeks he had noticed you speaking more, adding little bits of info that weren’t needed but you just felt comfortable telling him

“Sorry” he was brought out of his daze to see you looking a little bad about yourself, thinking you were talking too much

He shakes his head “No please continue” your eyes widen “please” he gives you a fond look

A smile spreads across you face “Okay…well the story is about…” you begin explain the general plot to him when his arm wraps around your shoulder

“This okay?” he checks, arm very loose, almost hovering until you nod and he pulls you into him “Why don’t we take our normal break now and you can read me some” he suggests and your eyes light up in a way he wants to see every day for the rest of his life

“Like from the beginning?” you ask

“Sure, as long as you don’t mind starting again” he says whist breathing in the scent of your shampoo

You shake your head happily “I’ve read it all before and I was only on the 4th chapter anyway” your voice is louder than usual although your loud was his normal, making him wonder if you were opening up to him, and that thought led him to kiss your cheek as you began talking again, loving the little waver in your voice as he did

Week 5

You tapped on the book in front of you, smiling to yourself as you waited for him. After last week every time Sirius got a lot of questions right instead of a nap or 10-minute wander around the library he asked you to read him a chapter of the book. You loved reading to him, feeling connected to another person and having them really see you, want to listen and not change the subject as soon as you began to geek out

Your crush on his had grown ten times over. He flirted with you still but it had shifted from cheesy lines to those with sentiment and the tone of his voice changed to a softer, caring one.

“Hello” you lift your head to see three people standing in front of you

“Hi” you say meekly, already beginning to shrink into yourself

The girl at the front laughs “Holy shit you can talk” she jokes and her friends laugh “We’re gonna need to you leave little bookworm, you’re taking up the whole table to yourself”

“I…” you start to speak up nothing comes out “I…I…”

“I…I…” the boy on the right mocks you and you feel tears forming “Gonna cry?” he pouts at you

“I’m w-waiting on someone” you finally get out just loud enough for them to hear

They fake surprise “You have a friend” the girl crosses her arms looking at you sceptically "Highly doubt it who would want to be friends with you"

You could feel the tears about to fall when you heard the voice of someone that made your heart leap “Sorry I’m late…Prongs wanted to get Lily flowers but got trapped in the vines of another plant then Moony and Wormtail tried to cut them out but Wormy got stuck and Moony lost the knifes to the vines…it was a clusterfuck to put it mildly” he rambles sitting down next to you, so caught up in his story and rush to notice the three who now wore real puzzlement on their face s

“Anyway…” He kisses your temple “I’m here now” he smiles finally looking at you and tilting his head, smile dropping as it's replaced with a look of worry “What happened?”

You open your mouth but nothing comes out, eyes flicking to the group of people Sirius still hadn’t noticed as his focus was and is on you. His heart aches and is only pulled from you by a cough making him turn and see the three standing there

“Hello” he says lowly, no humour or emotion in his voice, eyeing all three

The two boys gulp while the girl seems to keep hold of her fear “Hi” she chirps pretending like she wasn’t blatantly bullying you two seconds ago “We were just looking for a seat but it seems this is taken” she explains but Sirius sees right through her

“Well I suggest…” he wraps his arm around you, feeling you bury your head into the side of his chest in attempt to hide as he can feel the hot tears through his shirt “…you three continue looking. Far from here” he says the last sentence slowly keeping intense eye contact with the girl

They nod, quickly walking away and he turns to you, heart breaking as he shifts away to see your pout and tear stained cheeks. Lifting one leg over the bench of the picnic table to straddle it, he pulls you forward and onto his lap, letting you cry into him as he holds you

“It’s alright” he kisses the side of your head

You sniffle “I’m sorry” you apologise feeling silly for crying over nothing

His hands find your cheeks pulling you back from his neck to face him “Don’t you dare be sorry” he says firmly, wiping the tears with his thumbs “They’re arseholes and they are going to get the full marauders treatment” he assures you, kissing your nose “They don’t get to make you cry okay, they ever bother you…actually make that if anyone bothers you, you tell me and I’ll beat their arse” he promises

You giggle at him, he was like your every own protector “I’ll tell you”

“Good” he smiles “Now I suggest since I am an amazing herbologist at this point that we ditch the study session just this once and read” he suggests

You look over the books then back to him “That would be really nice”

He grins kissing your cheek before sliding you back down onto the bench and packing up all your books except Lord of the Rings

“Come on” his fingers curl as he holds out his hand gesturing for you to follow but you end up taking his hand in yours, surprising him but it’s a welcome one. One that makes him pull you closer for another kiss to the head before he carries your stuff over to the incline of the hill nearby.

“Hold up darlin” he stops you from sitting down

You smiled at the new petname, sure you liked cutie, smart cookie etc but this one felt more…intimate. Especially watching him take out his robes and lay them on the grass, making sure your robes and stuff didn’t touch the ground before he sat down and hithered for you to join him

“Can I?” you reach out for the book but he shakes his head

“This day is about you so I will read…but be warned if something crazy happens plot wise I will freak out…and maybe add swears in but I can…”

“I think a fuck or two from Gandalf would be the only thing missing from one of the greatest books ever written” you gently interrupt him

He wears the biggest smile “Before I start can you do one little thing for me?”

“Anything”

“Say fuck again”

Week 6

For the first time you were running late having gone to the library thinking it was too chilly only to wait and then realise Sirius had probably still gone to the picnic table

“Hi” greet you reach the table, slipping in next to him but as he turned to you he didn’t look happy, he looked somewhere between annoyed and worried “I’m so sorry I’m late I went to the library and…”

“I’m not mad” his upset mood lifted for a moment as he kisses your forehead “I’m not mad at you…I’m assuming you haven’t heard” he says

You shake your head “Heard what?” you wonder with worry lines spreading across your face

“They moved the exam forward to next week, something about the Divination professor not wanting their exam on Friday the 13th so they swapped the dates” he says dejected

“Oh” you hadn’t heard but you knew how this could shake him, you were about to speak when his head fell into his hands, looking stressed as his fingers griped at the roots of his hair “Sirius?”

“I can’t fail” he shakes his head “Y/n what I’m I going to do I’ve lost a whole week” he turns to you

Never had you seen him so anxious, so panicked, he was always laid back, maybe a tad worried but never looking like he was ready to break down “You won’t fail, yes we’ve lost a week but we still have one too” you assure him

His face softens but the nerves remain “I know but…” he trails off closing his eyes

You shift closer, hand finding his knee “You can tell me anything, who’d I tell” you make a little joke and he lets out a singular chuckle

“I need to pass or I can’t become an auror, a fail will screw it all up” he confesses, his hands cupping yours, thumbs running over your fingers “I can’t…screw this up” he says looking down at your hand

“Why is being an auror important to you?” you ask softly, trying to help him remember why he’s doing this, what motivates him, but really, first and most importantly, you were trying to support him

He looks up, meeting your eyes “I want to help people…protect people, protect kids from people like my parents, my dad” he looks so vulnerable, his grip on your hand just that little bit tighter

“Like your parents?” you tilt your head, you knew some things about the Black family but you never wanted to pry

He sighs “He…hit me” he says quietly and you felt your heart break in two “That’s one of the reasons I ran away, the night I showed up at James’ I had two cracked ribs and so many bruises. He threw me down the stairs, even threw a bottle of firewhisky at me once…I hate him” he looks down as he says the last part “Only James knows it happened, and now you” he looks back up

You slip your hand out of his grip, opening your arms and he falls into them without a second thought “Thank you for trusting me” you whisper kissing his hair “You’re really brave” you say with the upmost sentiment

“I’m not…I left my little brother” he shakes his head, head shifting to look up at you

You kiss his forehead, seeing him close his eyes as your lips touch his skin “You had to do what was right for you, there’s no shame in that” you give him a small smile “And…it’s never too late, to make amends or to do anything”

He smiles at you, lifting his head up to face you properly “You’re…you’re a wonderful person” he complements, lifting your hand up and kissing your knuckles

Week 7

You let your legs swing from the wall you were seated on, waiting for Sirius to come out. You finished quite early, you were the herbology whiz after all. As you waited you saw Remus come out around 5 minutes after you and sit a little further down the wall

He gave you a kind smile “Thank you” he says as more people begin to come out gathering in little groups just down from the two of you

“For what?” you ask a little confused

He just smiles “For helping him achieve the things I always knew he could” he says simply before turning to greet Peter as he comes out looking happy with himself as he gushes about the exam to Remus

You smile as well, continuing to as you see James come out, followed by a few others until eventually your Sirius…well he wasn’t yours but he sure felt like it as he looked around a bit before zoning in on you, walking straight by his friends, including James’ awkward open arms

“I think you’ve been replaced” Remus whispers to James who huffs “I’ll give you one though” he offers to which James shrugs and pulls him in

While they hug and James soon pulls Peter in to join them, Sirius sits next to you on the wall

“What you get for question 5?” he asks and you let out a giggle

“Nice to see you too” you pout in faux annoyance

He chuckles “Sorry darling” he kisses your temple and slithers his arm around your waist “Hi” he greets you properly

“Hi Siri” you chirp back, seeing his eyes flash with something as you try out the nickname

“Call me that again” he smirks

You chew on your lip “Siri” you repeat, your voice timid this time

He kisses your cheek “You’re so cute and I like that name when you say it” he confesses

“I like darling when you call me it” you admit and he hugs you closer

“So question 5”

You shake your head “Nope” you pop the ‘p’

“Please” he makes puppy eyes

You shake your head once more “No, discussing answers will only make you more stressed, it’s better to just forget everything about it until you get the mark”

He looks like he’s trying to think of a way around your logic but ultimately sighs “Fine” he squeezes your waist “I know we’ve finished our sess…” he starts but you’re interrupted by his friends

“Hey Marlene and some others are thinking of sneaking to Hogsmeade to get butterbeers to celebrate finishing our…” James looks in thought

“Second” Remus reminds him

James lightly hits his arm “Second exam and…oh merlin we’re only two in” his eyes widen looking like he went through ten different emotions before shrugging “Anyway, you coming?” he asks and he must notice your awkward shuffle and Sirius’ eyes flicking to you as he adds “That invitation includes you too y/n”

You look at Sirius to find him already smiling at you “You want to?” he asks with a glimmer of hope in his eyes

You nod, watching his eyes light up before he takes your hand in his as you both stand up

“He’s got the Lily eyes again” Remus teases and you look at him funny while Sirius can’t even glare he just goes a little red

James quickly joins in “It’s a song you see…I got those Lily eyes” he starts singing

“Those Lily eyes” Remus begins to harmonise with him

“That tell you that I love you…” James takes Remus in his arms and they begin to waltz around the corridor

“Duh duh duh” Remus hums

“Dumb dee dee dee…Minnie” they stop in their tracks but don’t decouple as they spot their professor

She seems rather amused but hides it well “Having fun?” she asks and they nod “Between you and me Mr Potter I would refrain from such gestures in the future” she eyes him before letting out a small smile “You may make a certain redhead jealous…although Jamus is a rather fun name to say” she shrugs, beginning to walk away before spotting you

“Minnie” Sirius winks

“Mr Black” she acknowledges him before turning her attention to you “Miss Y/l/n I had a chat with Albus earlier and as long as you achieve O’s or A’ in all of your exams we would be happy to take you on as a teaching assistant next year” and with that she smiles and heads off

You smile to yourself beginning to follow the other marauders towards their friends but Sirius stops you “Teacher huh?” he grins but it’s a proud one

You nod “A really good person helped me realise I’d make a rather…kick ass teacher” you say with a small giggle

He leans down and kisses your cheek “I know you were complimenting me darling but all I can think about is how adorable it sounds when you swear”

“Fuck” you say quietly

His smile widens “I love you so much” he didn’t mean to say it, his heart jumped to his throat as he finished but the words flowed out so naturally he didn’t regret it

Your eyes widen but that sparkle he just adored shone bright right before you pulled his face down by his cheeks to kiss him. He stumbles but instantly recovers, his hands finding your hips and pulling you in whilst your lips move in sync, cheekly letts his hand slide lower as the kiss continues.

Eventually you break away hearing two singular but loud ‘whoops’ from James and Remus while the others just smirk at the scene. You shuffle behind Sirius, shying away into his side while he looks them like he’s the happiest man on earth…hell he probably was he just got to kiss the girl of his dreams and not only that but you made the first move!

“Darling?” he looks baffled when he turns back and you aren’t there before lifting up his arm up to see you adorably cowering behind him “Hi”

“Hi” you reply biting your lip

“You know we could ditch them, grab food from the kitchens and have our first date if you want?” he suggests like he hadn’t already set up a romantic picnic for you both that he would have taken you to later if you had said yes to his date

“Really?” you shine at him

He nods “Course, anything for my smart cookie” he leans down and pecks your lips, then your nose, and your cheek and your other cheek…he peppers every inch your whole face

You giggle at his actions “Siri” you whine and he finally stops but not before kissing your lips one last time

“Sorry darlin, always wanted to do that” he confesses taking your hand and turning back to the group “Guys we’re going to do our own thing, we’ll join you next time” he informs them and they all smile

As you and he walk away, missing the exchange of money between people behind you, you realise you haven’t told him something

“Wait” you stop him

“What?” he tilts his head

“I love you too” you say, smiling up at him

His heart was overwhelmed, he figured you loved him, he’d known it was mutual for a long while but the vocal confirmation made this warmth spread across his chest in a way he never knew he needed.

He squeezes your hand planting a soft lingering kiss to your lips “You want to spend all night eating food and reading our book?”

“Fuck yeah”

Thank you for reading 💛

#sirius black and reader #sirius x reader #sirius and reader #sirius black and you #sirius black and y/n #sirius black x reader #sirius black x y/n #sirius black x you #sirius black fluff #sirius black #sirius x y/n #marauders era #marauders #shy reader #marauders x reader #sirius black fanfiction #robynsrequests

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jade-gemstone · 2 months

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Danganronpa Ultimate Categorization

Welcome back to another episode of: Jade is a nerd about something absolutely useless! Today's topic: Talent classification in Danganronpa/Fangans.

In the process of making my own fangan/s, I've created a classification system for the types of talents you can give characters. These classifications are...

Arts: Talents that are involved in the visual arts, performing arts, or fashion. Encompasses performers of all types, any type of visual artist, or anyone involved in fashion. (Ex. Actor, Abstract Artist, Model)

Practical: Talents that focus on a specialized skill or work with your hands. Also includes any talents that are religious or spiritual in nature. (Ex. Mechanical Engineer, Detective, Shrine Maiden)

Academic: Talents that are recognized by how much knowledge or experience a character has in an academic field. Covers most science, literature, math, and research based talents. (Ex. Chemist, Theologian, Archaeologist)

Sports: Talents relating to athletic skill. (Ex. Footballer, Kickboxer, Bowler)

Novelty: Talents given to a person who is special simply by existing. Can also be given to characters who win a contest for their talent. Includes Lucky/Unlucky Students, royalty, and non-human characters. (Ex. Lucky Student, Student, Princess)

This system of classification was based on my experience in the community over about three or four years, seeing many other people's original characters as well as creating my own. I found many fell into these categories. My "perfect" ratio, which my friends and I used as a guideline for making our fangan casts, is 4 arts : 4 practical : 4 academic : 2 sports: 2 novelty. I felt this ratio kept things even and grounded.

A few months ago, I began to wonder if my "perfect" ratio was more of my own creation than an actual pattern I saw. I thought, in the event it was, that I would come up with a mathematically accurate ratio that better represented the talent distribution of Danganronpa and its fan projects. This was my attempt at doing just that.

Data Collection

For this, I tried to collect as varied of a sample as possible. I included the three mainline Danganronpa games and sixteen fangans, ranging from very popular ones to very obscure ones. The fangans sampled for this analysis were...

Danganronpa Another

Super Danganronpa Another 2

Danganronpa Despair Time

Brave Danganronpa Coward's Paradise

Project Eden's Garden

Danganronpa He(art)less Deceit

Danganronpa Hushed Whispers

Danganronpa Muave

Danganronpa Despair's Revival

Danganronpa Re:Birth

Danganronpa Twisted Truths

Danganronpa Survivor's Guilt

Danganronpa Despair's Flame (my fangan! also the one where the talent ratio originated)

Danganronpa Cyberspace

Danganronpa Akeda Amusements

Danganronpa Lost Paradise (my other fangan that isn't released anywhere but I'm counting anyway)

I figured out the talent ratio for each individual game by looking through their casts and sorting them with my classification system. Ultimate ???'s were thrown out if possible (such as in the case of Akeda Amusements, where Hanari was thrown out due to the fangan having seventeen participants) and if not, they were counted as novelty.

Also, shout out to Yuki Maeda and Teruya Ōtori for managing to count for two different data sets despite my best efforts at finagling a way to keep them confined to one.

Observations

The first thing I noticed in looking at the ratios for canon Danganronpa was that Academic ultimates are underrepresented compared to what I initially remembered. It had been a while since I revisited the mainline games, and it was a shock to be reminded of that. I was also reminded, but not quite as shocked by the greater emphasis on practical ultimates.

In fangans, the focus on practical ultimates continues to be heavy, with none having less than two. There was also less focus on sports ultimates, with the majority having only one or two compared to the three that the mainline games had a majority of the time. They also tend to have more academic ultimates.

I think that this could be explained by looking at the types of people who make fangans. The majority of people I know who make fangans have very particular knowledge about certain fields due to experience or heavy research, and more often than not these fields do not include sports. They are more likely to make characters based on their experiences and knowledge that they can then insert into the story to make it seem more authentic.

I also, unsurprisingly, found that my "perfect" ratio was not reflected in many of the fangans I looked at. There was only one besides my own that followed that ratio.

Now, if my "perfect" ratio is not the mathematically perfect ratio, then what is?

According to the data collected for the canon games, this is.

This just so happens to also be the ratio for Trigger Happy Havoc.

According to the data collected from the fangans, this is the perfect ratio.

The only fangan that followed this ratio exactly was Akeda Amusements. V3 also had this distribution.

When considering both mainline and fan made games, the perfect ratio was this.

Ironically, not a single mainline game or fan game followed this ratio.

Out of curiosity, I also calculated the standard deviation for each data set.

Canon Danganronpa has little to no variation, conveying that talent ratios are quite consistent between games. The biggest variation would be in the novelty category, making sense as V3 scaled down the amount of novelty ultimates compared to the other two games.

The fangans are shown to have a much larger variation. Though I can't be surprised by this, as perhaps it is an unfair comparison. The mainline Danganronpa games were written by mostly the same team and had less to sample from, while the fangans have not only a larger sample size in which to deviate, but many different writers that think differently about talent distribution.

Final Thoughts

In putting this all together, I found that my classification system, while not perfect in any sense of the word, has some validity to it. If I wanted to, I could definitely make some improvements to it (especially in distinguishing between certain academic and practical fields from novelty), but as of now it works perfectly fine as an aide in cast creation for me.

My ratio is also not perfect, which was an expected outcome. Really none of the ratios I found are perfect, with none of them representing more than one or two of any mainline or fan made game. While ratios like the ones I found can be good for making sure you have a balanced distribution of talents, they aren't required to make a good cast. Personally, I'll continue using my personal "perfect" ratio as a baseline for any cast I make in the future.

I also had a lot of fun making this, and hope I can find a way to make more posts like this in the future. Thank you for reading this.

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kurogane2512 · 8 months

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Ningguang Birthday 2023

Happy birthday to Ningguang!! Not me being one day late to post my waifu's birthday fics once again but ugh exam season. Anyways, I combined all the scenarios shown in her birthday art, comic and mail this year for this fic so hope you guys like it! I will also be doing all Ningguang requests in my inbox today to celebrate her day! <3

Game: Genshin Impact

Characters: Ningguang x fem!reader

Type: Fluff

The Tianquan of Liyue was known for many things, her wealth surpassing all perhaps. The Tianquan of Liyue was known as many things; calculative, materialistic, intelligent among many more. Some would say she had no care for finite possessions for the mora she possessed was infinite; however, she had proved to all she was much more than the exquisite woman she appeared to be. She was Liyue's guiding star and protector, shining down on it as brightly as the Jades she possessed. Yet, a part of her was still unknown to many, not even her closest secretaries knew of it....

"Lady Ningguang, the Yuheng declined your invitation to play Liyue Millennial today." Baiwen informed her lady on one pleasant morning when the Tianquan was surprisingly free of her never-ending duties.

"Oh? Did she state the reason?" Ningguang questioned.

"She said she has some personal matters to attend to and cannot give so much time to the game."

"I see....And what about Captain Beidou? I heard the Crux is currently docked in Liyue."

"Oh, they left last night, Lady Ningguang. We did send the invitation to her but received no reply..."

"Hmph, as expected of her.....And what about the other invitees? I assume everyone denied as well."

"Y-Yes, Lady Ningguang...." Baiwen replied hesitantly.

"Hmm....I didn't expect that new card game to become so popular and make everyone enamored with it. Hehe, it can't be helped, I suppose. Chess mates are becoming hard to find, if only she was here...." Ningguang paused and stared into empty space before sighing, "Is there anything on my schedule today, Baiwen?"

"Yes, Ms Yun Jin asked you to witness her new show today at 1 pm, she also made arrangements for lunch. Everything else was moved to other days to give you time for yourself, milady."

"Hehe, how considerate of you. I understand then, you all are dismissed for the rest of the day as well."

"O-Oh, thank you very much, milady!" Baiwen bowed with a smile and exited Ningguang's office gleefully. Ningguang sighed and rested on her table while pondering deeply, "It has been like this for months now, till when will I keep playing on my own....? What's the point of a 2-person game if there is no partner? Hmph, I'm sure the excitement for that card game will fade away soon and Liyue Millennial will stand the test of time...."

Ningguang squinted her eyes and sat up then walked outside to the external platform of the Jade Chamber, gazing at the scenery in front of her. Her eyes wandered over to the distant sky adorned with fluffy clouds and she suddenly spotted a faint twinkling of a star.

"Heh~ To be able to spot the brightest star on a sunny morning like this....The higher you stand, the closer you are to the sky, after all."

A smile formed on her face as she observed the star before it was no longer visible due to the bright sun illuminating the sky.

"I wonder if I'll spot a shooting star tonight....It would be nice if our very own shooting star came here today but I suppose that's wishful thinking...."

She looked down at the city and decided to take a walk around until it was time for Yun Jin's show. She went through the market and asked for a few things but didn't buy any as there was no requirement and there was nothing new worth investing in. She then reached the venue for Yun Jin's play and watched the stage being set-up before Yun Jin walked out and began her performance.

"This is from the new piece I've been working on. What do you think, Tianquan Ningguang?" Yun Jin asked at the end of her performance.

"Wonderful. It hasn't been long since we last met but you've surpassed yourself once again, Yun Jin." Ningguang replied earnestly.

Yun Jin beamed a smile then moved her gaze to the other people in the audience and was caught by surprise for a moment spotting a familiar figure.

"What would you say?" Yun Jin questioned while looking at a person behind Ningguang.

"As Tianquan Ningguang said, it was really wonderful."

Ningguang's eyes widened hearing the all too familiar voice, she then slowly turned around to see none other than the shooting star she had wished to meet not so long ago.

"Y/n?"

You smiled, "It has been a while since we met, Lady Ningguang and Yun Jin."

Ningguang's heartbeat fastened for a moment before she composed herself and stood up while clearing her throat, "Pleasure to meet you again as well, Y/n. How has your journey been going?"

"It's been good so far. I was missing Liyue hence thought to visit..."

Ningguang smiled at your confession, "My~ Of course, you are always welcome here. Come, have a seat. We were about to order lunch."

You accepted Ningguang's proposal and sat on the table with her and Yun Jin as a feast was being served. Ningguang was not expecting to see you today of all days, she wondered what really was your reason to come. Was it a mere coincidence that you chose to come today of all days or was there something in your mind? However, she realized she didn't care for the reason.

When she sent invites out to her associates to play chess with her today, she had written one for you as well but refrained from sending it in the end. She knew you were more than enough capable of matching against her in Liyue Millennial, you had done it before. But she didn't know what was in your heart. Ningguang always liked being able to predict the next move of those around her, but you were the most uncertain piece on her board.

"What new region have you visited now, Y/n?"

"Oh, I went to Fontaine from Sumeru. I still have more things to do there but I had to do a few errands at Mondstadt recently then decided to come here too to meet everyone...."

"Hehe~ And here I thought your annual trip to Liyue would always be for Lantern Rite. You surprised me yet again~"

You chuckled softly and continued eating until bidding farewell to Yun Jin and being in the marketplace together with Ningguang.

"Well, I suppose you have to meet your other friends now, Y/n. It was good to see you again and I hope your future travels are as pleasant as ever." Ningguang spoke with courtesy before turning around to walk away but you stopped her.

"U-Uh, Lady Ningguang, if you aren't busy then may I take some more of your time? I wanted to say a few things...."

"Oh? Well, it's your lucky day then as my schedule is free. Come, walk with me. However, there is one condition~"

"W-What might it be....?"

Ningguang sensed your nervousness and chuckled before walking up to you and leaning close to your face, "You will not call me 'Lady Ningguang' for the rest of the day~"

You blushed seeing her up close and nodded, "I understand...."

Ningguang smiled and proceeded to walk and you accompanied her, you looked around the bustling marketplace and tried to start a conversation but were unable to. Ningguang was ethereal in your eyes and you'd always get slightly nervous around her as you didn't want to disappoint her in any way. You knew she held you in high regard and you wanted to maintain that impression.

"Well? What might it be that you wish to converse with me? Are you facing some kind of financial problems? Or perhaps you need help in some kind of business-related commission?"

"N-No, none of that....Well, I am running short on Mora recently but I wouldn't come to you for that."

"Why not? I'd be more than happy to assist you. Of course, I wouldn't just hand you a bag of mora but I can get you sufficient work that pays well. With your skills and caliber, there are a number of high paying jobs suitable for your needs and many would be more than willing to hire you just from hearing your name."

"Haha, I see....I'll keep it in mind for the future."

"Well? You haven't answered my question."

Ningguang stopped walking and turned to face you, slowly becoming suspicious now.

"A-Ah, it was actua—"

"Oh, if it isn't Y/n. How are you doing recently?" a familiar voice called out to you and you turned around to see none other than Keqing waving at you.

"Keqing, long time no see. I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm the same as ever. I see you already met Ningguang. So, what brings you to Liyue?"

"Nothing much, just thought to meet everyone."

"Haha, that's great. Now that you are here, want to have a duel with me? I recently updated my deck~"

"Oh, right now? You don't have any work to do....?"

"Hah~ The next appointment isn't until 2 hours, I went around asking others if they are up for a match but everyone was already engaged in another and I haven't found any opponent...."

Keqing briefly paused and glanced at Ningguang, "....and a few others don't like playing it anyways."

"I-I see....Well, I don't really have any work right now so—"

"Oh, that's perfect then! Come, there are a few empty tables at Yangshang Teahouse."

You hesitated to reply then looked over at Ningguang, "....Would you like to come along, Ningguang?"

"Oh, don't bother with Ningguang. Genius Invocation TCG is too low for her status~"

"I see..."

Ningguang squinted her eyes at Keqing's remark then glanced at you and saw a pleading look on your face, seemingly indicating that you wanted her to come along. She didn't understand it, why were you so eager to have her there? You could have just left her and went about your merry way.

"As it happens, I'm rather interested in seeing a duel between our Yuheng and the esteemed Hero of Liyue~"

Ningguang mused with a smirk and Keqing sighed then the 3 of you made your way over to Yangshang Teahouse and settled on a faraway table before taking out your decks and setting up a duel. Ningguang noticed that your deck revolved around her card, she was the main damage dealer and all your supports were tailor-made for her. While she felt proud that you had invested in her card, she knew Keqing was quite formidable and her deck was rather advantageous against yours. Still, she was betting on you to win nonetheless.

The game gradually became more heated as none of you were backing down, even attracting a crowd of on-lookers to the interesting match. Both of you had lost one card each and were close to reaching round 5, Ningguang had already figured out Keqing's strategy by observing her play so far but she was quite stunned by you. She actually couldn't figure out what your play was, she thought of many options seeing your cards but you'd always make an unexpected move and prove her wrong.

"Oi, Lady Yuheng is actually being cornered....Haha, as expected of Liyue's hero!" someone chimed from the crowd, eliciting more similar remarks all around. Ningguang chuckled looking at you, "Always so interesting....If only you showed such keen interest in Liyue Millennial too."

The match finally came to and end as you defeated another card of Keqing and she decided to forfeit as she knew she can't make a comeback with her remaining card. You emerged victorius with a resounding applause from the crowd and appreciation for a good game from Keqing.

"Well played indeed, Y/n. I didn't know you are such a good player in this as well." Ningguang remarked.

"I have played many matches going all around Sumeru, Inazuma and Mondstadt by now. But you flatter me, Ningguang, I still have room for improvement."

"Hehe, that's good to hear. The game has been very popular all over Teyvat, no wonder you were dragged into it as well."

"....Is it true you aren't a fan of it as Keqing said?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that.....I simply find it too simplistic for my tastes. I did enjoy it in the beginning but I don't see myself continuing in the long term, I'd much rather spend time on my chess."

You looked at her with a smile and nodded in understanding when a few more people approached you inviting you to duel with them. You felt overwhelmed with the crowd gathered around you and noticed Ningguang had walked away to give them space. You politely declined everyone saying you had other commitments and caught up with Ningguang.

"N-Ningguang, wait! There was something I wanted to say!"

Ningguang stopped and turned around to look at you when you saw a surprising expression on her face. You didn't ever imagine you'd see the Tianquan of Liyue making this kind of expression; full of loneliness and sadness....

"Ningguang, what's wrong....?"

"Hm? Whatever you might mean, Y/n?" she feigned innocence, swiftly changing her expression back to normal. You knew she was hiding something. You looked up at the sky and saw the sun was slowly setting, the light still spread in the sky but you couldn't wait any longer.

"Ningguang, is it okay if we go to the Jade Chamber? It'll give the best view."

"Best view for what?"

You smiled, "You'll see. Just trust me, will you?"

You extended your hand to her and she hesitated for a moment then took it and you both walked to Yujing Terrace to ascend to the Jade Chamber. By the time you reached, the sky had darkened further which was good news for you. Ningguang was about to take you inside as usual but you stopped her on the external platform and asked her to watch you. Ningguang waited in anticipation and mystery, she had absolutely no idea what you were going to do.

You looked up at the sky and saw stars appearing then took out a launch tube and placed it on the ground before turning around and facing Ningguang. Her heartbeat suddenly fastened as excitement engulfed her thinking of the possibilities of what was going to happen. You then took a deep breath and launched a firework in the sky which burst into a brilliant crimson light illuminating the words- 'Happy Birthday Ningguang'

Ningguang's eyes widened reading the words, did you have this planned all this time? Was this your main reason for coming to Liyue? More fireworks were released in the following minutes, all containing different drawing and words that described her, or at least described her as you thought her to be- beautiful, kind, selfless, elegant, compassionate and many more. She was truly taken aback, it felt like the whole sky belonged to her and was wishing her on her special day. Her surroundings were nothing but the brilliance of these fireworks that you created.

"Ningguang." your sudden voice reached her ears and she moved her gaze towards you. You smiled at her and said, "Happy birthday." A firework burst behind you at the same time with the words, 'I love you' and she was the most surprised now. How were you always capable of catching her off guard was beyond her. Nobody could do this to her, yet here you were. Her heart was beating faster than ever, the fireworks ended long ago but the thumping of her chest still resounded in her whole body.

At last, she calmed down and regained her demeanour with a smile on her face, "Thank you very much, dear Y/n. This was magnificent and that in the end....was that true? Did you mean it?"

You smiled and nodded, "It is....everything was true. Each and every word was from the bottom of my heart, it is what I have felt for you ever since we first met...."

Ningguang smiled as well, "....Was this your real purpose for coming here today?"

"It was....I just wanted to celebrate your birthday. I know this isn't much but—"

"Don't say that. I don't care how much it was, it's the thought and effort that counts and I'm feeling blessed that you did this for me...."

Ningguang walked closer to you and suddenly embraced you, "I love you too, Y/n. Thank you very much for this."

Your eyes widened and you slowly wrapped your arms around her body, "I-It wasn't much...."

Ningguang chuckled, "Would you believe me if I said I had wished to meet you today?"

"What...?"

Ningguang released the hug then looked at the stars in the sky around you, "I wished to see a shooting star today and was reminded of you since you also came in this world as a shooting star, after all. Hehe, it seems I ended up wishing to a shooting star indeed and the Archons heard my wish."

You blushed hearing her words, "I-I see....By the way, the sky is really beautiful from here. The stars seem so close...."

"Mhm, the higher you stand the closer you are to the sky. I did build this Jade Chamber to be the guiding star of Liyue, it is only rightful I should be among them."

You gazed at her as she looked at the stars then were reminded of her expression from earlier, "....Doesn't it get lonely at the top?"

Ningguang was caught by surprise at your words and looked at you in surprise, but by now she had gotten used to your unpredictable nature and simply smiled.

"Well then, wouldn't you stand by my side being Teyvat's very own star?~"

You blushed, "It would be my honor...."

You gazed at each other with a smile and you felt intoxicated, bewitched by her. The night sky around you adorned with stars emphasized Ningguang's beauty even more, her own self twinkling with them. You released your arms from around her and stepped back then took out a Kamera and pointed at her.

"Oh, you would like to capture this moment for me?"

"Yes, I still have some fireworks left too."

"A lovely suggestion. I heard that many people in Fontaine take pictures to celebrate their birthdays nowadays."

"Yes, it is quite crazy over there when it comes to technology...."

You giggled and set up another launch tube by the time Ningguang chose a spot, you then took out 2 Kameras and alternated between them in taking photos of Ningguang with the stars and fireworks.

"My, I didn't think you would have such a collection of different Kameras. It seems you are quite potent when it comes to photography~"

You smiled then finished clicking the pictures and showed to her, "These are really well taken. I'll keep some of them and you'll keep some too, right?~"

"Yes, I'd love to...."

You said in a daze as you watched her stand beside you and happily look at the photos.

"O-Oh, is there something you'd like to do? We still have time left until the day is over, I feel bad that we barely did anything worth a celebration."

Ningguang smiled softly and caressed your cheek, "You made the day special enough for me by coming here and doing all this. But still, if you insist, I do have something in mind~"

She held your hand and pulled you inside the Jade Chamber, taking you downstairs to her office where you saw a game of Liyue Millennial was laid out on the table.

"Did you play with someone today?"

"Oh....well, I invited a few people but everyone refused giving one excuse or the other. Keqing even had the audacity to say she personal matters to attend to then was happily playing that card game with you."

She sighed bitterly and you remembered her distaste for TCG then spoke, "Are you having trouble finding chess mates nowadays due to TCG?"

"....Yes, that is true. Everyone is quite enamored with it; I even got some complaints saying that chess is too difficult and stressful and that I should simplify its rules."

"I see, that's unfortunate....I would love to play with you from now on. Truth be told, I have gotten quite bored of TCG having played it so much. Not to mention, playing chess with you is an incomparable experience...."

Ningguang blushed at your sudden compliments, "My. You never fail to impress me, give that sweet tongue of yours a rest for some time, would you?~"

"I-I'm sorry but I was just saying the truth...."

"Hehe, well then, would you care to indulge me with a game now?"

"Of course, as you say."

The two of you sat on opposite sides of the table and took out chess pieces to arrange on both of your sides, the rest of the game hadwho already been set hence making it easier and faster to start.

"Hmm, would you mind if we make the game slightly different than usual?" Ningguang suggested.

"Not at all. What shall we do?"

"Every time one of us loses a piece, the other gets to ask a question or order them to do something. How does that sound?~"

You suddenly became nervous of Ningguang's mischievous suggestion accompanied by the smirk on her face, "Uh, are there some things we can't ask or do?"

"Well, I'm open to everything. But if you want to keep some boundaries then I will abide."

You pondered for a moment and thought of certain possibilities causing you to become slightly flustered then nodded, "Okay, I'm fine with everything too."

Ningguang's smirk widened, she knew what was going on in your mind and she would be lying if she said she wasn't thinking the same things. She let you take the first move and you finally began playing, an interesting and heated game of Liyue Millennial ensuing.

"My~ Rarely anyone can match up to me this way and keep me entertained, I knew I was right about her..." Ningguang pondered with a smile.

The game went on for some time until you finally lost your first piece, and the first ever piece in the whole game hence giving Ningguang the first chance to ask something.

"Hmm....well, I'll give an easy one since it's the first loss. Have you had your first kiss yet?"

Your eyes widened in shock, "T-This is easy?!"

You looked at Ningguang's playful expression then replied with a slight blush, "N-No, I haven't...."

Ningguang chuckled in amusement and squinted her eyes looking at you, subconsciously licking her lips then continuing the game. Next was your turn to ask her something as she lost her first piece.

"Um, have you dated anyone before me....?"

"I was confessed to and even offered marriage proposals but I refused all. So, you are my first— in everything~"

You knew what Ningguang implied by that, and you truly hoped it would come true. The game continued more and you continued asking each other questions, some rather intimate but nothing overbearing. Ningguang was winning hence got more chances to tease and fluster you from her questions, also enabling her to know more about your likes and dislikes.

"Hmm, let's change the direction of the questions now. This time, I ask you to take off your shirt~"

"H-Huh?! That's a huge jump all of a sudden!"

Ningguang smirked, "Let me rephrase it then. I order you to take off your shirt~"

You were further shocked and tried to protest but she was unhinged, "Don't forget you agreed to everything, dear Y/n. I don't take lightly to people going back on their words~"

You gulped and eventually nodded then proceeded to slide off your shirt and keep it aside, sitting in front of the Tianquan in just your bra and pants now. Her gaze trailed all over your exposed body, cunningly observing your features as if they were an intricate design carved by the finest of hands. The game then continued and you finally got your chance to make her do something too.

"Uh....t-take off your dress....."

You gathered all your courage to say that, earning a short chuckle from Ningguang who expected this, "How bold of you, dear Y/n~"

"I-It's only fair, right?"

"Hehe, you are correct...." Ningguang stood up and proceeded to untie the strings of her dress, you intently watched her remove her accessories starting from the fur around her neck, down to her finger claws then finally slide down her qipao and standing in her black lace lingerie. Your face heated up as your eyes subconsciously took in her features, her perfect curves and breasts all in front of you to feast on.

"You are staring a bit too much, dear Y/n. Hold in your urges until later tonight, will you?~"

"I-I don't have any urges!" you exclaimed bashfully and looked away while she sat down at her place with a giggle, "How adorable you are...makes me want to have my way with you right here~"

The atmosphere between you two grew tense as the game continued, you were struggling to keep your eyes off Ningguang's body while she was enjoying this little game too much. She was much swifter in stealing glances at you and made it seem she was focused on the game rather that the immoral thoughts she was having.

"The next order I have for you is...." Ningguang trailed off and stood up from her seat then walked towards you, your heartbeat fastening as she came closer. She then straddled your lap facing you and wrapped her arms around your neck, your heart skipping a beat at her action.

"....Kiss me~"

Her thumb brushed across your lower lip and you put your hands on her waist to pull her closer as she leaned in and connected your lips together. Her soft and moist lips gently cuddled with yours, a blissful feeling spreading in your body at the contact. She was everything you needed, only you knew how much you had held back all this time to hold and feel her this way. Without much thinking, you grabbed her tighter and suddenly pushed her to the table making her lie lean on it while you kissed her passionately.

Surprised by your sudden rough movements, she wrapped her legs around your waist and pulled you down to kiss you deeper. Your tongues entangled in a heated manner, heavily breathing into each other's scents. She moaned into the kiss as she felt you rub against her abdomen, her nails digging into your back as you went down to kiss her neck. Your hand slid towards her thigh and caressed her dragon tattoo, a low chuckle leaving her lips sending vibrations in you.

"And here I thought the Hero of Liyue was much more restrained. You knocked off all my pieces in one go, it seems I'm obliged to follow all your orders now~"

You blushed then grinned, "Well, I did knock out my own pieces too so that makes us equal and considering you were already winning earlier...."

Ningguang continued, "....I'm the true winner and get to order you once again? Is that what you want?~"

"If that's what you want to give me as my return gift, I'll gladly accept it~"

"Haha~ A return gift, you say? And here I thought you still had more gifts to give me~"

"You still want more, Tianquan Ningguang? You do realize you'd have to give a fair amount of return gifts then?~"

"And you think I cannot afford that?~"

Ningguang smirked wider and you smiled then snuggled into the crook of her neck, "What do you want me to do, Tianquan Ningguang?~"

"Stay with me on this lonely night and many more lonely nights to come. Be the star that shines beside me and never leaves me alone"

You leaned up and looked into her eyes, "I accept the contract, my Tianquan."

You smiled at each other and passionately kissed once again, her legs tightened around you and you lifted her off the table to carry her to her room and lay her on the bed. The Tianquan spent the night together entangled with her lover, she no longer felt lonely being at the top of the world and knew you would always be by her side in any and everything. She looked into her mirror next morning after a passionate and lustful night and caressed the marks left by you on her neck. Of course, she had to get you back for it. No wonder you were given strange looks by people as you left the Jade Chamber later with a red kiss mark adorning your cheek that she so discreetly made as a goodbye kiss.

#happy birthday ningguang #genshin impact #genshin women #genshin fluff #ningguang #ningguang x reader #genshin ningguang #ningguang x you

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renthony · 11 months

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I haven't enjoyed a Marvel movie since I stopped bothering to keep up with the MCU in 2014. I don't care for most Marvel movies. I think Marvel Studios is a case study in things that are shitty in the entertainment industry. But holy shit, pretentious posts along the lines of "haha, I don't watch Marvel films, I have real taste, go watch another movie!" are so fucking annoying.

Like, go put up your middle finger at some preps or something. People are allowed to watch whatever they want and enjoy whatever movies they want and make whatever fandom stuff they want, and that doesn't say anything about their intelligence or morals or character. It doesn't mean they are somehow bad at watching movies, or are too stupid to realize whatever nugget of wisdom ye high-and-mighty Marvel Haters think you're the only ones to understand.

Again, not personally a Marvel fan, but this whole "haha, I'm better than Marvel fans" relates to something I've been musing on about media analysis as a whole. There is a persistent idea that mass entertainment is inherently lower quality or less artistic because it's made for a wide audience, and that bad art isn't worth analyzing or engaging with just because it's low quality. In this mindset, the only art that has the possibility to be any good at all is 100% independent projects made by amateurs, and anything produced by a studio or with wide appeal is inherently poser art with absolutely nothing meaningful to say. In this mindset, you can't possibly learn anything or take anything from bad art, and if you find meaning in bad art, you're clearly just stupid and uneducated and have bad taste.

The thing is? Liking bad art is not a sin. Having a different opinion about what constitutes "bad art" is not a sin. Finding something entertaining despite its flaws is not a sin. Studying bad art is not a sin. You can learn a lot from bad art, you can learn a lot from interpreting propaganda, you can learn a lot from engaging with things even if you don't think they're very "good."

My vaudeville research keeps turning up author after author who talks about vaudeville as some sort of "point of no return," like the performing arts all turned to shit the second things were intended to be seen by more than a single audience for a single show. Popularity gets equated with lack of skill or quality, because all the performers were "just pandering to the audience" instead of relying on "real skill."

For one, what the fuck does that even mean, but for two, the theatrical quality of vaudeville isn't what makes it interesting and worth engaging with. Every single thing that ever came out of vaudeville could be 100% total utter garbage, but vaudeville would still be worth studying because of how influential it still is on arts and entertainment today. It has significant historical and educational merit. And some of it is still genuinely fun and entertaining, once you pick out all the things that didn't age well or were just plain bigoted. There's artistic merit in those old sketches and songs, and there's meaning to be drawn from plenty of it even here in 2023.

You want to learn about the Hays Code? Well, let's talk about how early films were shown on projectors on vaudeville stages, so vaudeville censorship went on to influence American film censorship. Let's talk about how we still use slang to this day that originated on vaudeville, such as "skit" or "one night stand" or "ad lib" or "the big time." Vaudeville is still in the bones of the modern American entertainment industry and pop culture, and you can't really escape that influence.

People in modern day use Marvel movies as proof that big studio films are singlehandedly responsible for the decline of art, and there is nothing to learn from them or see in them at all, ever. But to me, "Marvel movies are bad" is such a flat, uninteresting observation, because when it comes to media analysis, it doesn't really matter if Marvel films are good or entertaining. If you want to actually dig into the problems with big-budget summer Hollywood blockbusters, and the way they're impacting the industry as a whole, you have to go deeper than "pop culture is all stupid stuff for stupid people, unlike me, who isn't like other girls actually has good taste in media!"

There are so many more factors at play than "mass entertainment = bad art." Let's look at the ways capitalism screws over small creators and forces them to seek funding from the very same studios that fuck them over. Let's talk about how the actual workers in the industry are fighting tooth and fucking nail against the exact same things all the Marvel haters harp on about. Let's talk about studios that accept funding from the United States Government to turn superhero comics into propaganda films, and then threaten the actual workers with never having a career again if they complain or quit. Let's talk about how the actors are regularly abused and treated to hostile work environments.

Let's talk about the people who made the films, because the films were not made by a CEO pressing the "make movie" button. The workers made those films. The workers were exploited by those studios. Let's try giving a shit about them, instead of taking the "haha, Marvel fans are stupid and cringe" route.

There is so much more fucking nuance and detail and conversation about mass media as a topic, and boiling it down to, "art made for a wide audience is inherently shitty and has nothing to say."

You're not a better, more intelligent, more educated person just because you don't like Marvel movies. Making posts about how much better you are than Marvel fans does nothing to either explain or tackle the issues in the entertainment industry.

It just makes you look like a dickhead.

#original post

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caw-oticdork · 8 months

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Since my previous podcast recommendation list was pretty popular, I've decided to make another, with another bunch of excellent podcasts:

13 Minutes or Less - Short podcast with very short episodes, about a pizza chef who doesn't like dealing to people but has to do some deliveries due to short staffing. Very much not her thing, but she does her best. As it turns out, her clients are quite a bit stranger and spookier than expected...

Additional Postage Required - Sci-Fi adventure about a nonbinary courier who gains the ability (or curse...) to get visions about the contents, past, and sender of packages they touch. They get roped into a rebellion. There's hoverboard racing. It's awesome.

Among the Stars and Bones - A team of xenoarcheologists search a distant world for traces of a long-vanished aliens. It's been a while since I watched this one, so I don't remember it very well, but I know that I enjoyed it. Very good sci-fi horror.

Dark Ages - Fantasy workplace comedy about a supernatural museum. Quite a lot of fun.

Dragon Shanty - Fantasy story about two bards traveling the high seas. There's dragons aplenty. Very queer. Excellent songs.

Falling Forward - Hacker story loosely based on the myth of Icarus and the Labyrinth, about getting back at a terrible corporation. Kinda experimental, this one has the shortest episodes I've ever seen.

Hotel Daydream - Podcast about the goings-on at a supernatural hotel. Very inventive, with really interesting characters.

Jar of Rebuke - Mystery about a researcher at an ominous cryptozoological organization out in the rural US. He's got no memories of his past and keeps dying and coming back. A story about cryptids, identity, queerness, neurodivergence, and community.

Light Hearts - Slice of Life podcast about turning an old, haunted building into a cafe and queer community center. The ghosts lead to some very fun shenanigans.

Lost Terminal - Mentioned in the other list but not expanded on. This is a hopepunk story set on an Earth devestated by climate change. Told from the POV of an adorable AI who watches this Earth from a space station, observing how humanity re-builds itself and finds a brighter future.

Mayfair Watchers Society - You know Trevor Henderson? The guy who drew Sirenhead, Long Horse, and other such creepypasta creatures in his found footage style? Yeah, this is a horror anthology based on his works, directed by him. Set in the rural town of Mayfair, where strange creatures are a lot more common than elsewhere... Each episode has a slightly different framing device, with some being found footage audio, others meeting recordings, phone calls, etc.

Monstrous Agonies - An advice podcast for the british creature community. Many of the advice letters are sent in by listeners - there's two by myself, one from an ant that can hear and send radio and one from a fey who is looking for curse advice. Some letters are metaphors for queerness, clashing cultures, ableism, and minority communities, others just some urban fantasy fun. Has a little bit of plot, but most episodes have an anthology style. Fast approaching the finale!

Mx Bad Luck - Slice of Life about someone who is cursed with bad luck. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny. Can recommend.

Neighbourly - Neighbourly follows the residents of Little Street, house by house. What they do, how they interact with each other, and what skeletons are hiding in their closet. Starts out as a spooky urban fantasy thing that's almost an anthology, but weaves itself into quite a mysterious plot over time...

SINKHOLE - Short-form audio podcast presented as a collection of audio posts from a member of a community of data restoration hobbyists in a sometimes-unfamiliar future. Mystery about disability, internet communities, and how things change with time.

Second Star to the Left - Scout-explorer Gwen Hartley has five years to explore and prepare her planet for settlement. With no aid but her robots and the anxious voice of her long-distance scout-minder Bell Summers in her ear, she's hoping she's ready for anything.

Someone Dies In This Elevator - Anthology where every episode, someone dies in an elevator. You wouldn't believe how creative they get with that simple concept!

Tales from the Low City - By the maker of Mistholme Museum, this podcast explores the everyday lifes of the last people on an alien world, after the surface had become uninhabitable and everyone had fled down into the last city, the subterranean Low City. This one made me cry a lot!

Tartarus - In a secret facility deep beneath Antarctica, an anxious astrobiologist, a terse station manager, and an AI keep humanity safe from the monsters they imprison.

The Attic Monologues - Queer urban fantasy story about a university student who decides to record themself practicing monologues using a collection they found in their attic. Don't forget to listen to the post-credit scenes!

The Bridge - Surreal alternate universe horror story about the keepers of a bridge over the Atlantic. Gets pretty spooky.

The Green Horizon - Sci-Fi comedy about a na'er-do-well Irish space captain and his rag-tag crew traversing a war-torn galaxy in search of fame and fortune. Very fun podcast.

The Lavender Tavern - Anthology podcast with original gay fairytales. Most are quite memorable!

The Vesta Clinic - Sci-Fi story about a clinic that helps various interesting alien lifeforms with their medical issues. Excellent worldbuilding and characters!

Tides - The story of Dr. Winifred Eurus, a xenobiologist trapped on an unfamiliar planet with hostile tidal forces and a fascinating ecosystem. She must use her wits, sarcasm, and intellectual curiosity to survive long enough to be rescued. But there might be more to life on this planet than she expected...

Hope this list is as helpful as the last!

@boombox-fuckboy @marvelousmawn @sapphireclaw @ashes-in-a-jar @frogmomentsfrombeyondtime @time-is-restored @emmy-noethers-rings

You folk seemed the most interested in the other list, so I'm being bold and @ing you all.

#podcast recommendation #podcasts

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minniiaa · 1 month

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Sorry if this seems repetitive but I haven't been active on social media in yearsss

Is it true that there's a lot of lawlu hate on tiktok and Twitter? I'm so confused because there used to be so much love for the ship back in 2017/2018 from my perspective (Amino era).

The short answer: yes and no. Let me start by saying I'm not the best person to answer this since I purely consume on twitter. I made my personal twitter in 2007 like it's everyone I've ever known irl and has nothing to do with shipping or hobbies and I follow approx 0 accounts related to anime, manga, or lawlu. I just looked up lawlu a few times and browsed and suddenly it's my whole fucking timeline and there’s no going back and now I have a lawlu twitter (This makes me very happy).

So if anyone else has an opinion on this that is more in the community, please feel free to comment away. Otherwise, below are my observations.

First off, there IS a ton of love for the ship. Most of what I see is beautiful art (they got the nsfw ayo), memes, fanfics, and headcanons just like tumblr. There are tons of comments of people swooning over these posts, Lawlu IS one of the most popular OP ships after all.

There's just a vocal minority that are very against the concept of shipping and in that subset there are those who are very against Lawlu. There people out there that will literally list accounts to block that ship lawlu or write lawlu DNI in their bios. The same can be said for other ships, it's not just this one it’s any they deem a ‘pro ship’ (problematic ship) and Lawlu is generally considered one of these. Below as is an example:

The biggest issues I’ve seen with Lawlu are the following 1. luffy is aroace and cant be shipped period 2. law groomed luffy and the age gap is gross. IMO I think most of these people are just infantilizing Luffy as some goofy autistic kid that doesn't know what love and sex are when in reality he's very self-aware and happy does not equal stupid. Also he's 19 he’s not underage. He met Law twice when he was 17, one of which was saving his life as a doctor and Luffy was unconscious most of this time. Let's not forget Luffy's a war criminal kicking the asses of people 4x his age in a pirate world, age doesn't really work the same as irl.

BUTTT Not that any of this matters because you can ship whoever the fuck you what because guess what? It's ~fiction~. I could rant about how people can ship whatever the hell they want all day but I'll save my breath for now. (my opinion of course)

Also there are just mentally ill people who enjoy telling others to kys if you like something they like do. Lawlu shippers are just their chosen target demographic. Creators get foul messages in their inboxes, rude comments, just general hater behavior. Twitter is just a firey cesspool and all fandoms have 'fans' who do nothing but hate. We live in an age of negativity where being a hater is the cool thing to do.

HOWEVER, I see more people posting about why those people are wrong and stupid than the actual negative tweets but maybe that's because I actually support the ship and the algorithm sees that. Not sure how twitter works, nor do I want to know about that dumpster fire there's a reason I came over to tumblr.

As for tiktok, I don't really consume a lot of tiktok so I can't speak on it besides seeing cosplayers and cute animations/art. I'll leave that to the tiktok people to look into.

For argument's sake, I went through the lawlu tag and picked some lovely tweets to share with you so you can see the toxicity for yourself. Sadly only 10 images per post but I think you get the point. Thanks for the ask hope this was informative. :)

#Lawlu #anti shipping #shipping #asks

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lunarsights · 3 months

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𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢'𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚: 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞

since this entire "situation" has occurred i've been curious about nicki's chart and made some observations about pluto aquarius and all the karma she's been building up will be affecting her career and legacy in the long run. i got tired of just having the ideas in my head, so i thought why not make a post?

i could also do a reading on this if people want, but i didn't do one just because the astrological part of this will already be so long. i examine a few planets and objects in nicki's chart and in four people who she has "beef" with, and my observations are as follows...

𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆

being an aquarius rising means nicki is seen as very innovative and original. i wouldn’t be surprised if people from her childhood said things like, “it was always expected she would be famous for something. she always stood out”. she might have even been a trendsetter in the areas she frequented, and that idea of being someone who brings something new to certain areas can also be seen in her career. her ascendant is at a taurus degree, so she could also be seen as someone who has money and material things that no one else can get their hands on. her rising is making positive aspects to her sun and fortuna, so this amplifies her uniqueness in her overall personality and also explains her virality when it comes to her fame.

⋆ ˚｡⋆🎀༘⋆ ˚｡⋆. ⋆ ˚｡⋆🎀༘⋆ ˚｡⋆. ⋆ ˚｡⋆🎀༘⋆ ˚｡⋆. ⋆ ˚｡⋆🎀༘⋆ ˚｡

𝟏𝟎𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐈𝐎

nicki has her saturn, asteroid fan, medium coeli (MC), and jupiter in scorpio in her tenth house. she has other planets and asteroids too, but they aren’t important for what i’m looking at. her saturn is at 0° which means it is the pure embodiment and energy of the sign it is in. saturn is the most important planet in this astrological interpretation because it deals with responsibility, structure, and karma. with that, scorpio saturn is actually a very powerful, intense placement. it gives the energy of forcing its natives to deal with their responsibilities head on or else they can expect extreme, emotionally painful transformations and repercussions. as for karma, it ensures those who cross them can expect swift and mysterious consequences that have long lasting impact, but these types of consequences can also turn around on the native if they don’t learn from their mistakes or do wrong to others. with her saturn in the tenth house, when nicki does wrong to others it directly impacts her public reputation and career.

her asteroid fan is at 19° which is a libra degree. this explains the obsessiveness of her fan base because of the scorpio elements. barbz are overly protective of her and could feel an unexplainable connection to her and her achievements. in a sense, they could see what she succeeds in doing as representative of them; they could have thoughts like “those are our accomplishments too; we helped her get those”. these ideas are not in a “she owes us” way though; barbz could see themselves as extensions of nicki in a way. this asteroid is conjunct nicki’s MC, so it also explains why a large part of her image and public perception is tied to her fandom.

nicki’s MC is at 22° which is the “kill or be killed” degree which is associated with capricorn. i always talk about how this degree can entail great success and attention for someone, but it can also be their greatest downfall if they aren’t careful. i always think of this degree indicating a possible fall from grace which seems to be the energy nicki is in right now. the 22° will always bring about destruction in some way. when nicki was first starting out her reputation involved destroying the older state of the female rap game and creating something new that was more popularized with the general public; now, her reputation is being destroyed because of the reckless ways in which she’s been acting. with her MC conjunct fan, her own fans can also bring about her destruction because of their feverishness.

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𝟏𝟏𝐇 𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒

nicki’s uranus is in her eleventh house in sagittarius at 5°. i found this interesting because 5° is usually considered to be a short-term fame indicator in comparison to other leo degrees like the 17° or the 29°. nicki’s career has existed for ten long years - especially when taking into account how fast paced the music industry is alone (let alone if you’re a woman in the industry). her time of fame seems to go against this idea of short term fame, but i’d argue it indicates her legacy not being long term which i feel we can already kind of see. nicki was a majorly respected figure for a very long time before the prospect of a viable new female rapper came into play via cardi b. when that happened, the switch from people being fans of nicki to fans of cardi or even haters of nicki became very clear. not only is there a generation of people who do not know the strength of nicki at the highest point of her career, but she is creating a divisive public image which puts her legacy at stake with even those that grew up with her. overall, i feel this makes her public reach in the long run volatile and unsustainable.

nicki also has asteroid icarus in this house and sign at 11°. asteroid icarus is another indicator of where someone can cause their own downfall if they aren’t careful. with this, nicki could cause her own future to crumble because of the eleventh house influence. she could lose influence over a generation of people and/or over her own friend and work group. the eleventh degree is directly connected to massive wealth, so that could be an indicator her downfall could come with a lot of financial restraint; going from having tons of money to struggling to maintain a lifestyle one has gotten used to.

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𝟐𝟖° 𝟏𝟐𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒

i originally wasn’t going to talk about this placement because i didn’t think it was all that important to what i was going to look at, but by the end you’ll be able to see how it is. mars represents one’s drive, desire, and strength. with a capricorn mars, nicki is very headstrong and structured in her drive and strength. she could be the type of person to plan her actions and goals. she could be very hardworking and undeterred by outside noise. she could be driven by the idea of tradition and her work ethic could be heavily reliant on her emotions and her emotional state - this is even more so true with this placement being the twelfth house.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐒

𝑳𝒊𝒍 𝑲𝒊𝒎

𝟗° 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍

lil’ kim’s birth time is unconfirmed, but according to astrotheme, her saturn is at 9° in cancer. this means kim’s cancer works undercover and makes not only kim but also those who cross her end up doing some introspection on themselves and makes them reconcile with how they see themselves as a person. those who cross kim could also end up having a fragile emotional state, and their home life could be tumultuous afterwards. additionally, this saturn can be deceiving; one could think they’ve gotten over the worst of their karma, but saturn will come back and be like “actually, i was just planning more on the down low. I decide when i’m done”.

lil’ kim’s saturn is in nicki’s sixth house, so it would directly impact her work habits, health, and ideas of self-improvement. so, nicki crossing kim could result in nicki eventually thinking long and hard about who she is as a person and what she’s done to people as her life has gone on. i would even venture to say at its worst it could present nicki with inexplicable health issues that take a while to discover. this placement could also result in nicki having unstable emotional health and regulation; it could also indicate making nicki’s home life tumultuous enough that it becomes incompatible with her work habits.

𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒚 𝑴𝒂

𝟐𝟎° 𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐆𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍

remy ma’s birth time is also unconfirmed, but astrotheme says she has a 20° virgo saturn. virgo saturn could impact one’s habits, the way they spend and get money, and the help they receive. so, if saturn were to teach remy ma lessons when she needs them, she could want to be more controlling over her work and life situation than she would otherwise usually be. she could end up working or spending too much, and could find that she’s burned a lot of bridges which makes it harder for her to rely on others for necessary help. the 20° also indicates jealousy, so those who are jealous of her could get the upper hand if karma was to come her way.

remy ma’s saturn is in nicki’s eighth house and conjuncts her vertex, so all the karma that a virgo saturn carries could be enacted onto nicki because of her beef with remy ma. the eighth house deals with finances, and merging assets (so like what one could receive as an inheritance or what one could gain from their spouse). this makes me think the karma nicki receives from remy ma’s saturn could be directly tied to her financial status. she could find herself jealous of others’ resources; she might even be spending beyond her means. she could be working very hard for very little return. additionally, this karma would impact how much help nicki gets from other people in the industry. by now, it’s very obvious she does not seem to have the hold on people she used to have, so we can see these consequences manifesting very easily now, but the eighth house does move sneakily, so this could’ve been a long time coming and more could be uncovered on her financial state and on how many bridges exactly she’s burned and how.

𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊 𝑩

𝟏𝟏𝐇 𝟏𝟏° 𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍

cardi b appears to have an aquarius saturn at 11° in the eleventh degree. if cardi were to cross someone, she could struggle with her community and those around her. she could lose her status in her friend group, and with the 11° she could lose money as a result of her friend group.

this placement is in nicki’s first house which started my initial observation when i looked into this situation. cardi b is the only person from the four people i’ve chosen to look at whose saturn is in one of nicki’s public houses which explains why nicki’s public image was most affected when she disrespected cardi. nicki did in fact struggle with the community at large when she crossed cardi; the public perception of her faltered, and people felt she was not friendly with new women artists because she was scared they would overtake her unique lane in the industry. i wouldn't be surprised if nicki lost out on a lot of money as a result of the whole fiasco with cardi.

𝑴𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝟏𝟏𝐇 𝟏𝟐° 𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍

megan thee stallion has her pisces saturn at 12° in her eleventh house. megan’s karma could have long-lasting effects on her - in general and spiritually. she could feel disconnected from her friend group and focus more on introspection and her own spirituality. her saturn could lead her to be more daydreamy and ignore certain warning signs about others that she might’ve otherwise paid attention to. the karma she encounters could lead to some kind of spiritual rebirth or insight once she’s learned her lessons.

this placement is in nicki’s second house which means with nicki crossing megan, her money will be directly affected. i feel this is another indicator of nicki having money problems as a result of all the people she’s crossed and been disrespectful to. megan’s saturn has double piscean energy because of the degree it’s at - this magnifies the intensity of the karma nicki will receive. like i said earlier, three out of four people’s charts i looked at indicated their saturn working undercover, but i would say megan’s saturn will be most impactful because of the sign and degree. it will also cause a lot of people on the outside to be confused about why all the karma is coming so suddenly and why it sticks as opposed to the way other people’s saturn does. megan’s saturn will be most personally destructive to nicki out of the people i’ve looked at in my opinion.

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𝟏𝟐° 𝟖𝐇 𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑

megan’s sagittarius jupiter is in her eighth house at 12°. megan could be someone who is very open when it comes to understanding and bonding with other people. this could also entail her luck being out of this world and working in mysterious ways or as a result of having some sort of strong spiritual team behind her. she could have luck when it comes to whom she marries and decides to merge finances with if she decides to do that. it could also entail her being very lucky spiritually.

this placement is in nicki’s eleventh house, and it conjuncts her icarus and sun. with this conjunction, nicki’s downfall (that’s caused by herself) could benefit megan a lot. this gives, the “bitch, i still win” energy megan talks about a lot. it could also reflect back on nicki in that any time megan is gaining a ton, people’s attention to nicki could fade. this loss of attention and resources/luck could cause nicki to get frustrated since the light of her sun is being overtaken by the expansiveness of megan’s jupiter.

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𝟐𝟗° 𝟗𝐇 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐌𝐂

megan’s capricorn MC is in her ninth house at 29°. capricorn MC at a fame degree makes me think fame was always in the cards for megan. the 29° is also a long-term fame degree in comparison to the 5° nicki has with her uranus. The 29° also indicates clairvoyance which makes sense when looking at megan’s come up. if i remember correctly, megan really spoke her fame into existence and other people could tell she was going to blow up when she was in high school. this could also be an indicator megan always knows where she’ll be going in her career; she’ll always have a plan of success or a way to be sure she’s set for the rest of her life.

this placement is conjunct nicki’s mars in her twelfth house, so megan’s fame and public reputation could impact nicki’s drive and ambition. when both megan and nicki are focused on their craft, they gain success, but nicki seeing megan gain so much success over her could impact her work habits and routine (along with all the karma she’s building up from others over the years). this could create a situation like megan says where “every time i get mentioned, one of y’all bitch-ass niggas get twenty-four hours of attention”; nicki could get so caught up in seeing megan rise that her work falls to the wayside in terms of its structure which can be seen as she’s been yappin’ for like three days now just to release a “response diss” that isn’t very good.

𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

in short, nicki has built up a lot of karma over the years, and the reason why it's worse is because most of the karma built up is hidden or works behind the scenes until it decides it wants to go public. even then, a lot of the saturn energy is powerful and intense which will cause her to go through many transformations.

the karma she's been building up has been and will continue to affect her public image, but it especially affects her finances in ways that won't be understood by the public until late.

if you needed a reminder that what's done to you will always come back to haunt to you can look to nicki's rise and fall to serve as a warning.

#astroblr #celebrity astrology #nicki minaj #nicki minaj astrology #megan thee stallion #megan thee stallion astrology #remy ma #remy ma astrology #cardi b #cardi b astrology #lil kim #lil kim astrology #astrology #lunarsights #SoundCloud #Spotify

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witheredoffherwitch · 5 months

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Speculations and Spoilers: A Breakdown of the Trailer

Overall, here are my initial thoughts on the trailer: it exceeded my expectations. I was prepared for the rumoured "leaked" version but I am pleasantly surprised with what we got instead. The aesthetic of this season has already improved - the colour grading, costumes, and makeup all seem to have upgraded from previous seasons.

Now let's get to the trailer itself. I won't analyze every single scene, but rather focus on a few intriguing ones and share my own theories. Just a heads up, there may be some spoilers mentioned in the following observations. So, proceed with caution!

The first shot of Rhaenyra is absolutely heartbreaking. She appears shattered and defeated, likely searching for her son's body by the Shipbreaker's Bay:

Both shots seem to be part of the same sequence as she is wearing the same outfit.. and the first shot could be the aftermath of her unsuccessful attempt to find her son's remains.

In the next scene, we are presented with two dragons on opposite sides: Syrax and Rhaenyra on one side, and Seasmoke on the other. This will potentially show Addam or Laenor swearing allegiance to Rhaenyra's cause.

The third scene I wanted to highlight is Alicent caught in the midst of a riot. While many assume it will occur during the funeral procession, I believe it takes place much later in the series. One hint is from the leaks revealing Alicent's funeral attire, which looks quite different from what we see here.

The first image is from the leaked footage, while the second one is what we see in the official trailer. It's possible that they may have reshot the scene with different costumes, but it seems unlikely. In the second scene, which I assume will be set much later in the season, it seems likely that they might finally introduce the Shepherd. Personally, I will be thrilled if they bring him into the series earlier on as he becomes one of the most prominent voices against House Targaryen. His early introduction will showcase his growing hatred for their dragons, and his sermons will only become more antagonistic as Rhaenyra's rule progresses. Eventually, it will lead to the infamous storming of the dragon pit where the mob will eventually slaughter all of their remaining dragons.

A brief glimpse at Helaena's scenes with B&C and her attending Jaehaerys' funeral procession:

The second scene captures her gazing upwards, likely indicating one of two possibilities: 1. she is giving the command for Dracarys to Dreamfyre, or 2. she is looking up to see Aegon on Sunfyre, who may perform the final rites himself.

In addition to Rhaenyra's dragon-riding scene, we are shown Baela and Aemond on their dragons. Baela is decked out in armour, possibly indicating her involvement in a war. This supports the popular theory that she will be present at Rook's Rest.

Baela's scene has many fans speculating that it may be when she witnesses the death of Rhaenys.

Moving on to the Aegon scene, I am thoroughly amused by his attitude. I was afraid we would be stuck in another sombre period with Aegon, but thankfully we have moved on and entered his cunty phase.

Lastly, I won't delve deeper into these two scenes since I've already addressed the question here.

However, I have heard the theory about it being a dream sequence, which is something I personally prefer over the idea of it being about Alys.

Now, my final thoughts: Rhaenyra looks more pro-active as most of us had expected earlier. However, I still doubt if they will include her in any of the war sequences. Her role will be much more covert (which the maesters wouldn't have known to record in the history texts.) On the other hand, Alicent appears to have given up this season altogether. A side note: both women look stunningly beautiful in the trailer.

Aemond continues to dominate as the most interesting character, and it seems we can anticipate his reign as Prince Regent this season. Even in his brief appearances, he manages to captivate our attention and leave us wanting more. Aegon will be taking charge and we can expect a major comeback now that he is leading the Green faction.

AND that concludes everything for the time being! I may come back to this post later and make some revisions, but for now, this is all.

#house of the dragon #hotd season 2 #hotd trailer #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #aemond targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #helaena taragryen #baela targaryen #team black #team green #rhaenys targaryen #hotd discussion #hotd discourse #hotd speculations

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polaroidbills · 9 months

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GET'CHA HEAD IN THE GAME

˚✧₊ ( 🏀 📕 ) sim jake - an imagine

genre/cw: jake x fem!reader, angsty, fluffy, basketball player x nerd(?), kissing, forbidden love(ish)

word count: 3052

synopsis: jake sim is the captain of the basketbal team, but he needs some help with his grades. he decides to ask a random girl at a party, who's reading a book, to be his tutor. they start to fall for each other, but what happens when their friends want them to stick to the status quo?

—> mega inspired by high school musical 1 (jake as troy and y/n as gabriella!)

cameos: yeonjun (txt), beomgyu, (txt), and taehyun (txt)

a/n: i thought of this idea at like 1am. and it's a bit rushed but whatever. enjoy!

now playing... start of something new - hsm

i walk into the house party, with the slight smell of alcohol filling my nose. i find the first empty spot on a secluded couch and start reading.

parties were never really my thing. but my mom forced me to go, since i never go out. she thought it would be nice for me to get to know the people in the neighborhood more, since i just moved here.

music blares into my ear drums as i read.

"really? you're reading at a party like this?" i am interrupted.

"well i guess," i say still keeping my eyes on the book.

i feel the couch dip on my rightside and i turn to see a cute guy sitting next to me.

"i'm jake," he puts his hand right in front of the page to shake it.

i sigh and close the book as he leaves me no choice, "y/n."

"i don't think i've seen you around? are you new?"

"yeah i just moved here a week ago."

"ohh cool cool. so you're into that learning and reading stuff right?"

"uh yeah i guess. my grades are good soo."

"great, 'cause i actually need a tutor.. i'm the captain of the basketball team and i won't be able to continue if my grades keep going down. could you help me?"

of course he chooses a party to pick out the one girl who's reading a book to be his tutor.

"um sure? i guess? that would look good on my resumes."

"great! so i'll see you around? what's your num-"

"yo jake!" a shout from across the room is heard, "c'mere!"

"sorry gotta go! i'll see you in school though right?"

"yeah! uh-" and he's gone. just like that.

i guess i tutor now?

well, tomorrow's my first day anyway.

march 27, 2021 was my first day on junior year in a completely different school. everything was different. i was in a different country, city, timezone, and environment.

my first day went by smoothly. i got to know the school a lot and observed the cliques and groups. no one really noticed me, which didn't bother me at all. i liked being invisible sometimes. i have no worries and no drama.

i sit myself down at a table in the cafeteria and start eating, yet again, opening up my book.

i them feel a sort of presence by my side. i look up and low and behold, jake sim.

from what i've heard, jake sim is the captain of the basketball team, and the son of the coach. pretty much the most popular guy in school, and probably the most good-looking. his number is 16.

"hey," he says sitting down, "whatcha reading?"

"normal people by sally rooney. it's my favourite."

"oh cool cool. um so listen, we could have our first tutor session at free period today? in the library?"

i close my book and look at him, finally getting a good look at his face. he's cute.

"uh sure. i wasn't expecting it to be today but yeah, i'll meet you in the library at free period."

"okay great! oh and could i get your number so just in case something happens?"

"sure!" we exchange numbers and he walks away, going back to his friends, and i go back to my book.

my math class was good too. i was busy copying down notes and equations my teacher was writing down. but i noticed a mistake.

"shouldn't it be x=7? and not x=1?" it appears i sid it out loud a little to loudly.

"i'm sorry? did you have something to say y/n?" my teacher asks.

"uh shouldn't it be x=7?" i ask once again.

"that would be quite literally impossible-" she checks on her calculator, "i stand corrected!"

after class, a girl approaches me.

"hey would you like the join the scholastics decathlon? we have a championship coming up and you would be perfect for our team! i'm minji by the way!"

"oh um sure! i've been trying to get involved a little more and doing things out of my box, so why not?"

"great!"

i am now committed to being a tutor and a scholastic decathlon member. i wonder what's next?

the day zooms by and now it's free period.

i grab my books and head off to the library, where i sit and wait for jake to arrive.

i wait and wait for him. where is he? it's been almost half an hour since we were supposed to start and i'm growing impatient.

i start packing up my things, thinking i've been punked and stood up and that he won't show up. but before i can, a boy comes running down the library and in front of me.

"i'm- sorry i'm- late i- had to avoid- sunghoon 'cause he wanted- to play ball," obviously out of breath jake explains himsef as he sits down.

"well let's get started!" i hurriedly get straight into it, not wanting to waste time.

"and don't forget that x is the variable not just a random letter."

"woah it makes soo much more sense now!"

i finish the lesson up smoothly after about an hour.

"thank you so much! i really appreciate this! tomorrow again?"

"yeah sure! and i can check your homework answers then!"

we close our books and grab our things, leaving the library.

its been about two weeks since i've been tutoring jake. and he's made a lot of progress. we've aso been getting a lot closer. we're friends now.

i ended up telling minji about it and she gave me mixed feelings. she told me that the scholastic decathlon is in two weeks and i need to focus on it, and not on jake. i didn't know how to respond, i just nodded and walked away.

(jake's pov)

i have another tutor session today with y/n. and its been heping a lot. i got an a in my math class, and a b in english.

we're also a lot closer than before. we've even hung out outside of school and tutoring. like to a coffee shop or something. i'm starting to really like her i think. i mean she's pretty, smart, kind, and soo helpful. i don't know if she feels the same though.

i leave for the library. and as i open the door, sunghoon steps in front of me.

"so you've been ditching playing ball during free period to go to the library? really? basketball during free period is our thing."

"i'm sorry. it's just if i keep my bad grades, i won't be able to play basketball. so i need to study-"

"jake!" y/n waves to me and sunghoon turns to see who it is. i return the wave and continue the conversation with sunghoon.

"who's that? isn't that the new girl?"

"oh uh yeah. she's been tutoring me- and it's really helping."

"you've been ditching me to study with her?"

"uh yeah i guess. she's really smart and helpful and i think i'm starting to like her."

"look- i gotta go, but all i have to say is to stick to basketball. don't go dating a nerd and start being all book wormy. and don't forget the championship game is in two weeks."

as he walks away, i'm left speechless.

stick to basketball? i'm just trying to get my grades up, right? or is he right? am i just using these sessions to get closer to y/n?

i shake my head, shoo away those thoughts, and make my way to y/n.

(y/n's pov)

i see jake finish his conversation and make his way to me.

"look! i brought snacks this time!"

"oh cool."

"you seem down, is something up?" i notice his slouchy posture and low voice.

"no it's nothing."

"you sure? you know you can tell me anything right?"

"yeah i just really don't wanna talk about it right now."

"oh that's okay. hmm i think i have something that can cheer you up! come with me!" i grab his wrist and run to the school gym.

when i grab his wrist, electricity shoots through me. i really like him. i can't explain it. the way his hair flows, his honey-like smile, and the way he csn make me laugh no matter what. i'm in love.

"the gym?"

"yeah! we're gonna play some basketball!" i grab a ball from the rack.

"really? you know how to play?" he walks to me.

"well- no. not exactly." i shoot the ball, but it completely air balls and misses the basket.

"i'll teach you."

jake walks closer to me and shows how to position myself to shoot.

"bend your knees and elbows and jump. don't forget to follow through with your other hand."

i follow his steps and attempt to shoot, but again it completely misses. laughing it off, i grab the ball to try again.

"here- could i touch you?" he gestures to my elbow and hands.

i keep my eyes on the ball, not daring to look him in the eye. it's too dangerous.

"this like this," he moves my elbow more, so it's bent. "andd your hand over here," he places my hand on the side of the ball.

my heart is racing. he's never been this close.

"and shoot!" i throw the ball and it actually makes it into the net. swish!

"ah! i did it! it went in!" i gasp turning to jake jumping into the air.

the surprised look on his face is so cute.

"look at us! we help each other!" i say and peck him on the cheek.

i turn around to shoot again. but i feel a hand on my wrist.

jake grabs my wrist and turns me back to him. i'm struck and can't move. he comes closer to me. even closer than before. i drop the ball as he closes the space and puts his lips on mine.

we're kissing. i didn't know he felt this way too.

the kiss is slowly and lovely. but he pulls apart to breath.

i stare into his eyes.

"y/n i really like you. like really really like you. you're all i think about."

i'm speechless at the sudden confession. but i'm glad to hear how he feels.

"and you might not-"

"i really like you too!" i interrupt him. his eyes instantly light up. and he starts to smile.

"really?"

"yes. i've been waiting for you to make a move."

"well i'm making it now. will you be my girlfriend?"

"yes."

a week had gone by of me and jake dating. i can't believe it's real. we're together. like for real.

i've never been happier.

(sunghoon's pov)

i walk over to mingi, y/n's best friend to come up with a plan.

"look i have a plan, and i hope it works."

we wait for jake in the locker room before practice. we created a presentation for him.

he walks in and we start.

"choi yeonjun! class of '99 captain, championship mvp, and legend! also known as ace!" i start off.

"choi beomgyu! class of '01 captain and championship mvp! also known as baller beom!" jay continues.

"kang taehyun! class of '02 captain and championship mvp! also known as lightning!" heeseung adds.

"no one of which were involved in books and studying. they won these games because they kept their eyes on the prize and didn't get distracted with books days before the championship game."

"get your head in the game!"

"look guys if you don't think i'll give it my 110% into this game, then you don't know me," we start setting up the camera.

"but we just thought-"

"no here's what i thought. i thought we were a team, i thought we were friends. we lose and win together."

"but then the girl and the studying."

"dude i'm for the team! i've always been for the team!"

(y/n's pov)

i am sat down by minji.

"in a world full of poverty and inequality, a game of basketball plays. though it's entertaining and fun, it provides nothing for this world! thats is the world of jake sim. rather than genorousity and change, he has slam dunks and fouls! unlike oprah winfrey and eleanor roosevelt. that is the inevitable world of jake sim."

"um i have a tutor session soon. i should really go."

"y/n! pay attention."

"dude i'm for the team! i've always been for the team!" the screen plays. i turn to the screen which shows jake.

"and the girl is just someone i met! alright? and the studying is nothing, it means nothing to me! it's probably just a way to ease my nerves and distract me! i don't know. but you're my guys and my team. y/n means nothing to me! i'll forget about her and the studying! are you happy now?"

suddenly it feels as if my heart has been shattered and stomped on like glass.

this is how jake really feels. it all meant nothing.

"this is the real world of jake sim."

tears starts filling up into my eyes. as they flow i realize how jake just used me for grades.

i walk out of the room not wanting to be there any longer.

a few minutes later i reach my locker to grab mu things and leave.

"hey! what's up?" jake comes up beside me but i ignore. "there's something i wanna talk about with you."

"yeah about how i meant nothing to you and that i'm just some girl you met? and how you can just forget about me?"

"y/n-"

"i really liked you jake. how could you?" i walk away as tears form in my eyes once again.

"y/n?"

the doorbell is heard and my mom answers the door. i walk halfway down the stairs.

"hi mrs. y/l/n, i'm jake."

"ohh so you're jake," i gesture to my mom to not let him in or tell him i'm here.

"is y/n here?"

"oh um sorry she isn't here right now."

"oh. that's okay, thanks though," he walks away and i go back upstairs.

the next few days go by and now the scholastic decathlon is in two days.

i've been doing everything in my power to avoid jake. in the cafeteria i sit at a different table. and i turn the other way if i see him, completely disregarding him.

minji could clearly see how hurt i was, i couldn't even focus on studying or reading. i just spaced out, and ignored everyone.

jake has tried to talk to me multiple times, but seeing that i wasn't going to talk to him, he stopped trying.

"y/n! the decathlon is in two days! pay attention!"

"i'm sorry it's just- my mind is in a different place."

"look y/n. i have something to tell you," minji sits.

"we knew sunghoon could make jake say things like that. we planned it all. we thought what jake would say would keep your mind focused on the decathlon. but it seems to have done the opposite."

"you planned it all?"

"yes. sunghoon made jake say those things."

"no one made jake say anything. be said those things himself."

(jake's pov)

what have i done? she completely ignores me and avoids me every chance she gets.

words can't explain how empty and bad i feel.

sunghoon see it too. i keep missing simple lay-ups or space out in the middle of practice. clearly not keeping my head in the game.

i don't know what to do.

"jake! pass the ball!"

"oh sorry-"

"dude the championship game is in two days."

"sorry man. my mind keeps getting distracted. i don't even know what i did."

"i know."

"what?"

"our team and the scholastic decathlon team made a plan to keep your guys' heads focused. but it didn't work. i made you say those things in the locker room and we live streaming it onto minji's computer. y/n was watching and heard what you said. we thought it would help you not get distracted."

"you did what?" i run out of the gym, in a hurry to y/n's house. i wasn't planning on doing this today, but it's now or never.

(y/n's pov)

my phone rings.

jake <3

i decide to pick it up this time.

"hello?"

"y/n. i'm sorry. i know you might not forgive me but please. i could never forget about you. you've been on my mind 24/7. i can't even focus during practice. my life without you is a misery. please come back."

"jake i don't know- you said i meant nothing."

"i know i did. and no excuse could make up for it. but just know that i love you. i love you so much. please."

"jake-"

"i got you something before you say anything else."

"jake what?"

"turn around."

i turn around to the window and there stands jake on my balcony. a surprised smile plays on my face. i walk over to open the door and hang up the phone.

"what're you doing here?"

"i got you this," he hands me a book.

"no way. you did not. A SIGNED COPY?! oh my god! thank you!!" i impulsively pull him into a hug, not thinking. "oh sorry," i awkwardly laugh.

"no no it's okay. i liked it, " he smiles.

"look y/n. i'm so sorry. words couldn't describe it so i thought i could give you this instead. open the pages."

i open the book. "oh. my. god. jake." i'm in awe.

"you annotated it? thats so sweet! thank you! yes i forgive you."

"yes!" he jumps up and down cutely in celebration. "thankyou thankyou thankyou! look i even wrote down a playlist for you in the book, so you can listen while you read or just whenever! anddd just in case you didn't dorgive me now, i wrote down an extra apology on the last page!"

i laugh at his rapid words.

"and i-" i steal his lips for a second to kiss him. and he's left speechless.

"i-" he pulls me in another time to put his lips on mine. and we pull away.

"i love you y/n."

"i love you too jake."

@polaroidbills please DO NOT copy, plagiarize, or repost any of my work.

203 notes · View notes

svltaf · 1 year

Text

ms appleton was nowhere close to having total control over soy sauce: perspectives on food and postwar japan

there's a popular post going around this month by @inneskeeper about how a single person changed japanese soy sauce forever. i've made my own post showing why this the story is incomplete and based on some factual inaccuracies, but i will be honest in saying that i would not be so engaged in responding to this post if it were not wrapped in a shockingly reductive narrative. i'll use this quote from op as a summary of the general idea they're trying to convey:

[...] I think that it is incredibly important that more people in the world are aware that leading into the Cold War, Japan was forcibly coerced into giving total power over a significant cultural touchstone/ingredient/way of life to a single foreigner who had a complete lack of respect for what shoyu is, even going so far as to say "I want to change Japan's taste preferences". I cannot imagine a more direct and blunt parallel to settler-colonialism mindset. I truly cannot. [link]

i will attempt give a larger view of that era and convey why this singular view is at best oversimplifying and at worst an incorrect projection of other trends upon what is an almost unique event in history.

note: i am not an academic historian; i will do my best to provide sources, but they will mostly be secondary.

i will use the three i's presented by prof. ian shapiro of yale, interests, institutions, and ideals, as lenses through which i will provide a more holistic view of the events at hand:

tl;dr:

the united states did not have uniform interests entering the cold war and the occupiers had a varying set of visions for japanese society and economy.

both the japanese public, the american occupation, and the japanese civil government had a more important goal: preventing hunger. japan was not coerced into handing over a tradition; it was suffering the consequences of its own colonial empire-building.

both countries were interested in building a healthy consumer economy, and ultimately the tastes of the public held most sway.

the idea of "a guy" being in charge of things has been a common theme in american foreign policy, but the idea that "the guy" was singularly responsible for massive change belies american perspectives and biases that often misrepresent the truth abroad.

i - ideals

i think this lens is maybe the most sympathetic to @inneskeeper's narrative: it makes sense that a settler-colonial nation with a deep root of anglo-protestant self-righteousness and evangelical tendencies would want to impose its vision of society upon a defeated foe. that said, it is not the only ideology at play in this situation, from both japan and the usa.

let's talk about main value the united states likes to impose upon foreign societies: democracy capitalism. i think what is interesting here is that this single word can have multiple interpretations in practice, and we can use this soy sauce story to look at the diversity in opinion of what capitalism means.

first, a capitalism tied to liberal ideals: a free and open market without monopolies as a promoter of egalitarianism. this concept was brought to japan by many of the administrators in the american occupation that have previously observed or enacted roosevelt's new deal in the aftermath of the great depression. [1, p.57-58; 2, p.98] we see a focus on trust-busting and a strong aversion to any significantly concentrated capital. pre-war japan was dominated by structures known as 財閥 zaibatsu, vertically integrated groups that are helmed by a family-controlled holding company owning a set of subsidiaries in banking and industry with interlocking stock ownership and directorship. the zaibatsu structures, emerging since the late edo and early meiji periods, have become inextricably linked to building the japanese imperial war machine (though somewhat forcibly). [3] on the american side, as a result, certain american elements viewed trust-busting as a way to democratize japan through the economy. [2, p.34; 4, p.19; 5, IV-2b] this included maj. gen. marquat, ms. appleton's boss at the ghq/scap economic and scientific section (ess). [4, p.31] japan's first postwar prime minister, shigeru yoshida, and his ministry of foreign affairs, seemed to agree with the deconcentration of capital. [4, p.20] this is not to say that the americans were particularly sympathetic, as gen. macarthur and others were quite convinced of the japanese population's inability to shed its feudal tendencies; rather, the americans found an opportunity to build a new liberal, democratic society to their liking. and yes, there was some punitive intent; the united states and allies did just finish fighting an 8-year-long war against an expanding empire. [4, p.30]

opposite the liberal view is the conservative, if not pragmatic, ideal of capitalism: as a bulwark against communism. japan was an industrialized nation with a developed economy, and as far as the looming cold war is involved, the united states wants both a healthy consumer economy and one that is integrated in the new world economy (i.e. one with american interests as stakeholders). [4, p.31-32, 44] if "deconcentration" of capital, as it was called by the occupiers, were to run its course, some americans (and lobbyists linked to japanese industry) feared that japanese society would be thrown into chaos, or worse, the rapprochement with the soviets under a socialist economy. [4, p.22, 32] the victors did initially break up many of the tightly-woven zaibatsu, but the overall health of the economy was eventually prioritized as a bulwark against communism, thus the number of zaibatsu slated for dismantling was reduced, and the main deconcentration proposal (FEC-230) was disavowed. [4, p. 32]

all this debate within the american occupation, plus some interjections from the japanese business community, about the nature of the rebuilding japanese market and economy was held from 1946 to 1948. this culminated in the "reverse course," in which cold war objectives won out in occupation policy, though the free market as a liberalizing principle was not discarded. [4, p.44-46] in the same space, there existed both a punitive drive to disperse the old japanese economic engine and a desire to build a new, genuinely local, consumer society as a protection against communism.

“Nothing will serve better to win the Japanese people over to a peaceful, democratic way of life than the discovery that it brings rewards in the way of better living and increasing economic security.” - col. r.m. cheseldine, u.s. war department [4, p.44]

it is important to distinguish this from the colonialist drive, which is to capture markets and resources for the sole benefit of the homeland.

in the context of soy sauce, the release by ghq/scap of american soybeans to japan was announced in 1948, after the reverse course has taken hold. [6, p.157] in addition, kikkoman was not even a zaibatsu, it was a company with roots in family ownership, vertically-integrated structures, and eventually found to engage in monopolistic practices, but was not of a large enough scale or diversification to qualify. [7, ch.3] the list of zaibatsu is actually quite limited. [wiki] all this meant that the anti-trust case brought against noda shōyu k.k. (kikkoman's predecessor) in 1954 in the tokyo high court is an entirely domestic affair (scap handed over power in 1949 and the position was abolished in 1952). [8, p.53] that said, the 1957 ruling against noda in noda shōyu k.k. v. japan fair trade commission (jftc) was the result of an aberrant and unfavourable reading of the act on prohibition of private monopolization and maintenance of fair trade, article 3; the act was passed in 1947, when scap was in power. [8, p.53] since article 3 is quite short ("an enterprise must not effect private monopolization or unreasonable restraint of trade."), it was open to wide interpretation, leading to the argument by the jftc that price-fixing as a leading player in an industry constituted monopolistic behaviour. [9] in that sense, we can see echoes of the debate around monopolies from the occupation era.

through the lens of ideals, we can see that in the periphery of this story, there is a friction between competing visions of capitalism in practice. in that sense, while it agrees that the usa had some desire to reshape a foreign country to its own ideals, it also shows how @inneskeeper's narrative unduly reduces the american occupation to a singular actor with singular motives, and one that is akin to colonial empires in other parts of history.

research questions:

did american attitudes towards monopolies affect the free distribution of semichemical fermentation methods? [6, p.160]

what direct links can we make between occupation-era attitudes towards monopolization and japanese governance regarding the food industry?

ii - institutions

from the point of view of institutions (i use the term loosely), it's a lot more apparent how the situation has a lot more factors flowing in many directions. i will largely focus on three structures: the japanese food industry, the allied victors, and the japanese civil government.

when discussing the food industry, it's important to note that this is what sustains the inhabitants of a place; while condiments are a trivial part of sustenance, the way it is made and its ebbs and flows and shed a lot of light onto the needs of people. japan, since the early 20th century, had been a country that could not sustain itself off the resources of its home islands. as a colonial empire, it relied on food imports from korea and taiwan, and in the 20s and 30s pursued the low-lying plains of manchuria (northeastern china). this reflects in its soybean consumption as well: japan consumed about 1 million tons of soy each year in the 1930s, and at least two-thirds of it was imported from the colonies or manchukuo (the puppet régime ruling machuria). [10] within what we now call the "home islands" of japan, hokkaido, the one remaining settler-colony of japan to this day, produces the most out of all regions. [11, p.4]

(time for some math: [10] states that about 949 000 tons of soy sauce was consumed in japan per year in the mid-1930s. a quick look at soy sauce recipes reveals that 1kg of soy produces about 4 litres (and assuming about 4kg due to density of water) of sauce. with the 4:1 ratio, we can therefore estimate that about 237 000 tons of soy was used per year to make sauce immediately before the war.)

the end of the japanese empire meant losing direct access to those production areas: manchuria was returned to china, and korea and taiwan were placed under various allied (usa, china, ussr) administrations. with japan needing to supply its troops over an ever-growing front line, caloric intake by the average japanese already dropped well below necessary levels for an adult by 1944. [12] by 1946, the defeated nation was at the brink of starvation. american analysis towards the end of wwii determined that soybean production in the home islands could not rise beyond its pre-war levels without sacrificing other land use. [11, p.5] in order to survive, the soy industry needed to replace about 70% of its sources in short order without encroaching upon other agricultural sectors necessary to sustain life. there was immense pressure.

regarding the allies: the japanese empire was largely carved up by three victors, china, the ussr, and the usa. the ussr, having been the least active in the defeat of japan, with its most important contribution being the verbal threat of invasion, was not actively threatening aside from the spectre of spreading communism (as mentioned in part i). china, on the other hand, regained the lands that produced much of the food japan was consuming. while the republic of china (ruled by the kmt) was still in power, it was able to continue supplying food to neighbouring nations. [14] however, civil war broke out between the kmt government and the communists almost immediately after the end of wwii. [13] 1948 saw active fighting in northern china, thus hampering any exports of food; the kmt régime collapsed and fled to taiwan in 1949, and the communist government stopped all trade with the western bloc at the outbreak of the korean war in 1950. [14] with china being unable to supply japan, there is only one remaining option for food imports: the usa. soybean imports in the usa was generally coordinated by the garioa program and through private trade. american exports of soybean to japan skyrocketed from 6000 tons in 1946 and 34600 tons in 1947 to 119500 tons (about 12% of pre-war consumption) in 1948, 152500 tons in 1949 (almost all imports to japan that year), and 305000 tons in 1950. [15, p.67, 69] japan itself likely produced between 300 000 and 450 000 tons of soybeans each year, which meant that in 1947-48 japan was consuming definitively less than two-thirds of its pre-war consumption. the soy industry as a whole, and certainly the soy sauce industry, was in a desperate state.

unlike the collapsed german and italian régimes, the japanese government retained a functioning structure after the rapid end to hostilities in the pacific theatre. [16, p.194] this meant that instead of being tasked with the groundwork of running a country, the allied powers had an existing civil government to administer directives and policies; the u.s. eighth army served as an enforcement and reporting arm of scap. [16, p.195-197] during the war, from 1939 to 1942, the imperial government instituted various food control laws that collected and distributed food from producers under a quota system. [17, p.221] such quotas, as as well as rationing, persisted in the immediate months after allied victory. however, with the surrender of japan, public confidence in the government plummeted, significantly hampering its ability to administer food. the average caloric value of rations in tokyo could only fulfill about a third of an adult's needs; hungry city-dwellers increasingly opted to buy on the black market (which had poached imperial military stock) or physically go to the countryside to acquire food directly from farmers outside of government rationing. [18, p.30-31; 19, p.835, 843] scap policy directed the japanese government to "reinstate" agricultural quotas, and in 1946, it issued the emergency imperial food ordinance which empowered government expropriation of food for the production quota and enforcement of such policies; the u.s. eighth army participated in enforcing the policy within the civil administration. [17; 18] the yoshida government,the first democratically elected administration in the new state of japan, was keenly aware of the necessity of food in rehabilitating japan, as well as the importance of competing against the black market in order to once again establish the rule of law. [18] as such, the tight government control of domestic food production lasted much longer than in other industries, causing pressure for "non-essential" segments like the seasoning industry.

(as an aside, in line with certain ideas discussed in part i, scap directed land reform which redistributed much of the arable land in japan, increasing productivity of land and eliminating the interest of large landowners thought to be threatening to democracy. [18])

as discussed in my previous post, chemical alternatives to fermented soy sauce have been developed since the early 20th century. [6] during the war, substitute methods (especially amino acid-based ones, e.g. hvp or mixed hvp-honjozo) replaced fermented honjozo* methods as resources became more scarce. [20]

*honjōzō (本醸造) means "genuinely fermented".

in early 1948, it was announced that 20 000 tons of soybean meal would be made available by the eroa fund for the purpose of making seasonings, to be allocated by ms appleton at ghq/scap. [14; 6, p.159] this amount is only about 10% of the soybean consumption of soy sauce manufacturers before the war. on the surface, for an industry marginalized by the need to stave off starvation and maintain social stability, securing the imported soybean meal can be seen as a life-or-death situation. however, given the wartime state of sauce production, the struggle to acquire the soybean meal is more akin to an attempt to return to fully soy-based fermentation methods. the invention of the semichemical #2 method which increased soy usage productivity and secured most of the soybean meal for the soy sauce industry can be seen as a faster intermediate step to return to traditional fermented methods used before the war. it's also important to note that over 80% of soy sauce in japan has returned to traditional honjozo production, and that large companies such as kikkoman and yamasa have attempted to return to honjozo methods as early as the late 1950s. [20]

from this point of view, it does not seem particularly apparent that a single administrator had the power to change an industry, but rather her decisions were the impetus for developments to happen within the domestic industry. ultimately, japan's soy sauce industry was suffering the consequences of its industrialization and the failure of its colonial experiment. in a wider view, we can see this as a detail in the friction between two imperial projects. (consider this: out of the major parties involved, japan, china, usa, ussr, and other minor players in the pacific war, gb, netherlands, france, all of them entered the 20th century with imperial projects.)

research questions:

are there japanese sources that can verify production and imports during the 1940s?

there was a soy sauce control corporation formed by the imperial government in 1942 (全国醤油統制株式会社) that dictated resource allocation and quotas for the soy sauce industry. it seemed to have only been dissolved in 1948. what was its role after the war and what relationship did it have with scap?

iii - interests

as for interests, i will limit its scope to answering "who materially benefits." the groups at play are generally the same as the previous part, so i will be brief in elaboration.

the most obvious interest is that of the japanese public: their main material benefit in the late 1940s is to be nourished enough to stay alive (see part ii). while soy sauce is an important part of japanese cuisine, as a condiment, it is a nutritionally trivial part of its diet. it is then understandable, that japanese society and scap would be willing to temporarily sacrifice an immediate return to traditional production in favour of methods that would leave more food for direct consumption.

the next interest to discuss is that of the soy sauce industry, and its desire to return to honjozo (traditionally fermented) production after a period of scarcity during and after the war. it is important to note that regarding the 20 000 tons of soybean meal to be allocated by scap in 1948, the competitor to the soy sauce industry for those resources is the amino acid industry (msg, etc.). [6, p.159] with soybeans hard to come by, the soy sauce industry would have been under immense pressure to aquire the soybean meal distributed as aid. with kikkoman's development of semichemical #2 method, the scap decisionmakers reconsidered an earlier uneven distribution of soybean meal in favour of the amino acid producers. [6, p.160] what resulted next was talk between representatives of the two competing industries, facilitated by the americans. [6, p.160] it is important that taste trials were conducted, with wide support for the new semi-chemical method by the polled public. [6, p.160] at every step of the decision-making process, japanese interests were consulted by scap.

it is also important to mention the "japan lobby" in washington a set of interest groups and lobbyists representing japanese business as to illustrate the bidirectionality of influence in postwar japan. [21] this group arose from the aftermath of the first zaibatsu dissolutions. some key achievements of their advocacy activities include the disavowal of the fec-230 policy proposal from the allied powers (against gen. macarthur's wishes!), and adding revisions to scap's economic deconcentration program. it is plausible that this lobbying set had influence with scap and washington regarding soy sauce, given the tight-knit nature of the japanese business class. that said, the direct link between the japan lobby and soy sauce, should it exist, necessitates further research.

i think it is necessary to analyze from the lens of interests @inneskeeper's claim of the united states occupation forcibly seizing and making changes to a traditional food industry. it is known that the united states seeks to build a strong consumer economy that is open to american investment and imports of american products. [18, p.40] given that the soybean meal managed by scap in 1948 was aid, it would've been in the american interest to support either industry, since they would both eventually rely on american imports once the period of scarcity ends (china would soon cease ot be a reliable exporter of food). there is nothing related to soy sauce that would've been against american interests, business or political, whereas food scarcity has been a real problem facing the japanese and allied administration. in this case, the chief american interest is to stabilize japan as a society against two perceived social enemies: communism on the left and a renewed militarism borne of resentment on the right. with the task of placating a hungry and defeated populace, producing large amounts of soy sauce that is palatable to the public using minimal aid material would be an interest in and of itself for the americans. i think it could be argued whether comments made by americans about how easily japanese tastes can be swayed are insensitive and out of line, but it is also true that the public had much more pressing needs than condiment purity.

@inneskeeper also mentioned the yakuza in some of their posts as a possible interest group involved. the informal economy grew to encompass all strata near the end of the war and immediately afterwards; most urbanites were forced to use the black market to stave off hunger. [19] the yakuza, mafia-like organizations that would operate somewhat openly in the decades before the war, entered the fray as groups that managed informal vendors. [22, p.632] racketeering became rampant in the years immediately after japanese surrender due to shortages and irregular flows of necessities such as food, but as the economy recovered entering the 1950s, the yakuza moved to more conventional underworld enterprises such as as gambling, prostitution, and nightlife. [22, 23] it also moved towards the underbelly of political life, becoming an actor in anti-left politics. [22] we know that the changes to soy sauce production happened in the small window between the end of the war and the earnest start of economic recovery, so it is possible that parties involved would have to deal with the yakuza as a necessary source of material. however, since their sights are set on the industries traditionally associated with the underworld, it would be a stretch to say that they had any real say in the proceedings of this development beyond being one additional obstacle to the soy sauce industry in acquiring ingredients. that said, using a singular product can be very useful as a window into how the yakuza may have coerced informal food distribution channels.

research questions:

what specific outcomes were agreed upon at the "shoda-ouchi conference" between the soy sauce and amino acid manufacturing industries? [6, p.160]

how did the japan lobby affect or facilitate changes in the soy sauce industry?

how did the yakuza affect the informal food economy?

iv - individuals

one thing that made the original story by @inneskeeper so appealing to the tumblr public is the proposition that a single person may have changed japanese soy sauce forever.

it bears repeating that major industrial changes (and i would challenge the categorization of this soy sauce happening as "major" in comparison to the general state of japan in the 1940s) are often the culmination of many small decisions from a wide set of actors. what is interesting about the idea of a singular "manipulator" is that it mirrors a common trope in american foreign policy: the idea of "our guy" (e.g. "our guy in afghanistan" [24, p.277], "our guy in panama" [25], etc.), that is, a singular handler for american interests in a foreign theatre of operations. in this case, since the country at hand is managed by an american occupation, "our guy" in the japanese soy sauce industry is an american, ms. blanche appleton. while american policy sometimes prefers to use this paradigm, it does not necessarily mean it works, not is the wishful american imagination correct when it comes to situations on the ground (see citations above). this trope may also possibly be borne of the oft-cited concept of "american individualism," a value that is as much a contradiction (how can a single person be free to change the world as they see fit, while also live in a world free from the will of others?) as it is a real part of american culture.

in the faulty narrative of ms. appleton, we also see a similar contradiction: how can a foreign woman who is allegedly willingly unfamiliar (as it turns out, probably not true [6, p.160]) with the native culture be in total control of an entire element of its cuisine? what is the meaning of "total power": did she personally decide taste profile of the condiment to her tastes, coerce various native parties to the will of the americans (what will?), or facilitate the solution to a complex resource distribution problem? in any case (except the fancifully implausible first case), what is the singular role of ms appleton? did power flow from her, or through her? perhaps a more interesting way to look at this problem is to ask what would have happened if someone else were in ms. appleton's place. would their personal influence be significant enough as to change the outcome? if so, what would have been the extent of the changes? (we can maybe look at the facilitation of the "shoda-ouchi conference" as one point. [6, p.160]) conversely, what would have remained the same as the various parties involved influenced the situation?

a more helpful view is to see the balance between the ideas, institutions, and interests behind each decision that would paint a more complete picture of this historical era. perhaps it is not as flashy to break down a chapter in culinary history as the convergence of multiple influences, but it is the one that does history most justice.

discussion questions

this is for the test

how significant was the dearth of food in late 1940s japan to this situation, and what similar adaptations of food cultures occurred in other post-wwii nations?

what factors from imperial japan, whether before the sino-japanese war or during the war, influenced this situation?

is there any part of this development that forshadows the economic rehabilitation and subsequent growth of japan in the latter half of the 20th century? if so, how?

what american attitudes were at play in this situation, and what japanese attitudes (if you're familiar) were involved as well?

what influence did china, as the originator of soy sauce, a major source of food in east asia, and a significant allied power, have on postwar japan and how did it influence the development of the japanese variants of soy sauce?

what was the influence of the japanese public's tastes?

bibliography:

apologies for the weird mix of ieee inline and mla bibliography formats, ieee works best with hypertext but doesnt make much sense for non-stem subjects.

Allinson, G. D. Japan's postwar history, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. [link]

Moore, R. A., & D. L. Robinson. Partners for Democracy : Crafting the New Japanese State under MacArthur, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2002. [avail. at libraries]

Okazaki, T. “The Japanese Firm Under the Wartime Planned Economy,” in The Japanese Firm: Sources of Competitive Strength, edited by M. Aoki and R. Dore, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1994. [link, requires academic access]

Sugita, Y. Pitfall or panacea : the irony of US power in occupied Japan 1945-1952, New York: Routledge, 2003. [avail. at libraries]

State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee. United States Initial Post-Surrender Policy for Japan (SWNCC150/4), 1945. [link]

Oguri, T. "醤油製造技術の系統��調査 Development of Soy sauce Manufacturing Technologies" in 国立科学博物館技術の系統化調査報告, Tokyo: National Museum of Nature and Science, 2008. [link; translation of excerpts in an earlier post]

Fruin, W. M. The Japanese Enterprise System: Competitive Strategies and Cooperative Structures, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1994. [link]

Haley, J. O. "Marketing and Antitrust in Japan" in Hastings Int'l & Comp.L. Rev. 51 Vol. 2 No. 1, San Francisco: UC Hastings Law, 1979. [link]

Japan, National Diet. Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade (Act No. 54 of April 14, 1947), Tokyo: National Diet, 14 Apr. 1947 [link]

Nakamura, H. "The Japanese Soybean Market" in Illinois Agricultural Economics Vol. 1, No. 2, Milwaukee, WI: Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, 1961. [link]

United States of America, Tariff Commission. Japanese trade studies : special industry analysis no. 13, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1944-45. [link]

United States of America, Strategic Bombing Survey. Summary Report (Pacific War), Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1946. [link]

Crisis, Time, 1944. [link]

Hirano, M. "Using American Soybeans in the Japanese Economy" in The Soybean Digest Vol. 12 Iss. 11, Cleveland, OH: Penton, 1952. [link]

United States of America, Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service. United States Farm Products In Foreign Trade, Statistical Bulletin No. 112, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1953. [link]

General Staff of Gen. D. MacArthur. Reports of General MacArthur - MacArthur in Japan: The Occupation: Military Phase Volume I Supplement, Washington, DC: Center for Military History, 1966, reprinted 1994. [link]

Smith, H.F. (Chief, Food Branch, Price and Distribution Division, ESS, SCAP) "Food Controls in Occupied Japan" in Agricultural History Vol. 23, No. 3, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1949 [link]

Fuchs, S. J. "Feeding the Japanese: Food policy, land reform, and Japan’s economic recovery" in Democracy in Occupied Japan: The U.S. Occupation and Japanese Politics and Society, edited by M. E. Caprio and Y. Sugita, New York: Routledge, 2007. [link]

Griffiths, O. "Need, Greed, and Protest in Japan's Black Market, 1938-1949" in Journal of Social History Vol. 35, No. 4, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2002. [link]

Oya, Y. "みそ製造業の構造変化とその要因" in 食品経済研究第30号 (Bulletin of the Department of Food Economics, Nihon University), Tokyo: Nihon University, 2002. [link]

Schonberger, H. "The Japan Lobby in American Diplomacy, 1947-1952" in Pacific Historical Review Vol. 46, No. 3, Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 1977. [link]

Siniawer, E. M. "Befitting Bedfellows: Yakuza and the State in Modern Japan" in Journal of Social History Vol. 45, No. 3, The Hidden History of Crime, Corruption, and States, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2012. [link]

Hill, P. B. E. The Japanese Mafia: Yakuza, Law, and the State, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2003. [link]

Blaxland, J., M. Fielding, and T. Gellerfy, Niche Wars: Australia in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2001–2014, Canberra: ANU Press, 2020. [link]

Kornheiser, T. "Noriega Our Bountiful Nation" The Washington Post, Dec. 22, 1989. [link]

#svlt speaks #the mysterious appearance of miss appleton

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