#welcome to miracle matter monday

[mishruum]

i had a strange thought

[bulkyphrase]

Cap-IM Rec Week - Better Together Monday

Welcome to @cap-ironman Rec Week 2024! I've got some fun lists planned for this week, starting with this one, which features some of my favorite fics where, via assorted shenanigans, Steve and Tony are now sharing their thoughts, feelings, or personal space.

So basically, stories where they've been forced together into a magical "We Will Get Along" shirt.

inside my shell-shaped mind by Mizzy (@mizzy2k) (616, Teen And Up Audiences, 18,217 words)

Summary: Before Ikaris of the Eternals died along with the rest of his people, he gave Tony Stark the power of the Uni-Mind, a power Tony used in order to help stop the Horde from destroying the universe. The Magistrati are the Living Tribunal's enforcers of Universal Law. They are the judges, jurors, and advocates of the universe. And Tony’s Uni-Mind ability has been judged too dangerous: he must be put to death. Steve thinks he has a solution. To save Tony's life, he must undergo an intimate version of the Uni-Mind known as the Gann Josin, a type of bonding that creates a mental union between two people...and makes them lifelong soulmates. Well, it's probably not the oddest way to save someone's life, but it's certainly not going to be easy. Especially when Tony seems determined that the bond should be broken, as soon as possible. (Set just after War of the Realms #4.) Also available as a podfic read by Pywren (@phyrrhicvictory)

Machines and Marvels by rainbowninja167 (@rainbowtitania) (MCU, Teen And Up Audiences, 23,443 words)

Summary: "The only future in which you have a hope of defeating Thanos is one where the Avengers remain whole and undivided. Do you understand? No matter what else happens, it’s imperative that the Avengers stay together." “Wait. What the fuck are the Avengers?” Or: In an alternate timeline where the Avengers never formed, Steve and Tony need a crash course in team bonding. Stephen Strange just had to take that literally.

More below the cut!

Breathless by @kandisheek (MCU, Explicit, 36,966 words)

Summary: How do you even start a conversation like that? Hey, sorry, but last night you sort of jerked me off through our bond and now I know the serum makes you shoot off in like two seconds, oops. Wherein Tony can feel everything Steve feels and it makes things very awkward.

made to make you blue by @gottalovev (MCU, Explicit, 26,022 words)

Summary: Steve, drunk for the first time since the serum, hits on Tony. It's everything Tony's ever dreamt about, but he refuses to have sex with a drunk Steve who can't truly consent. They do kiss, though, and Tony stays the night. The morning after brings a misunderstanding of disastrous proportion, where both men wrongly assume the other is uninterested. Life gets extremely complicated when Enchantress, mad at Thor, casts a spell that links people who love each other together, letting them feel the other's pain.

read my mind by orphan_account (MCU, Explicit, 6,691 words)

Summary: A run in with Loki gives Tony the ability to read Steve's thoughts. Unbeknownst to Loki, it actually brings them closer together.

Never Too Late for Love by @sineala (Ults, Explicit, 98,060 words)

Summary: Steve has always believed that a soulbond is a blessing -- a rare and beautiful miracle, joining the thoughts and feelings of two people forever, from the first time they touch. Steve knows he's not going to be one of the lucky ones. He knows Gail isn't his soulmate. But he loves her, even if they're not soulmates, and he's going to do right by her. After the war's over, he's going to marry her, and they're going to settle down. They'll buy a house. They'll have children. He'll see his family again. Maybe Bucky will live next door. It's going to be a good life. He doesn't need a soulbond. He'll be fine without one. Then Steve wakes up sixty years in the future to find that his wonderful life has moved on without him. His family is long dead. His fiancée married his best friend. And the only purpose he has left is leading the Ultimates, a misbegotten team of superheroes with flaws too numerous to count. Steve hates everything about the future -- but most of all he detests Tony, flashy and flirtatious, who embodies everything Steve hates about a world he never wanted to live in. And, oh, yeah, Steve has a soulmate after all: Tony fucking Stark. Also available as a podfic read by Cathalinareads (@cathalinaheart)

one foot in (and one foot back) by kehinki (MCU, Explicit, 32,479 words)

Summary: This isn't the worst thing that's ever happened to Tony, but it's in the top five.

When I Think (Oh, it Terrifies Me) by celli (MCU, Explicit, 8,642 words)

Summary: Look, some mornings you wake up and little green men are invading New York City; some mornings you wake up and you can hear Captain America's voice in your head. Tony has been an Avenger long enough that he saves his freakout for important things. Also available as a podfic read by RsCreighton (@rosecreighton)

A Meeting of Minds by Nix (CrimsonQuills) (616, Explicit, 17,770 words)

Summary: As it turns out, the Extremis hadn't quite finished rewriting Tony's brain. The only potential fix has...consequences.

[danbisroom]

Ep. 26 (Half 52) - We’ll Bask In The Shadow Of Yesterday’s Triumph

Hello my beloved fellow souls,

welcome back to Danbi’s Room, your weekly dose of safe space. Go grab a cup of something warm and get yourself cosy.

I hope you got to see a lot of beautiful things in the past two weeks. I hope you had the energy to slow down and look fondly at the positive that will come into your present if you let go of of the negative past. Don’t look back in anger my loves.

I’m sorry, in the end I failed you and ended up being absent for two weeks. I…was a bit sick last Monday and Tuesday and I couldn’t really keep my eyes open…forgive me.

I was thinking about a concept I’ve seen floating around in the past few months, which is that we get to a certain point in life, sooner or later, where we lose all contact with our own perception of life; we become disconnected from reality, alien to the present moment. Anxiety kidnaps our body and soul and we’re deprived of the magic which had been surrounding us. We don’t shine anymore even if deep within the Sun is still inside us.

Now we’re like inside a black hole, we’re swallowed up by darkness, As I’m not a physicist I’m not gonna delve into the specific properties and characteristics of black holes but there’s two things I find particularly fascinating. First of all we don’t actually see black holes: we can observe their silhouette through the “light” emanated by the deadly fate the celestial body around them meet.

That, at least in my view, directly leads me to the second object of my fascination: eye pupils. Black holes absorbing light engulfed and defined by jagged colours unique to each and every one of us. I’m not gonna get too deep with this, it’s just yet another reminder that “as above so below; as below so above”. It’s a very practical and substantive quote. As always what surrounds us and what constitutes us are one the mirror of the other. In my opinion that does add the sparkle of magic back, the magic of the small things: if the cosmos is magical so are our eyes, so is whatever they gaze upon. Everything shines, so shine and laugh and be wild. Embrace and welcome all the facets of the diamonds adorning your skin, all of the layers of your luscious petals. Bask in what others might call delusion but to you it’s the truthful vision of dreams, suggested to you by the gentle whisper of the sea breeze. Look at the Moon and bathe your hair in her silver rays while loving shadows caress your head. Free yourself of perfection ‘cause it doesn’t exist and, most importantly, it doesn’t matter at all. To be honest, as far as I’m concerned, I’m not very fond of symmetry. Given that perfect symmetry on a face is physically impossible there are still many faces around which are fairly symmetrical. Might be ‘cause I love drawing portraits but lopsided faces are so much more beautiful to me. So much more charming. They tell stories. A smile tenderly curving towards the right side of a visage lovely followed by downwardly slanted eyes, paused by a crooked nose decorated by messy curly hair…I’m always going to choose that over everything else.

Maybe you learn to love faces the way you learn to appreaciate food from different cultures and new genres of music. New art. You just need to domesticate yourself to it until you find the key of the immense amount of love you can pour inside of it. Something that completely changes your life and your outlook. Sometimes you don’t even notice its light making its way in your soul like a stream but one day you wake up, you feel it and you just have the sensation of being fuller and lighter and you start seeing colours again. Like good news after a year of numbness.

It might seem impossible but I can guarantee it’s possible. Miracles happen all the time and when they do we must be ready to see them, so we can go to the triumphs of our childhood and lay our bare feet on the soil again.

Today song recommendation is Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd. It’s a favourite of mine and it’s beautifully evocative in all of its parts. Just lay down and spoil yourself with 25 minutes of bliss.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and that you have a beautiful week ahead of you!

I’ll see you in the next one, big hug!

With love, yours,

Danbi

[marylandlifecoaching]

Shit Show

I bring clarity and calmness to the situation. Without judgement and prejudice. That is my commitment to every distress call I respond to. And with every interaction I may have with anyone. Life itself offers enough distrust. Or does it? Lets get into it...

We all know that we are going to have some challenging days ahead of us. No one is exempt. And many times our programming, our thinking complicates the matter. Many of us have been conditioned to go to the worst possible place in our heads. We expect, or make the situation bigger than it is. I saw a meme the other day that said, "Welcome to the shit show...I mean good morning." I know it's just a meme. But how many of us feel that way? We have got to shift the narrative in our heads.

"All the gods, all the heavens and all the hells are within you." Joseph Campbell

I absolutely love that quote. It speaks to just how powerful we are. We have a tremendous amount of power flowing though us at any given moment. The power does not lie with what happens to us. It lies in how we respond. And there are literally thousands of ways to shift those narratives. We just need to be dedicated enough to do them. 

Yes life can be a shit show. I personally have spent a lifetime dedicated to the art of not giving in to the shit show. Yes, pain hurts. Yes, I can get down. But usually in a matter of minutes, the narrative begins to change in my mind. That's what makes me effective in a crisis situation. And that's what makes me focus on what I have, not the outcomes. Because there are going to be some horrific outcomes. I honor them. Then give them back to God. 

So do yourself a favor tomorrow. It is Monday. You have a whole week to create both magic and miracles. There is no shit show. Because all the gods, all the heavens and all the hells are within you.

[uraichievents]

Monday, June 13th, 2022 - Sunday, June 19th, 2022

~

General Info

What is UraIchi Week?

It’s a week-long fanworks event to promote the Urahara Kisuke x Kurosaki Ichigo ship. There’s no sign-up, it’s just for fun, and everybody can participate. Completed works and wips are both acceptable, and any type of fanwork (fanfic, fanart, gifsets, etc.) is welcome. NSFW and/or potentialy trigger-y content is allowed, although please remember to tag your works properly.

The ship itself can be written romantically or platonically so long as it stars these two characters together in some way. Poly is also fine so long as Ichigo and Kisuke are still the focus of the fanwork. And crossovers and fusions are also allowed even if it isn’t one of the given prompts for the event. Basically, anything goes, and the only criteria is that it has to be UraIchi-centric.

Posting:

For those of you with Tumblr, you can tag your stuff with #UraIchi Week 2022 in the first five tags of your post. I’ll be tracking that tag so I’ll see it and reblog it to this blog. (If it’s been a few days since you posted and I still haven’t reblogged it, something probably went wrong, Tumblr’s not always reliable, so just shoot me an ask about it and I’ll reblog it.)

For those of you with AO3, I will create a collection a day or two before the event starts, and you’ll be able to add your work to the collection when you post. (I’ll toss up a notice for everyone once the collection is up.)

And of course we have our Discord server (link is on the sidebar) so if you want to come and talk about what you’re working on or you just want to chat, feel free to join us there!

At this point, the UraIchi Server has definitely gotten a lot bigger than just UraIchi, but we do still have channels dedicated to UraIchi events.

~ Themes

The votes are in and tallied so here are the results that everyone’s been waiting for! It’s your choice whether or not you want to make a fanwork that includes all the themes of that day, or a fanwork for each theme, or a fanwork for just one. You can make something for each day of the week or just one or two days. And if your fanwork doesn’t fit any of the themes, there’s a Creator’s Choice option on the last day so feel free to come up with your own AUs and other ideas. All prompts can be interpreted any way you want as well, it’s entirely up to you. The only thing that matters is that you have fun with it ^_^ Now, without further ado:

June 13th, 2022 - Day 1: history crumbles in your wake (we forge our own mistakes and miracles)

Time Travel AU / Dimension Travel AU

Time Loop AU / Groundhog Day

Reincarnation AU / Transmigration AU

Canon Divergence AU

June 14th, 2022 - Day 2: the world would not survive your death, my dear

Loyalty Kink

Touch-Starved Character(s)

Codependency

Bond

June 15th, 2022 - Day 3: the gods will tremble when they hear your name

vs. Gotei 13

“Did you forget what you made me into?”

Rebellion / Revolution

“Anger is a good look on you.”

June 16th, 2022 - Day 4: hearts are funny things— you can give them away (you can break them)

Courtship

Accidental Relationship

Confession

Idiots in Love

June 17th, 2022 - Day 5: once upon a dream, when the stars align

Sun / Moon

Soulmates AU

Different First Meeting AU

“For once in your life, be honest.”

June 18th, 2022 - Day 6: the monsters are real (the monsters are us)

Creatures & Monsters AU

“If I lost control, trust me, you’d know.”

Wingfic

Gods & Goddesses AU

June 19th, 2022 - Day 7:

Creator’s Choice!

[smallgodseries]

[image description: A gigantic 3-eyed green monster looms over the Golden Gate Bridge and obstructs the Marin Headlands. Its right hand holds the bridge tower – its left holds the Navy ship it’s just taken a huge bite out of. A fascinated/terrified crowd looks on from Fort Point as a small sailboat with an image of Boudicca on its sail attempts to turn away. Text reads, “51, Stinkweed Sam ~ The Small God of the Munchies”]

An ordinary man stands before an open refrigerator, filled with pieces and potential.  He could make a sandwich, yes, a sandwich would be lovely, ham and cheese perhaps, or bologna with Miracle Whip, or peanut butter and jelly, or—

Tuna fish and onion with squeezy mustard whispers a voice, unfamiliar but oh so tempting, alluring, even, filled with confidence and yearning.

Still, he hesitates.  Surely that is…abnormal?  Surely, that would be a strange combination, not something an ordinary man like himself would eat?

Crush up some Doritos and put them on top whispers the voice.  Wash it down with a can of Fanta.  Doesn’t matter what flavor.  Fruity and sweet.

And it’s tempting, it’s so tempting, and he’s already reaching for the squeezy mustard.  He won’t realize what he’s done until the stomachache wakes him at two o’clock in the morning, and when it does, the voice won’t be there to comfort him.

The voice won’t be anywhere at all.  Stinkweed Sam will have long since moved on.

He comes most often to those who have indulged in other sacraments, because their clouded minds are clear to his specific form of prayer.  They have shed their inhibitions and their misconceptions at the same time, and see nothing wrong with dipping Girl Scout cookies in fast food barbeque sauces, or with scraping the filling out of Oreos and replacing it with sardines, the crunch of the bones perfectly complimenting the crispness of the cookie.  He blesses them all, the inebriated, the stoned, the hormonal, the exhausted.

He whispers recipes to them, and when they listen, he is with them for every terrible, glorious, unbearable bite.  He will be there for you, if you allow him to be.  If you take the first sip that welcomes him in.

Would you like to make a sandwich?

....................

Artist Lee Moyer (13th Age, Cursed Court) and author Seanan McGuire (Middlegame, Every Heart a Doorway) have joined forces to bring you icons and stories of the small deities who manage our modern world, from the God of Social Distancing to the God of Finding a Parking Space.

Join in each week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a guide to the many tiny divinities:

Tumblr: https://smallgodseries.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallgodseries

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallgodseries/

Homepage: http://www.smallgodseries.com/

[haikyuuuuuhypeeeee]

September Scribbles - Monday, September 13th

Genre: Humor

Featuring: Bokuto Koutarou (790 wc)

Prompt: “My kitchen smells like death.” (prompt from www.thefakeredhead.com)

“I’m home!” You call out, closing the apartment door behind you.

“Welcome home!” Bokuto Koutarou bellows from the depths of the apartment. You smile as you take your shoes off - you can hear the shower running and you know Bokuto wanted to ensure you heard his greeting despite the extra noise from the water.

(You had tried to assure him that you definitely could hear him and he didn’t have to shout. But he was adamant about maintaining his volume for you.)

You set your keys in the bowl by the door and venture further in. The apartment, once bare and empty, now bursts with life thanks to Bokuto moving in with you. Not only did he bring his loud and bright personality, but remnants of his old place now line the walls and counters of your shared home. It’s a welcome change, one that’s made you unbelievably happier.

Setting your bag down you amble down the hallway, searching for a snack. Dinner won’t be that long (hinging on your decision to make something quick or order takeout) but you need a snack stat.

But the second you step into the kitchen your quest for food comes from a dramatic halt.

“Oh my god.” You cover your nose and stagger from the room. You cover your nose with your shirt, forcing deep breaths through your mouth to prevent any more stench from entering your nostrils.

What in god's name is that smell?! You wonder incredulously. It’s a stench so foul it’s a miracle you didn’t keel over and pass out. Your nose is still tingling unpleasantly, and even though you no longer can detect the scent, it’s remnants haunt you. And you’re certain it will haunt you for years to come.

The shower cutting off and loud whistling coming from the bathroom brings you from your dour thoughts, and brings forth a more pressing matter.

How the hell does Bokuto not smell that?

“Honey?” You call as you walk into the bathroom.

“Yeah babe?” He walks through the bathroom, a towel around his waist and another around his shoulders. His dynamic hairstyle is dampened from the shower, but his bright eyes are visible through his fringe.

“Um, the kitchen smells like death.” You’re not gonna beat around the bush, as you are determined to find out what the hell that smell is.

(It’s worse than the time you found a dead mouse in the sink drain, and worse than the time Bokuto finally opened the Tupperware container that had taken residency in the back corner of your fridge for six months. You need to find out what the smell is, now.)

Instead of joining your quest to unearth the stench with gusto, Bokuto gazes down, and shifts.

Uh oh. You know this look. It’s what Akaashi Keiji would classify as Mood #237. Embarrassment mixed with dejection. Approach with caution.

“I tried to make you dinner.”

His voice, laced with sadness, brings you up short.

The source of the smell….is Bokuto?

Because he tried to make you…dinner?

Your boyfriend, your adorable cinnamon roll of a boyfriend, is still shifting from left to right, unable to meet your eyes.

“Oh Bo,” you can’t help but keep the smile out of your voice. “That’s so sweet. But you can’t cook.”

He looks back up at you with a whine. “But I read the instructions really closely! And I followed every step! I even called Akaashi for help!”

You step up, mindful of his arms gesturing wildly. “It’s okay, it’s okay! What matters is that you’re the most amazing and perfect human for trying to make dinner when you’ve never cooked anything more than cereal and milk.” You wrap your arms around him and peck his nose gently. “And even then you don’t do it right.”

He pouts at you but puts his arms around your shoulders and brings you to his chest. “It’s not the end of the world to put milk before cereal.”

“Shhhhh,” you shush him, wanting to enjoy this peaceful moment without any further bloodshed. And your heart is still tingling from his unbelievable gesture. “How about this - we order takeout tonight but on the weekend we can cook together, yeah?”

You look up and see Bokuto giving you an excited look, his eyes gleaming. “Of course! I’d love that!”

You chuckle, and stretch up on your toes to give him a kiss. When you pull back, you morph back into serious mode.

“But first, we have to clean the kitchen.”

Bokuto’s happiness is instantly wiped away. “Oh babe, there’s no way that’s happening. I think we have to move.”

You sigh, mock-disappointed, and lean back into his arms. “What were you even making?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

END

September Scribbles Masterlist🧡

Taglist: @psycho-nightrose @camcam1617 @kamalymaly @toobsessedsstuff @shookykookie30 @ara-mitsue

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Magicam Live

Vil’s guest is a pest. Contains coarse language, people being catty bitches, and more telling than showing.

You want more, check my Twisted Wonderland Fanfiction tag. If you liked it, let me know!

~*~*~*~

Transcript of Last Week's Magicam Live From *schoenheit_official

Vil: Hello my dearest fans! As promised, I will be showing off my newest capsule makeup collection, to be released this Monday exclusively at Feathersweep Cosmetics. However, due to high demand, instead of simply demonstrating on myself, I thought I would show that anyone could be half as beautiful as me with these!

[He holds a hand out to the side.]

V: Please welcome my fellow student at Night's Raven College, Yuu.

Yuu: Yo.

[A girl with short, dark hair and tired eyes sits down beside him. Spotty and plump, with a notable double chin. She's notably underdressed, compared to Vil.]

Y: I am she. I'm *donegotisekaid, if you haven't seen yet. Full of genuine memes from another universe, as well as me figuring this place out, and pictures of my not-cat.

V: She's simply been begging me for a makeover!

Y: He asked me if I'd do it, actually.

[Vil stops and takes a deep breath, clearly irritated.]

V: Yes, well. You've prepared?

Y: I scrubbed my face real good and managed to leave most of my pimples alone, if that's what you mean.

[Vil sighs]

V: As much as you're capable of, clearly. We'll start with the primer.

Y: [with a smile] Didn't you already give me one on how to act in this?

[Vil pinched the bridge of his nose, regret pouring from every cell in his body.]

V: Just lie back and be quiet until I'm done with you.

[Yuu looks at the camera, but says nothing. There's an audible snicker from behind the camera.]

[There are a few quiet minutes where Vil prepares her face, before selecting a foundation.]

V: So, is there a reason you don't wear makeup? You could look quite nice with it.

Y: Few reasons. It's a lot of effort, and I tire easily. I don't really like the feel of it on my face, and I tend to touch my face a lot anyways, so it doesn't last. It's a lot of money, and I break out very easily.

V: I can see that. Don't you use face wash?

Y: You should have seen me when I did use it! Much worse.

V: Ugh. I'll give you something later. And none of these have a good tone for you.

Y: Just pick the closest! I'll end up wrecking it by a few hours from now anyways.

[Vil rolled his eyes.]

V: Rook, any questions from the chat?

[A familiar accented voice from offscreen]

Rook: *stellargems wants to know how Yuu found herself at NRC.

Y: Transdimensional bullshit. I'm here until we figure out how I can get home. It's not bad, I don't miss it much.

V: Yuu even has her own dorm so she doesn't have to bother anyone.

Y: Not that it stops me.

V: [sotto voce] Don't we all know.

Y: If they kept you in a building with four usable rooms total and no electricity, you'd be out and about too. At least the ghosts there are really nice and help me out.

V: Do you kiss these ones too, or was that a one time thing?

Y: If I hadn't kissed her we'd be down a student and you and half the people I hang out with would be paralyzed, so don't make fun.

[Vil stops to regard the camera.]

V: To clarify, there was an incident with a ghost princess causing a lot of trouble at the school a few months ago. Yuu decided to kiss her to fix everything, because she's both stupid and deeply strange.

Y: It was really fun until I started dying.

V: All her blood was on the outside. It was disgusting.

Y: It did work though!

V: Keep telling yourself that, you didn't kiss the one you really wanted to.

[Yuu gives him the finger, and Vil shoves her hand down.]

R: *vilpleasefathermychildren asks-

[Yuu sputters with laughter. Vil just winks at the camera with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.]

R: They want to know if there'll be a coupon code for the new release.

V: There will! It'll be released via the official fanclub email Sunday night.

Y: It'll be a whole three percent off and you have to pay to access it.

V: Stop that.

Y: [sweetly] No.

Rook: *getterbackback wants to know what your shirt says?

Y: Yeah, hold on.

[She stands and pulls the shirt out to be seen better. It says in large letters, I'M CUTE AND I BITE]

Y: You can do one yourself if you take a dark shirt, tape the parts you want covered, and scorch the area around it with diluted bleach. I've done a few of these, a few designs more than once.

V: Destroyed them?

Y: Nah, Lil wants at least one of every one I do.

V: [to the camera] That would be our fellow student Lilia Vanrouge, from Diasomnia.

Y: He's pretty great. He's *elderbatbrat if you want to look him up.

V: Sit back down so I can figure out which blush to use.

Y: Pinks and corals work best for my skin tone.

V: I thought you didn't wear makeup?

Y: Why do you think I know wearing it tires me out? It's not something I ever did a lot because of the effort.

Y: Except for highlighter. it's basically sparkles and it's light, so I like that.

V: You remember that, but not your proper name?

Y: Ain't life grand.

R: I'm getting several questions about that. Would you care to elabourate for the chat?

Y: Yeah. I don't remember a lot about where I'm from. Culturally? Lots. What I like? What I don't like? Everything. Names and places specific to who I was? No. And don't ask me to think about it too hard, I get the worst fucking headache and I stop seeing right.

V: You've never seen right in your life.

Y: Oh, fuck off, Vil.

[Vil stops blushing one cheek to point.]

V: Stop that.

[Yuu responds by biting at his finger with an audible click when her teeth meet, laughing hysterically as Vil pulls back in shock.]

V: !!! Dreadful little monster!

Y: Yeah, but you're the one who thought you'd get more views if I was here.

R: We indeed just surged another 20,000 views and counting! Excellent work, Yuu.

Y: Thank you, Rook.

[Vil looks ready to explode.]

Y: I won't bite again, that was just too easy. Please continue, I do want to see what magic you can do.

V: This is regular makeup.

Y: Metaphorically, you jackass. 

R: *rosemassacre wants to know if you're always like this.

V: She's always this horrible.

Y: Vil first saw me and called me a dumpy little potato. I told him it's because I'm great all ways and everyone wants a taste, and slapped my ass at him. He's been obsessed with me ever since.

V: I am not obsessed with you.

R: You go into a rage over her at least once a week.

V:  She can't go a week without being a pest.

Y: I went three after you kicked me out of the movie club.

V: You can't just project violence on the walls of Pomfiore because I said we weren't going to watch it!

Y: Vil, it was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and it is art.

V: A man gets sawed in half in the first ten minutes.

Y: To an absolutely bangin' soundtrack. Oh that reminds me. Ad time, hold on.

[She wiggles a little before puting on her best customer service face.]

Y: If you want to access media that is quite literally from another world, please go to MonstroMedia dot com and sign up! There's ebooks, movies, tv, music, and more. Much of it is horror, sci-fi and fantasy, as it's from my person collection of media brought with me on my laptop and backup drives. You can use the code SHOENHEITSAYSWHAT for the first month free!

[She put her hand up and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone.]

Y: I completely understand piracy, but I'd appreciate if you paid because this is the only way I get spending money, and I can only bat my eyes at these boys so much before they expect something in return for gifts.

V: How'd Ashengrotto talk you into that one?

Y: He was going to make me start paying for all the food I eat if I didn't.

R: *waterwitchesbetgitches says, and I quote, "so like if ur the only gal at NRC how many boyfs you have"

Y: So many. At least twenty. Even more if there were girls here.

V: That is a gross exaggeration. She has maybe three, if we're being very generous on the definition.

Y: [points] And he's mad he's not one of them.

V: [squinting] You are absolutely dreadful and I can't understand how you're so popular.

Y: I like you too, Vil.

[Vil pauses, visibly taken aback.]

V: ... Thank you.

V: You know you're going to have paparazzi on your tail now, right?

Y: Aw, shit.

R: *insertmagicamhandlehere wants to know what's on your neck.

V: An antique chain with an attached charm specially made for me by Soleil Atelier.

R: I believe that was for Yuu.

[Yuu snickers, as Vil looks for himself. When her collar is pulled down, it fully reveals a vicious set of hickeys with visible toothmarks.]

V: Eww.

Y: You should see the other guy.

V: Eww!

[Vil takes a moment to recover, while Yuu laughs.]

Y: That could be a second part! Everyone needs that tutorial. "Bruise Coverup How-to by Vil Shoenheit: For when you just can't keep them off of you."

[Vil mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like "nerds shouldn't be allowed to fuck"]

Y: Then where would your fans be?

V: At least there's only setting spray after this and then you can leave.

Y: Won't you get bored without me here?

R: One last question! *shroudstreaming has asked... well, there's a lengthy keysmash and an all-caps "why".

Y: Ah. Hi, babe!

Y: Hey, everyone go follow him, he's a total fucking babe and he refuses to take my word for it, no matter what I do to him-

[Vil sprays setting spray directly in her face, leading to Yuu coughing.]

V: No taste at all, and gross to boot. 

Y: Asshole.

[Vil offers a mirror]

V: No. Miracle worker.

[Yuu looks... well, the same, but with an even, well made-up face.]

Y: ... Aww. You remembered I like sparkles.

V: Less likely to scrub it off if you actually like it.

[Yuu's admiring herself for a few moments in silence, with Vil watching, quite pleased.]

Y: Hey, can I do you next?

V: Absolutely not.

Y: Ask the chat.

V: No.

R: Chat says yes.

V: [With a visible eye roll] Ugh, fine. 

Y: Aight. Take your shirt off.

V: What.

[Yuu brings up a case and flips it open. Inside is a magazine with a gory cover, and various things like fake blood and liquid latex.]

Y: Alright kiddies. You wanna learn how to slit a man's throat?

[Vil gets up and walks away without another word.]

Y: You said I could! Get back here!

[Yuu follows. Rook emerges from behind the camera.]

R: That's it for tonight, ma belles. Next time.

[Magicam Live ends, but not before audible yelling and scuffling, quickly cut off.]

[darling-dummy-blogs]

"I'll Always Be Here."- Victor Li

Thanks to @dreamer-hyun for helping me write this! I love yooou! <3

Summary: MC had been feeling very down and depressed lately. Victor notices and wants to comfort her ❤

Paring: Victor Li x F!MC

Genre: Slight Angst, Comfort Fluff!! 

Fandom: Mr. Love Queen's Choice

Word Count: 1.4k

Notes: This was for our lovely friend @silv3rrin We love you!  

From the moment MC woke up, the skies had been filled with dark grey clouds, covering the bright sun that casted over Loveland City. A gloomy setting fit for how upset MC felt. It was like a cloud had been placed over the top of her head, too. A feeling she was all too familiar with. 

MC felt as though all she had wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep the day away. However, it was a Monday. She had a job to do as a boss and head producer of Miracle Finder.  On top of that, she had a meeting with Victor over her weekly report that was due today. One that she could not miss nor cancel. 

She felt as though it would be an inconvenience and would bother Victor to reschedule their meeting. And knowing Victor’s busy schedule, it would make matters worse. 

A groan escaped her mouth. Turning onto her side, facing her clock, she took note of the time. 7:25AM. The quilt that kept her in a warm cocoon gave her a warm and welcoming feeling. One that she wanted to indulge. 

Why did this have to happen today? Of all days... She’d been dealing with her depression for a few years now, but every once and awhile she was hit with a sudden wave of depression.  

She glanced up at the ceiling, certain thoughts swarming her head: 'Stop being lazy..' 'You need to stop wasting time..' 'This is why you can't do anything right…' ‘This is why your company is failing...You can’t even do your job as a producer right. ‘ She frowned. That last thought hitting her harder. 

MC didn't even realize that tears had been silently sliding down her face. 

She sniffled back sob. Not wanting to start crying a river before work, she wiped her tears and begrudgingly made her way out of her warm cocoon. Starting on her morning routine as per usual, and by the time she had finished getting herself dressed, leaving her apartment it had been close to 8 o’clock. Her meeting with Victor took place at 8:30.                                                        

The dreadful thoughts still within her head only seem to get louder and louder. Drowning out the positive thoughts. Even when she tried to stop them, it never did.  

“I hope I can make it before it rains…” She muttered to herself, making her way towards LFG.  The walk seemed longer than normal. With MC’s mind still messing with her, those thoughts were eating at her, dragging her further into her depressive state. She kept her head low. 

MC felt the tears well up in her eyes again. Before she could notice, she began crying once more. As she looked up, she had arrived at LFG. 

After taking a deep breath, she wiped away the evidence of tears from her red and puffy eyes. She made her way to Victor’s office, knocking on his door. Upon hearing the words ‘Come in’, she walked in, her head low.  Victor had been sitting at his desk, working when she came in, not looking up from his work, he spoke in his normal cold business tone. “You’re late.” 

MC gulped, “S-sorry…” she spoke, her voice coming off slightly small and quieter as she took out a copy of her report for him to read, placing it on his desk. Her brown eyes scan over the first page. 

‘...He’s going to find so many errors..’ Her thoughts were telling her, ‘No wonder he finds you to be an idiot..’ She shut her eyes, the tears already were ready to fall. 

Victor noticed how quiet she seemed, he looked up from his work, seeing her state, he frowned. Clearly he could tell something was wrong. He didn’t question it just yet however, he took the report, looking at it. 

He let out an exasperated sigh, placing the report down along with his reading glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. 

“Are you an idiot? The report is filled with errors and holes.” He looked at her, his usual cold expression growing much colder. “Do it again, don’t bring me such a rubbish report.” 

MC took the insult. All it took for her to finally break down was him degrading her awful work.. Tears burst down her face as she let out a broken sob, the report in her hands crumpling slightly from how tight she was holding it. 

She then proceeded to rip it in half as she suddenly fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Victor’s eyes widened as he then immediately stood up and immediately rushed to her side. 

She was shaking as she sobbed, holding herself as she couldn’t take the constant aching pain that spread throughout her whole body. Victor then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him as she sobbed.  He frowned, feeling regret and guilt for how rude he was towards her, not realizing that she was not okay. It broke his heart to hear her cry. He rubbed her back soothingly. “Shh.. It’s okay..” He softly whispered into her ear.

Trying to comfort her to the best of his ability, his frown deepened, “Dummy.. Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling okay..?” He spoke in a soft tone, but he was also hurt that she had gone through this by herself. 

Victor gently moved his hand from her back to gently stroke her hair. His fingers trailing over her brown locks. She sniffled, trying to take deep breaths. “I-I..” She gasped out, her voice coming out more broken and shaky.  “I.. didn’t w-want to bother you… Y-you already have so much on your plate right now.. I-I didn’t want to bother you with my s-stupid problems. I also c-couldn’t make you worry about me...” She sobbed, leaning against him. MC couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes at that moment. 

“Dummy..” He gently pulled away from the hug, making her look at him, he softly cupped her cheek into his hand. At that moment, time around them had suddenly become still. “Don’t you know how much I care about you?” MC gazed into his eyes, sniffling as she couldn’t muster up the courage to say anything.  Silence took over both of them, Victor then spoke up again, “I’m sorry for calling you an idiot.. I hope you know that I do not think you are one. I just want you to do better.. Because I’ve seen your potential. I know you can do better...And I just want you to achieve your goals.”  Victor caressed her cheek gently, “... I didn’t realize that you were having a bad day.” He took a breath before saying “I care so much about you.. It hurts that you are hurting.. “ His gaze softened on her, his eyes showing hurt and sadness, “Don’t you realize how much I love you?”  MC’s eyes widened, her cheeks slightly reddened, “V-Victor…” She spoke in a soft tone, she was at a loss for words.  He loves her? He...loves... HER?? She never knew that he felt this way about her.. It was very surprising to say the least. Victor continued speaking however, “I don’t like seeing that you are hurt.. And I want you to know that you are never alone. I will be right here for you...I’ll always be here.”  “I love you more than anything in this world.. And that will never change… Okay? You could never be a bother to me, my time is all yours.”  

MC was quiet for a moment, taking in his words of affection. She stared into his eyes, unsure of what to say. She loves him, she grew to love him through all the teasing, all the name calling. All the harshness.     

 “I...I love you too..” Her voice came out softly. A smile slowly appearing on her face, “Thank you for the apology.. I forgive you for it.” She leaned up placing a soft kiss to his cheek.  His eyes widened in surprise, not expecting the sudden kiss, a bit of blush dusted his cheeks as he averted his gaze for a moment. ‘You don’t have to thank me for that..” 

A small smile appeared on his face, “How about this.. As a part of my apology. I’ll teach you how to make leche flan.” 

Her eyes suddenly brightened at that, anything having to do with Victor’s cooking made her happy. She smiled, growing excited. “You? Teaching me? How to make leche flan? I like the sound of that.” 

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Midnight Coffee [Character Profiles]

Non-Idol AU / Coffee Shop AU

TW: None

Pairing: Platonic!NCT 127 x Reader

Genre: Slice of Life, Angst in Some Parts, Comedy in Some Parts

Word Count: 1.0K

Summary: You run a coffee shop that only opens past midnight and closes just before the sun rises, and the people you meet are never more interesting than the stories they bring with them.

Notes: Trying out a new layout for character profiles! I hope you guys all like it! I know I probably shouldn’t be putting out any other series but honestly I got the sudden inspiration for this one and I just had to draft it before I lost it! Not sure when this is coming out, if ever, but I hope you all enjoy these character profiles at the very least! With that in mind, I intend for each chapter to be rather hashed out, I’m thinking around 10-15K minimum, which I admit is ambitious, but hey! It sounds fun so why not (also hence why they’ll take a while to write). That and I figured I’d try out the new character profiles somehow haha, I meant to switch Locked and Reloaded’s profiles to be like this too but I forgot haha, either way I hope you like these!

Inspired by the Indie Game ‘Coffee Talk’

[Main Masterlist] | [Midnight Coffee Masterlist]

Lee Taeyong

Usual Order: Chocobee Miruku (Chocolate, Honey, and Milk)

Usual Time of Arrival: 1 am to 2 am, Mondays and Tuesdays

Profession: Video Game Producer - NCT U Productions

Description: A freelance video game producer doing his best to make a living in a world dominated by mainstream game makers. He focuses on the artistry of telling stories without words and emphasizes compelling artwork over contemporary graphics. He holds an undefined relationship with Kim Doyoung, but one that is apparently very close.

Moon Taeil

Usual Order: Milky Way (Milk, Honey, Mint)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight, Wednesdays

Profession: Indie Singer - YouTube

Description: Often seen singing a set in front of the Midnight Coffee café during the day time, he is what one would consider “YouTube Famous;” however, remarkably, he is as rich as a university graduate- meaning he has about $20 to his name. Regardless, the young singer has found a unique joy in life to follow what his heart desires.

Suh Johnny

Usual Order: Espresso (Coffee, Coffee, Coffee)

Usual Time of Arrival: 2 am to 4 am, Regular

Profession: Model - 127 Modeling Agency

Description: Although he is typically seen with his friend Yuta, it comes as no surprise when Johnny is seen alone, either in the café or in magazines. The A-List model is one people would pay anything just to catch a glimpse of, it’s a miracle that café hasn’t been run down yet. But despite his persistent insisting, you can’t bring yourself to allow him to promote your small shop, even though he has been a long time regular. 

Nakamoto Yuta

Usual Order: Black Magic (Coffee, Mint, Honey)

Usual Time of Arrival: 2 am to 4 am, Regular

Profession: Instagram/Twitter Influencer

Description: Long time friend of Johnny, Yuta can trace his influencer roots to when he met the then beginner model. It was thanks to this newbie model that he found Midnight Coffee, the small café he often posts about, but has kept the name out of his captions at your insistence. He has developed a sort of love for the café itself and is often found there with or without Johnny.

Kim Doyoung

Usual Order: Ginger Mint Tea (Tea, Ginger, Mint)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight to 2 am, Mondays and Fridays

Profession: Photographer - 127 Modeling Agency; but is also available upon commission.

Description: Behind every picture is its photographer and Doyoung, often working under the Monogram ‘Daniel’ when not working, is one of the best out there. He exhibits a very special talent when taking his photos, being able to draw out the most intricate of emotions from his subjects by doing something as simple as changing his angle or dimming the lights, but none compares to his usual subject Lee Taeyong.

Jung Jaehyun

Usual Order: Honey Coffee (Coffee, Coffee, Honey)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight to 3 am, Weekends

Profession: Travel Vlogger - YouTube

Description: Though this vlogger is rarely in one place for more than a month, he always finds a way to make time for a certain café that he has come to appreciate. The night-owl edits best past midnight and with a cup of coffee, and only one place meets that requirement. He can visit without saying a word, and on others days he can go on and on about his latest vlog, it really depends on his mood that night.

Dong Sicheng

Usual Order: Black Lemon (Coffee, Coffee, Lemon)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight to 2 am, Thursdays and Fridays

Profession: Actor - Label V

Description: Although he doesn’t have as much time as he used to before his blockbuster movie, the ex-regular still finds time to drink some coffee in his favorite café, and often finds that he can find at least a few minute’s peace despite his fast-paced life in his favorite corner of the quiet café.

Kim Jungwoo

Usual Order: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Tea, Lemon, Honey)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight to 4 am, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

Profession: Engineering Student - SM University

Description: This sleep deprived college student has a special place in the Midnight Coffee café, the only thing stopping him from being a regular is the 8 am MWF classes, which he takes Tuesday and Thursday to catch up on what little sleep he has, but he is always a welcome and bright addition to the usual slow tempo of the café.

Lee Mark

Usual Order: Tea Latte (Tea, Milk, Milk)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight to 2 am, Regular

Profession: Novelist and Student - SMU

Description: This Uni student works part time at the short story company The Neo City Whispers and has found his best inspiration at the Midnight Coffee Café, and he is about to take on his most ambitious proposal yet, a novel, one that will make or break his future, but luckily he has a very supportive barista to encourage him along the way.

Lee Haechan

Usual Order: Ginger Latte (Coffee, Ginger, Milk)

Usual Time of Arrival: Midnight to 2 am, Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Profession: Uni Student, Undeclared - SMU

Description: Although he hasn’t exactly found his path in life yet, do not mistake him for a slacker. He is always looking for a new opportunity and is always willing to try something new, in hopes that one day it will stick to him and he’ll finally find a purpose. But one must wonder why, perhaps one late night in the Midnight Coffee Café will be enough of a push for him, or maybe not.

(L/N) (Y/N)

Usual Order: Whatever they’re feeling

Usual Time of Arrival: 11:45, right before the café opens

Profession: Owner and Barista of the Midnight Coffee café

Description: This mysterious owner somehow makes a living off of a small café that is only open from midnight to sunrise, not much is known about what they do afterward though, all that matters is that they have quite the following of customers who have grown to love the charming, but strange, café.

Midnight Coffee Taglist: DM, Ask, Reply, or Reblog below if you’re interested in getting notified once I get around to this series (which I admit may be a while)!

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Of All The Coffee Shops

Summary: After arriving in a cursed Hyperion Heights with all her memories in tact, Belle sets about trying to find Rumpel. As it is, he finds her... 

Written for the @a-monthly-rumbelling January random prompt: “Of all the gin joints...”

Rated: G

Of All The Coffee Shops

Of all the gin joints in all the world, he had to walk into mine.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. It wasn’t all the world, it was just Hyperion Heights, and it was a coffee shop rather than a gin joint, but other than that, the quote held true. Unfortunately ‘of all the coffee shops in all of Hyperion Heights’ didn’t have quite the same ring to it so Belle decided to stick with the original quote.

And unlike the wistful Rick of Casablanca, Belle was incredibly pleased that the person in question had walked into her not-gin joint, because she had been looking for him ever since she had first woken up in Hyperion Heights having, only a few short seconds prior, been in the Enchanted Forest.

She wasn’t sure how long that they had been in Hyperion Heights before she had woken up to her true identity, but if the spell had taken as it should, then it wouldn’t have been very long. It shouldn’t have been any time at all, really.

It had been a risky manoeuvre, trying the spell so close to the curse’s arrival at their doorstep, and they knew that there was only enough magic in the potion for one of them to remember when they arrived at whatever destination the curse took them to. They’d already had to use some of it in order to get a message to Gideon at Elphame, warning him what was happening closer to home and instructing him not to worry and under no circumstances to try and mount a life or death rescue mission to bring his parents back to the Enchanted Forest; that they were taking precautions and they would get there in their own time.

Of course, Belle knew their son and she knew that their family had borne so many cruel separations over time and distance that sending the message would have been completely pointless and he’d be working on some kind of scheme even now, but she’d had to at least try and do the most responsible and motherly thing even though it would ultimately be useless.

When she had woken up on that first morning in Hyperion Heights with a second identity living at the back of her mind, that of Izzie Schwarz who worked at the Sleepless Beauty coffee shop, three doors down from the police precinct, then she knew that she was the one the spell had worked for, and she knew that it was up to her to set everything right. There might not be anyone else in town who remembered. Rumpel certainly would not have remembered.

But if anyone could make him remember, Belle figured that she had the best chance.

All she had to do was find him.

She knew that it was too much to hope that perhaps this new curse, created by a new witch who was not at all acquainted with Rumpel, would have seen fit to turn him back into Mr Gold and she would find a convenient pawn shop somewhere along the road, and she knew that she couldn’t be too overt in her queries lest the Belfreys realise what she was up to and do something to make her forget everything. That would have been a terrible waste of the hard-won magic.

As it was, she hadn’t had to search very far, for on the second morning of her stay in Hyperion Heights, Rumpel had walked into her coffee shop.

A small part of Belle hoped that by some miracle, he would recognise her and even if the spell hadn’t worked to make him remember fully like she did, the mere sight of her would be enough to jog his memory and wake him up to the reality of their new cursed world. The brightness of her optimism in such a thought was so strong that she was positively beaming at him by the time he came up to the counter, and in doing so, seemed to alarm him rather.

There was, sadly, no trace of recognition in his face, just wariness at how interminably cheerful this barista was at a completely unreasonable hour of the morning.

“Welcome to Sleepless Beauty, my name’s Izzie, what can I get for you? We have a special on breakfast pastries on Monday mornings.”

Rumpel – well, he was not technically Rumpel at the moment, but she had no idea what his name actually was here yet – shook his head.

“No thank you. Just coffee. Large. Black.”

“Coming right up.” Belle grabbed a takeaway cup. “Can I take a name please?”

“Weaver.”

“First name?”

Weaver raised an eyebrow at her. “Detective.”

Belle had to turn away to the coffee machine at that point to hide her smile. It seemed that the mysterious Mr Gold of no first name had at least carried that tradition through into the new curse. Perhaps that was something in the very fabric of the curse itself that wouldn’t give him a name no matter what the caster might want it to do. After all, names had power, and Rumpel was definitely one to know and abide by that rule. Maybe it was such a power that no name could stick to him in the cursed world.

She poured his coffee from the filter jug and pressed the lid on before ringing it up and handing it over. Weaver muttered his thanks and turned away without another word, but he did leave a generous tip in her jar.

Once he had gone, Belle let out a breath that she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. For a moment, she was incredibly disappointed. Although she knew that love – and more importantly remembrance – at first sight was a bit of a stretch even for her, she’d still held out that hope.

At least she knew that he was definitely here now, and she knew his name, and if he was a detective (which she was fairly certain of considering the badge on his belt), then she could be confident that he was only a few doors down the street from her.

All Belle needed now was a plan to make him remember. For the rest of the day, in between serving customers and heating breakfast pastries, she tried to think of the best way of going about that.

Everyone knew that True Love’s Kiss was the best way to break any curse and the only sure-fire method to do so, but that wouldn’t work, since Rumpel was Weaver and she was Izzie and there were no finer feelings between them at all. It would be a very long game to try and make Rumpel fall in love with her all over again, and if they were going to get to the bottom of this curse and break it for the rest of the town, then time was of the essence.

On the other hand, though…

It was coming up to closing time, stacking chairs on tables, mopping the floor, and Belle was in a little world of her own, fondly remembering the strange little courtship that she and Rumpel had shared in the Dark Castle, leading up to that dramatic and ill-fated True Love’s kiss. They had fallen in love with each other without even really realising what they were doing, although looking back, there were so many moments where it would have been blindingly obvious to an outside observer that they were completely, head-over-heels smitten with each other. Listening to the tales of their relationship and all its ups and downs, and how they had finally come to be together forever, had been one of Gideon’s favourite things when he had been a child. The number of times that he had interrupted the story to exasperate that neither of them had properly realised their feelings or talked about them had become a running joke among the three of them, with Gideon’s main complaint being that if Belle and Rumpel had just talked to each other honestly a bit more, then he would have been born ages ago and they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble.

It was true, but it had still tugged at Belle’s heartstrings to hear their mistakes laid out so plainly by such an innocent mind.

She was startled out of her reverie as the doorbell chimed, looking up to see Weaver entering the shop again. He stopped short on seeing that she was mopping, not wanting to step on her handiwork.

“I’m sorry, we’re closed,” she called over to him.

“I know. I just…” He paused, shaking his head, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say what he was about to say. “This is going to sound stupid, but have we met before?”

“We met this morning,” Belle teased. “I served you your coffee.”

Weaver rolled his eyes. “I mean before that. I’m certain that I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Belle stopped her movement, leaning on her mop and studying him carefully. Whereas before his expression had been somewhat wary of her exuberance, now his brow was furrowed in confusion, looking for a memory that simply wouldn’t – or couldn’t – bring itself to the surface. She knew that she was going to have to tread very carefully to avoid frightening him off. How much information should she share? If she launched straight into telling him about the curse then he’d think that she was completely mad.

“We live in the same town,” she said, keeping her voice measured. “We work on the same street. I’m sure we must have seen each other in passing before.”

Weaver shook his head. “No. I’m sure it’s more than that. I’m sure… I know this sounds crazy… I’m sure I know you from somewhere.”

Belle allowed herself a little smile.

“You do,” she admitted.

“Thank God, I thought I was going mad. Where have we met?”

Belle shook her head. “I don’t think you’re ready to know that just yet. But give it time. I’m sure that it’ll come back to you. And I’m always here to jog your memory.”

Weaver nodded.

“Well… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I would like that very much, Detective.”

He turned and left the shop, and Belle waited until he was completely out of sight before she did a little victory dance on the spot with her mop.    

She wasn’t going to starting from scratch after all. Even across realms and curses, there was something in her and Rumpel’s love that could still transcend those boundaries and bring them back to each other, and she knew that she was never going to stop fighting for it.

[fangirlovestuff]

Cycle - Steve Rogers x reader ch.2

previously: ch.1

Summary: As you acclimate to your new workplace, you make a very interesting acquaintance - Bucky. Meanwhile Steve is persuaded by said acquaintance that maybe tonight’s his chance to finally... ahem... “get some”.

Word Count: ~2,320

Warning: explicit language 

a/n- Hey lovely people! Just wanted to thank everyone who read the first one and enjoy this one! sorry in advance because it’s probably gonna take me more time to upload the next one because i’m updating this as i write it (which means any requests you have could definitely be included in this so feel free to send them in!) the awesome divider is by @whimsicalrogers​ <3

It was Monday, your favorite day of the week.

Just kidding, you're a normal person.

You groaned at the sound of your alarm, hitting it to turn it off and making your way out of bed. You went about your usual morning routine, dressing up and going to your kitchen to grab a bite to eat.

Once you were feeling a little more awake, you looked at your phone, checking all the good luck messages from your friends and smiling while you replied to them. Your mood lifted the littlest bit. It's a new week, and you're getting a new start.

And you made good on your word, not clubbing or hooking up with anyone in the past week. You hadn't actually started seriously dating yet, but, you know, baby steps. Get rid of your habits, restore other's perception of you, start dating, break the cycle. That was your focus for the last week.

Now, you were thankful to have a distraction in your new job. On your way to the Avengers compound you practiced your introduction. Hi, I'm the new head of research. My name is – or maybe I should open with my name and then my job? Ugh, I'm overcomplicating this. I should just calmly and professionally introduce myself. Yeah, that's it. I can do calm and professional. I AM calm and professional.

After that charming pep talk on the way, you were standing and looking up at the tall building, shining in the hot sun as you took a deep breath and went through the entrance into your new job, reminding yourself your future starts now.

You welcomed the cool breeze of the AC on your skin as you made your way to the reception desk. "Hi, I'm here for the—"

"Oh, you're the new lab girl, right?" the receptionist smiled and you sent her a tight-lipped smile, nodding.

"I knew I recognized you!" she said. Being called a girl kind of threw you off, but she didn’t know you well yet. You were sure she didn't mean it in a patronizing way. She was just a little older than you. Yeah, that's it.

As you rationalized this, you noticed her typing away on her computer in search of something.

"Okay," she turned to you once more, "your office is on the twenty-second floor. Your schedule's probably there already, but if you need anything don't hesitate to call down," she smiled.

"I'm sure I can handle it, thank you," you said and walked towards the elevators. You might regret your little quip later, but right now you were too pissed at the patronizing bitc—

Your breath was knocked out of you and you tripped forward, panicked as you thought you were going to hit the ground, but a pair of strong arms quickly held onto yours, holding you up.

You looked up to see a handsome man with brown hair and blue eyes, which were filled with concern. It took you a moment to regain your composure but then you realized standing in front of you was Bucky Barnes, THE Bucky Barnes, aka winter soldier. And you had just tripped and embarrassed yourself in from of him. Shit, that's one way to start off your first day.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a little frown on his face.

Probably because you just stood there in stunned silence for the last 30 seconds, staring. It was a miracle your mouth hadn't opened and reached the floor like it does in those cartoons, because you surely felt that way.

You idiot, just say something already!

"Yeah, I'm fine, thank you. So much." You fumbled over your words a little, but quickly regained your composure. You came into work today wanting to make a good first impression, and there was definitely still time to salvage that. After all, Bucky was still standing there, a small smile on his face.

You introduced yourself, this time not fumbling over your words but being clear, professional. You mentally cheered for yourself, now let's keep that energy going.

"It's my first day here," you explained, "so I'm actually just getting to know this place." You gestured at the busy building around the both of you. "I know that's not really an excuse for bumping into you, but… all I can say is that I'm sorry, and I hope working with me will be less bothersome," you said lightheartedly while internally hoping desperately you haven't ruined his impression of you already.

"Come on, it's nothing," Bucky smiled, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder. He looked into your eyes, a lopsided grin stretching across his face. Dammit, he's hot. And by the looks of it, he knows it too.

"Honestly," he continued, "I'm glad I got to know you before anyone else did," he smirked, "more for you than for me. Trust me, the others… they're a bit much."

You both chuckled. "Well thanks, but I'm sure I can handle them. It's part of the job if what I'm researching is for them," You smiled and Bucky returned it.

"Speaking of which," you said, "I should probably get going and do that. My job."

"Yeah, you should," he grinned, "see you around," he winked.

He turned to walk away, so you didn't have much time to dwell on that wink. However hot he was, you were coworkers, and you're on a new path now. So, you turned towards the elevators, getting into one and going up to your office. First first impression, check.

Once you were in your office you sat down, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that you even got an office. In your previous workplace you hadn't been given one, due to space limitations, so you just had the lab. You felt your gratefulness wash over you. You haven't been here for even an hour, but you were getting pretty convinced that doing this was one of the best decisions you've ever made.

After that moment of introspection, you shook your head and went to work, looking at all the files for the new developments being made for the Avengers. You made a mental note to be sure to talk to all of the lab techs over the next few days.

Since everything was a bit last minute, you hadn't really had a chance to get to know many people here, except for the people who hired you. You knew they were taking a chance on you, bringing in a new head of research from outside and not promoting someone already working for them. It was a security risk, surely, but that didn't really concern you, since you knew you wouldn't do anything to compromise the Avengers. No, what worried you was the workplace atmosphere. You knew some on them must be annoyed that you weren't "one of their own", and that needed to be fixed.

At lunch you finally left your office, walking into the large dining area/cafeteria that was there for the benefit of employees like you who didn't want to go out to eat. You figured this would be an easy place to start getting to know your staff.

You bought some food and looked around. It was high-schoolish, every group sitting in a table, some sneaking looks your way. You were contemplating where to sit when a woman came up to you. When she got closer to you, you realized that she was taller than you, her brunette hair pulled into a sleek bun, secured by a hair clip.

"Hey," she came up to you. "I'm a little embarrassed to ask, but… we've been told that the new research head is coming today, and I was just wondering if that may be you? It's just you seem a little lost…" she trailed off, sending a small smile your way.

"That is me! And well, I can admit I am a little lost." You both chuckled as you introduced yourself, smiling.

"I'm Kate," the woman introduced herself. "I'm a lab tech. I'm working on the new Falcon wings."  

"Oh, that's so cool!" you couldn't contain yourself from geeking out a little. You remembered the project file from before. "vibranium hinges, right? So they'll get less wear-and-tear and we won't spend too much vibranium on each one. That's a great idea," you smiled.

"I agree," Kate said and you both smiled. "How about we continue this discussion over there?" she said and gestured towards a table behind you, where the lab techs were sitting, waving a little once they saw you looking at them.

"Sure thing," you said and started walking beside her towards the table. "By the way, I love how high-schooly this place is," you said, sarcasm evident in your voice, while Kate chuckled.

"Trust me, we all think that. But in the end, we're no better than high schoolers. But it's a fun sitting arrangement and it works for everyone, so really you can't complain."

Once you arrived at the table you made acquaintances with everyone, and to your surprise they were all extremely welcoming, willingly discussing the new projects with you. Knowing you all have such a cool job making stuff for the Avengers brought you all pretty close, and you started bouncing ideas off of each other, staying way after you finished the food.

After lunch you went to the lab, which was pretty close to your office. You spent time getting to know the projects better, listening closely to your coworkers, who were each explaining in detail about the project they were working on. You obviously had a general idea about them, but you knew stuff like this matter. Also, you got to know them all, the conversations often steering towards personal stuff, which none of you had minded.

Time flew by, and before you knew it, it already the end of the day. You bid goodbye to everyone and went to your office to collect your things.

You opened the door and nearly jumped out of your skin. There, you had found Bucky Barnes, standing and looking at the bookshelves on your walls.

He noticed your not-very-subtle entrance and turned towards you grabbing onto your arm in a soothing manner, but also an unnecessary one, which didn't escape your attention.

"You okay there doll?" he asked, the nickname rolling off of his tongue effortlessly. Heck, if it were different circumstances, you'd be very appreciative of Bucky's forwardness, but right now it really wasn't the right move.

"I'm fine," you sent him a tight-lipped smile and tore your arm out of his grip. "Did you need anything?"

"I'm sorry for coming in unannounced like that," he said, suddenly bashful. "That probably wasn't the best thing to do was it?" he grinned timidly, realizing how his actions could come across.

"Probably not," you agreed, smiling a little more genuinely this time.

"Well, I just wanted to ask you how your first day was. And also ask if you might wanna go out for drinks tonight. Steve and Sam are gonna be there, and a few more people from work," he said the last sentence as if it was a question.

"Thank you. My first day was great, but that doesn't matter, did you just ask me out for drinks with Captain America and the Falcon?"

"And me," he added, smiling. "But yes, I did. And you haven't answered yet."

"Of course that's a yes," you smiled. "But you have to promise not to barge into my office again, cause you scared the shit outta me."

"Deal," he smiled, holding his hand out. You shook it, smiling back at him.

"NO. I'm not going tonight, final," Steve complained.

"C'mon Steve," Sam tried to persuade him. "It'll be fun! We invited some people from work as well, it's not gonna be just the three of us. And tonight might be the night you get lucky!" he smirked.

"Ugh, that is exactly why I'm not coming," Steve groaned. "Every time I go out with you guys I never get laid." He couldn't believe he was stooping to their level of expression. Stupid Sam with his fucki—

"So what you're saying is that we're better looking than you so girls want us and not you?" Bucky teased.

"No, I'm saying you're giving me bad luck," Steve retorted.

"Steeeeve" Bucky drew out his name, "It's gonna be great, and you should really come. The new head of research is coming, maybe you could talk to her about your new shield or something. It'll be…" he paused, searching for the right word, "very beneficial and efficient. You like efficiency don't you Steve?"

Steve covered his face with his hand, exasperated. "Please get your annoying back under control. It's a problem." Bucky didn't answer, simply smirking. "Fine," Steve drawled, "If I come would you get off of me for like, a week or two?"

"Done!" Bucky agreed quickly, "see you at 8."

"See ya," Steve said, walking out of the room.

"Why the hell would you agree to that?" Sam asked. "Now he won't go out with us for like a week. Good job Barnes. You know, you just cost me the priceless entertainment of watching Steve trying to fuck girls and fucking it up instead."

"I have a feeling we won't need to do much persuading for Steve to come with us next time," Bucky smirked. "The new head of research is super cute, and I'm sure once she meets Steve we won't need to worry about him getting laid anymore. I could've hit on her myself today, but you know, the good of the many." Bucky failed to mention his attempts at flirting didn't go over that well with you, but that was unimportant.

"Sure," Sam said, guessing something probably close to what had actually happened. "Ten bucks nothing happens between them over the next week."

"Deal," Bucky agreed and they shook hands. "I have a good feeling about this."

ok admittedly the gif at the start was because you don’t meet Steve yet but i promise next chapter it WILL happen!! i just saw that this one was kinda getting out of my hands length wise and i wanted to give this meeting it’s proper space so yeah i’m sorry but i just had too much fun with Bucky in this one :) (also i’m so sorry if he’s a little ooc i just don’t wtire for him that much🥺)

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[thefanficmonster]

And My Heart Burned In That Lodge

Michael (Mike) Munroe x Reader (female)

Warnings: Death, Grief, Dealing with loss, Heartbreak, Swearing

Genre: ANGST

Summary: None of them will ever be the same, who knows if they’ll even heal. However, the case is different for Mike. He’s left to be dealing with the guilt, grief and the haunting memory of his friend’s death. He’s angry with himself for all the wrong things he did and all the right things he was too much of a coward to do. Now, his only closure is talking to a gravestone, hoping the wind in the graveyard will pass the message onto the person who the words are meant for.  

Requested by Anon. Wish I could tag them, they have such amazing ideas ❤

PS - Sorry this is hella long, I got carried away LOL

I stand aside, watching as my friends place their flowers on her grave. I can hear their cries. For some odd reason I can’t find it in me to feel sympathy or the need to go over there and be with them. I can’t see how that would do anything but make me feel more miserable. Standing here, seeing this scene unfold in front of me, I can’t help but be reminded of how it all started.

Fuck Mondays, man. Fuck them from the bottom of my heart. Even worse, this is the first week of school after winter break so no one wants to be here. Even even worse, this is the first time I’ll be seeing Emily after out breakup. We broke up over text and while I’m aware that’s the worst way to break up with someone, I must admit it was the only way for a lot of arguing and awkwardness to be avoided. 

It’s the first time I’m coming to school alone in a while. Without Emily, the car was pleasantly quiet aside from the songs on the radio. Not gonna lie, it felt a bit lonely. Being single for the first time in what feels like forever is both liberating and oddly melancholic. I try to push the self-loathing and the depressing thoughts away as my eyes scan the hallway, looking for the group of familiar faces. My gang. We used to be ten people but we lost two girls during our winter getaway at the Washington lodge. Josh’s sisters, Hannah and Beth, went missing and are presumably dead, all cause of a stupid prank Jess, Emily and I concocted, convincing Matt and Ash to go along with it. In retrospect, I don’t know what we were thinking.

‘Seriously, Mike? From one depressing thought to another? Is your brain lacking serotonin today more than usual or what?‘ I mentally scold myself just as I spot two familiar faces - Sam and Ashley. 

It doesn’t take long for me to notice the rest of the gang - Matt, Jess and Chris - all standing near by, surrounding a girl I have never seen before. She sticks out immediately with her long H/C hair and shiny E/C eyes. Jess has her arm linked with the girl, a gesture really out of place for Jess. I mean, her and Emily are pretty close and I’ve never even seen them hug.

“Hey, man. How are you?“ Matt notices me first, lifting his head and smiling at me. His greeting leads the others to look in my direction as well, including the girl. I catch Jess lean down in and whisper something to her. I can’t hear what she’s saying but it clearly aggravates her. I have never received a dirtier look from a girl in my entire life. I usually have the opposite effect on women but I guess there’s a first time for everything. 

“Mike...” Jess steps away from the girl and towards me, “this is my best friend, Y/N. She just got transferred here.” She turns her attention back to the girl, “Y/N, this is Mike.” 

Y/N looks unamused as she outstretches her arm in my direction. “Nice to meet you” is what she says, but her expression clearly tells me she would like to see as little of me as possible. At least she’s polite, right? 

“Likewise.” The handshake is brief and, despite her obvious distaste for me, she still gives me a firm handshake. 

“Wait, you were transferred? I thought Jess said you came here cause you moved.” Sam furrows her brows in confusion. 

“Well, it’s really a chicken and the egg type of situation.” Y/N laughs, rubbing the back of her neck almost nervously, “We moved because I had to transfer.”  Yikes.“ Ashley comments, “Not to pry or anything, but why did you have to be transferred?“

Y/N looks me dead in the eyes, as if she’s sending me a message that I better not overlook, or so help me God I’ll be dead. ”Noses randomly broke when I was around.”

It hurts so much to look back on those times and not pick up on what I was feeling. I foolishly decided that if I can’t give the feelings a name or find them a purpose I should turn a blind eye. I wasn’t that ignorant, I could tell she was the cause, but I could never admit it.

And then there’s the situation with Jess...

“You hurt her, and I’ll kill you.“

I found Y/N by the bleachers and let me tell you, she’s quite the paradox. She’s a straight A, no nonsense, intelligent beyond her years girl. With all these characteristics, you’d think she’d know better than to smoke cigarettes. Wrong! She’s a smoker. Jess can never not complain about the smell of cigarette smoke, it’s a miracle these two get along.

To my ‘hi’ she responded with what looked to be an eyeroll and an annoyed release of smoke through her nostrils. Even though I know I’m not welcome to be in her proximity, I still decide to sit down a little ways away from her, for personal space and all that. Definitely not cause I’m slightly afraid of her. No way.

We just sit in silence until she hits me with the aforementioned threat. I am caught off guard. All I can do is stare straight ahead of me like a deer in headlights. After maybe thirty seconds of absolute confusion I manage to turn my head to look at her. “What are you talking about?” The question is supposed to sound harsh but compared to the way she spit out that death threat it sounded more like a whimper.

“You are such an ignorant asshole.“ She shakes her head, throwing her cigarette on the bench below her. She stomps on it and walks away. I can’t help but stare at her until she’s out of sight. I feel like I’m watching something non-human. A phenomenon you can experience once in a lifetime - if you’re lucky. 

She’s the complete opposite of Jess: grounded, smart, rational. The only time I’ve seen her be so unpleasant is around me. I catch her interactions with the rest of the gang. From afar, she seems like the nicest, friendliest girl. And then she catches a glimpse of me and her mood changes. I don’t know what’s her problem with me but I know it most certainly isn’t something I’ve done to her. She’s been like that since the first moment we were introduced, so either Jess has talked a lot of shit about me or she just hates people named Michael. I may never know.

I had no idea what she meant at the time and only found out three weeks ago. Speaking of three weeks ago, the group once again headed for the Blackwood Pines, trying to hide their uneasiness with make excitement. I was pretty hyped when I heard we were going because that also meant our friend Josh was finally starting to get better. He hadn’t been in a good mindset since his sisters went missing and we were all really worried for him but weren’t allowed to show it because he always insisted he was fine.

He wasn’t. He was as messed up as ever and served as only the prologue to the nightmare of a night we had to live through.

But before all that could happen, the night started off well. Better than expected. The eeriness of the mountain combined with the bad memories we had of the place we still there, we could all feel the tension, but we did a good job masking it with jokes and whatnot. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to go and not only because of what happened the year prior.

“Wait, wait, wait. Y/N’s coming too?“ I ask, looking at Josh with wide eyes.

The guy is clearly confused by my overdramatic reaction to him counting down the names of the ones who had already RSVPd ‘Yes’. “Is that a problem or something?”

I sigh, hiding my face in my hands. It’s embarrassing to admit, really. “She doesn’t like me, and that puts it mildly. She hates me.”

He looks even more baffled than before, “Why? What’d you do to her?”

“Nothing, for fuck’s sake. Not a single thing. I haven’t even had a proper interaction with her.“ Talking about this matter exhausts me, mostly cause I can’t even express half the things I’m feeling.

There’s been a time or two I’ve caught her looking at me but her eyes weren’t filled with that distrust I’m used to. She looks away quickly when we make eye contact, as if she can’t put the mean mask on in time and she has to look away to do a system reset. I sometimes catch myself looking at her without realizing. I try to tell myself I do it for the purpose of solving her. 

‘Who are you kidding, Munroe?‘

                                                                  * * *

And here I am, climbing up the mountain to the Washington lodge. I’ve made it a goal to use this getaway to mend things with Y/N. It’s the only way for me to get back to normal. To get my mind back since she’s recently been living in my head rent-free. I’m bullshitting, not just recently. She’s taken over my brain since day one. I can’t place what’s going on with me, I can’t find a term to label it with and I most definitely can’t find a way to stop it. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I can’t stop it on my own, she’ll have to do it for me.

Another thing - I’ve never felt nervous or self-conscious around a girl all my life. Never. My friends joke that I’m a ladies’ man and I’d say that’s pretty true. So I have a tough time understanding how I turn into an awkward turtle that’s missing confidence when she’s around.

Once we all get settled in and there’s a fire going, giving the lodge a cozy atmosphere, it’s every man for themselves. Everyone picks a activity they want to occupy themselves with and the living room of the lodge empties out, leaving me there alone.

I scroll stare at the screen of my now useless phone. The thing has no reception and no way of keeping me busy, leaving my attention to wander to the voices that are getting more and more distant as my friends walk out of the room.

I can’t help but overhear Jess say to Y/N, “You haven’t even set your bag down yet and you’re going for a smoke? Jeez, Y/N.”

“You say as though you don’t know me.“ Y/N laughs, the sound of a door opening following after her voice.

It’s such a nice sound, her laugh. I’ve never heard it before. I’ve seen her smile and seen her chuckle at someone’s joke, but it was never actually a laugh. Seems she keeps those for special occasions. 

If she’s in the type of mood to laugh, she’s in the type of mood to be civil with me. Before I can talk myself out of the on-spot decision, I mentally slap myself and get off the couch, walking to the door to the side deck.

“You’ve got this, she’s just a person” 

“Who’s just a person?“ her voice cuts through the silence of the outdoors.

‘SHIT I SAID THAT OUT LOUD‘

I decide to carry this all the way, no shortcuts. No backing out. Somehow, now that she’s standing in front of me - a cigarette between her fingers, her shoulders tense from of the cold - I find it easier to get the words out. She’s just as human as everyone else. The cold causes her to shrivel up. She’s addicted to tobacco. She’s not some riddle I need to solve, just a person I need to talk to in order to understand.

“You.“ I reply, “Why aren’t you wearing a jacket?“

She shakes her head, her shoulders trembling a bit, “It builds the immune system.”

“No, it makes you suffer.“ I shrug my jacket off, cautiously approaching her and wrapping it around her.

Surprisingly, she accepts it with a nod and a murmured ‘thanks’, holding onto it with the hand that’s not holding her cigarette. “Why were you reminding yourself that I’m just a person? Do I not look like one?” She scoffs, facing away from me to look at the snowy hills ahead.

“No, no, not that. You just make me nervous that’s all.“ 

She whirls around, giving me this look as though she has no idea what I’m talking about.

“Really? Why’s that?“ she puts out her cigarette on the wooden railing, focusing all her attention on me.

My hand instinctively goes up to the back of my neck, feeling my face start to heat up. “Well, you’re not really fond of me. And I don’t know why, and....” I trail off, sighing in self-disappointment, “And I wanna know why.”

Her expression turns the complete opposite, a smile spreading across her face. “It’s not about something you have done. It’s about what you might’ve done.”

Despite feeling slightly relieved, I am no less confused than I was a minute ago. “And what is that?”

“Break my best friend’s heart.“ She looks a lot more serious now, “You really had no idea she was head over heels for you just a month ago. You were so oblivious and she was so whipped...“ frustration radiates off of her, “I just didn’t want her to get hurt.“ She closes her eyes, stabilizing herself before finishing her statement, “I didn’t want to hurt her.“

“Wait, what?“

The hurt that paints itself on her face is contagious. I feel it too and I don’t even know what’s causing it. “She always told me about you. Mike this and Mike that. She made you sound like the best guy in the world. And...I really wanted to be let down when I met you, but you were nothing but nice to me and to the other people in the group. But you were also such a jerk from time to time. You are just too...Fucking forget it.” 

In a blink of an eye she puts my jacket over the railing and runs inside the lodge.

“Y/N, wait!“

Needless to say, running after her was the best decision I’ve made. I didn’t get her to admit to anything, but at least we lied down the armor and agreed to give each other some time to get to know one another. Drop aside the assumptions and give a this acquaintanceship the chance to become a friendship. 

Sadly, all good things come to an end way sooner than we want. The rest of that dreadful night I witnessed her transform. When everyone was freaking out, she held them and comforted them. I saw the fear in her eyes but she never let it shine through in her actions. She was the one still holding it together even after she saw that disgusting creature. Her and I were the ones to turn that sanatorium upside down. We were with Josh in the mines. We were the ones to see the Wendigo first. We were by each other’s side the entire time. We had each other’s backs. 

I’ve never felt such a connection with someone. I was experiencing the most intimate understanding with a person in the worst moment of my life. It was bittersweet. The poison mixed with the cure.

Even when she knew her death was approaching, her only reaction was a single tear. A single crystal drop running down her cheek.

We can make a break. We can run right out of this hell hole and turn it to ash, all we need is for this fucking to focus its attention elsewhere. Thankfully Chris, Ash and Emily have made it out already and they’re safe. However, Sam, Y/N and I are trapped. The silent looks we exchange are laced with fear and panic. We have to calculate our next moves down to a millisecond and we don’t even know what those next moves should be.

Suddenly, a sharp pain starts spreading from my hand shoulder. My adrenaline is no longer doing a good job blocking out the pain of the fingers I had to sever. I slip up, letting out a hiss. The pain is just that unbearable.

That thing turn at the speed of light, letting out a screech and heading in my direction. My whole body is tense I couldn’t move if I wanted to but my arm is in such a horribly painful position, I think I’ll faint if I don’t readjust it.

“HEY!“ The voice comes from opposite me and my heart drops.

Sam’s next to me. It’s not her. It’s Y/N. 

The Wendigo loses interest in me as soon as it hears her yell turning and heading straight for her. It all starts sinking in. Now that it’s facing away, Sam and I can make it out. But she can’t. It’s over for her. There’s no way she’s leaving this lodge.

I catch her eyes from across the room. Her posture says a fighter, but her eyes scream ‘petrified’. She knows it too. She knows it’s game over. A single tear rolls down her cheek, shattering my heart.

That’s the last vulnerable moment, however. She turns her head, deciding to go out without showing a glint of fear to that piece of shit. I don’t have to look at Sam or tell her what to do. We’re both aware that we’re about to make it out, losing Y/N in the process.

It happens in a split second. Y/N spits at the Wendigo and then next thing I see is her laying on the ground in a pool of blood. 

The dash out of the lodge is a blur. The last thing I remember is sitting outside of the burning building, staring at the flames. The lodge wasn’t the only thing burning. Years of memories; history; wendigos; and my heart burnt in that lodge.

I see the group leave the graveyard. I struggle to move forward, my limbs heavy. I feel gravity is a lot stronger all of a sudden. 

I didn’t go to the final goodbye. I knew it wasn’t her. There was nothing left of her to bury. Sam told me they buried things that reminded people of her and objects she cherished. 

Well it’s time I give my goodbye.

I shrug my jacket off - the same jacket from that night - and put it around the gravestone like I put it over her shoulders. There’s a box of the cigarettes she smoked in the inner pocket.

“I hope you felt what I felt, Y/N. I hope I didn’t have to say it for you to notice it. I wish I knew...cause now it’ll haunt me for the rest of my life.” I can’t stop the tears, I’m too weak and I’ve been holding them back for far too long. “I’ve never believed in an afterlife. But I really hope there is one, just so we can meet again.” I scoff, shaking my head, “Who am I kidding, I’m probably going to hell.”

I believe that’s where I deserve to go, anyway. I’m the reason she died. And I will never let myself live that down. I will never forgive myself. A flame like no other burnt out so mine could keep burning.   I will make sure it haunts me till the day I leave this world behind.

[iggy-of-fans]

Of Being a Ladybug 1.5

Happy Holiday’s! Here is my gift to you!

Previous  Masterlist 

The class, Then 

Monday of the attack

Adrien smiled, satisfied that Marinette hadn’t done anything. He shook his head, ‘really, what could she have done?’ he asked himself. Marinette was a great girl and had designed for or worked with a few famous people, but he doubted that they even remembered a lowly baker’s daughter. He sure didn’t remember most of his fans. He shrugged. Alya really should have just fact checked. Probably an over-zealous fan that sent it to one of the actors mentioned. Marinette also wouldn’t do anything that could hurt Alya. He got to the class and stopped short at the door. There were a lot of long faces in there.

Alya was sobbing into Nino’s shoulder.

Rose was quietly heaving into Juleka’s shoulder as well. Not so much sobbing, but still very upset.

Max sat tense, glaring at his phone, looking like he might set it on fire.

Kim glared ahead at the bored.

Mylene, for once, looked stronger than all the class and like she might punch somebody.

Adrien was confused. As far as he knew or remembered, only Alya had a real reason to be this upset. He frowned.

“Nino? What’s going on? Why is everyone so upset?” Adrien asked, completely lacking the social understanding to perhaps ask someone else. Who wasn’t holding their+

3 crying girlfriend. Nino just glared at him.

It was Alix who answered, “Seriously Adrien? Read the fucking mood. And to answer your question, Lila Fucking Rossi.”

“I don’t understand. What did Lila do?” Adrien asked, passing over the first comment. He just wanted answers.

“Marinette was right. Like always, she was right. Lila is a liar, and a bad liar at that. We were idiots and all fell for it. Rose lost her friendship with Prince Ali because she bought Lila’s tales. Alya is being sued for slander. Mylene and Ivan contributed to her “go green” projects, only for none of them to be legit. Max is being investigated by the school for letting Kim cheat off him and Kim got kicked off the team for it. Then the school NERD club got wind of the napkin incident and apparently even Superman and Wonder Woman can’t throw a napkin hard enough to take out somebody’s eye. And me? I was told I would be meeting pro skater Esmee Visser. We should have listened to Marinette” Alix shook her head. Mari had warned them. Warned them not to cheat, not to listen to Lila, to work their own way up. Marinette always worked so hard but made it all look so easy.

The whole class bowed their heads. Mylene had ended her friendship with Marinette on Tuesday the week before, because Marinette had suggested that she and Ivan not give their combined 400 Euros to Lila’s charity. This morning, Mylene had seen the news coverage of over fifteen people suing Lila Rossi and by extension, Alya Cesaire, for slander, defamation and theft. Lila had been going around getting things put onto tabs for famous people to pay off, claiming she was a niece, goddaughter or assistant.

They waited for Marinette or Lila to come into the class. Marinette so they could apologize. Lila so they could beat her up. When the warning bell rang, and Ms. Bustier entered the room, nobody even batted an eye. When the last bell rang, and Marinette still wasn’t there, they worried. When the sound of a car being tossed through a building reached their ears, the students evacuated.

Alya rushed to the scene. The Ladyblog may be shut down, but she could start fresh. Maybe Ladybug would even call on Rena Rouge! When she got to the scene, Vipereon was hidden on a building with… was that… a new fox? Alya almost started crying again. Another hero made her way there. A new bee, it looked like. And another, a new turtle too. When Ladybug arrived with the dragon, the team huddled for a minute before breaking apart to fight. Alya snuck closer as she watched Guilty Conscience coming at the heroes.

“I never wanted to be a hero. I feel horrible when I have to lie to protect my identity because I hate liars. I wish I had never met the Master or been picked to be Ladybug or had managed to give the Miraculous away before I got too serious. I hate what this has turned me into, I wish I could go back to just being Marinette…”

Alya gasped. Oh! OH! She shut off her video and turned. She’d wanted to earn back her title as a journalist. But not like this. She ran back to her apartment. Not like this.

As Tuesday morning dawned, the class was sitting together again. Adrien kept looking at the door expectantly. If Chat Noir payed a visit to the bakery last night, no body would know. Namely because nobody was there. Adrien’s foot bounced. The minute she walked through the door; he would confess to her.

Nino looked sideways at Adrien. He knew his boy was a bit starstruck with Ladybug. Did he really expect her to come to school, though? Nobody seemed to notice that Juleka was also missing.

Class started, only to be interrupted again when the principle announced all classes should turn on their TVs to the news.

“Good Morning Paris. We interrupt your scheduled programming to bring you breaking news,” on the screen was Lois Lane, world renowned reporter. “This morning, the Mayor of Paris was able to welcome for the first time, Justice League Members Batman and Wonder Woman, to Paris. Already, the world’s greatest detective is solving the matter of ‘who is Hawkmoth?’ and ‘where is he hiding?’. The investigation was started early this morning and is still ongoing now, however, the heroes are confident the matter will be resolved by end of day today. League intervention is also being given to the local Parisian heroes, who are being folded into the League system. The now dubbed Miracle Team will be receiving regular training and adult supervision from the American Heroes. On other news… One moment please. We are now going live to the traffic copter, which has caught sight of Wonder Woman storming a mansion in the heart of Paris. Jean, what can you tell us about the current situation?”

“Thank you, Lois! I am here, on scene as Wonder Woman storms the Agreste Mansion. Parisian’s will remember that Monsier Agreste was Akumatized as the Collector a few months ago. He certainly isn’t putting up any fight, it looks like. And there is Nathalie Sancour. Both are coming out with their hands up. It looks like Monsiour Agreste is doing all the talking. Ms. Sancour is going down in what appears to be a coughing fit! Police is also arriving on the scene. An arrest has been made. I repeat. An arrest has been made! A police car is pulling off, and looks to be heading to Francois-Dupont, commonly dubbed the Akuma school. If I am not mistaken, it is the same school that Gabriel Agreste’s only son, Adrien Agreste attends! AH, one moment. It looks like Wonder Woman is going into the mansion. Paramedics are also pulling up on scene. Ms. Sancour is being taken into an ambulance, but the other set of paramedics is running into the mansion as well. Is that?! It is! Lois, and watchers, for those of you who do not know, this is Emilie Agreste, the wife of Gabriel and mother of Adrien. She went missing and was declared dead three years ago. Paramedics are now rushing her prone body to the ambulance…”

The news continued, but the class was distracted by the door being thrust open. Officer Raincomprix and his partner entered.

“Adrien Agreste, you are under arrest for suspicion on working with Hawkmoth. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you” the officer stated, placing the cuffs on a stunned Adrien Agreste. His mouth hung open. What…? And then he heard the whispers.

“He was supposed to start school the day of the first Akuma…”

“Always defending the bully…”

“Never there during attacks…”

He shook his head mutely. NO! He was a hero!

The class watched mutely. Two in two days.

*!!*

Because he was a minor and could prove, behind closed doors, that he was in fact Chat Noir, Adrien was acquitted and sent to live with his Aunt Amilie and Cousin Felix Graham de Vanily. He took off the Miraculous ring. Plagg had told him Ladybug would need her cat. So, he put the ring in the mail to be sent off to Wilhelm with a letter explaining everything. He heard through the news that the Dupain-Cheng family had left Paris in a rush. Nobody was quite sure where they went, though most guessed to China. When he landed in London, Adrien had no idea what to expect. He hadn’t seen Felix since his mother’s funeral. He had also heard that Felix’s father had died not long ago. Felix and Amilie greeted him at the airport with smiles. He smiled and dared to hope.

*!!*

Alya watched the footage of Marinette revealing herself again. She sighed. Adrien Agreste was publicly deemed innocent and sent away. Lila Rossi, while facing several lawsuits, was only being sent to a remedial school at the outskirts of Paris. Lila’s mother, who had been akumatized as Guilty Conscience, almost lost her job. As it was now, diplomatic immunity was the only thing keeping her from being investigated further for child neglect. Alya was still facing the law herself, but being a minor, she was only facing some fines and heavy warnings, but otherwise she was also grounded until she was eighteen. Her parents were disappointed, her sisters avoided her most of the time. School had become her only escape. But even there was no escape from everything that had happened. Marinette was no longer there, and Ms. Bustier was under investigation for the amount of Akumatizations in her class. Mr. Damoclese was as well, for mismanaged funding to the school. Turns out his Owl suit and “weapons” were being funded from donations to the school. The class was split up into different classes too. Divide and conquer. Alya sighed. They weren’t really allowed to interact with each other, for fear of it causing more trouble. But most of the other students didn’t want to interact with them either. Alya had never noticed it, but their class was isolated by the rest of the school.

*!!*

Luka sighed as he watched Marinette walk into the Zeta Tube, her head bowed. Paris had ruined Marinette. He brushed his hair back and looked at Juleka. The news had confirmed that Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, but he had given his Miraculous to Nathalie to get rid of. They were pawned off to another party, but Gabriel had no idea who, and Nathalie went under and into a coma like Mrs. Agreste.

The League told them that they would be receiving training and supervision, as there were Miraculous everywhere now. They would be needed to step in. Luka being the oldest was made the leader, despite not having the ladybug miraculous. He sighed. What a shit show.

< ( ^ ^ ) >

Bruce closed the journal and replaced it in the secret compartment in the desk. He turned to the bed behind him, where his newest ward was fast asleep, tear tracks staining her young face. He wanted to rage at Diana and Clark. He’d petitioned to have Marinette live with him from the beginning, but had been denied because Diana’s mother had been a Ladybug. Reading about what Diana had done to the poor girl, all with good intentions but completely misguided, Bruce was ready to wage war. Marinette had been through emotional hell. He would make sure to do better by her. He swore then that he would give her a family.

[smallgodseries]

An ordinary man stands before an open refrigerator, filled with pieces and potential.  He could make a sandwich, yes, a sandwich would be lovely, ham and cheese perhaps, or bologna with Miracle Whip, or peanut butter and jelly, or—

Tuna fish and onion with squeezy mustard whispers a voice, unfamiliar but oh so tempting, alluring, even, filled with confidence and yearning.

Still, he hesitates.  Surely that is…abnormal?  Surely, that would be a strange combination, not something an ordinary man like himself would eat?

Crush up some Doritos and put them on top whispers the voice.  Wash it down with a can of Fanta.  Doesn’t matter what flavor.  Fruity and sweet.

And it’s tempting, it’s so tempting, and he’s already reaching for the squeezy mustard.  He won’t realize what he’s done until the stomachache wakes him at two o’clock in the morning, and when it does, the voice won’t be there to comfort him.

The voice won’t be anywhere at all.  Stinkweed Sam will have long since moved on.

He comes most often to those who have indulged in other sacraments, because their clouded minds are clear to his specific form of prayer.  They have shed their inhibitions and their misconceptions at the same time, and see nothing wrong with dipping Girl Scout cookies in fast food barbeque sauces, or with scraping the filling out of Oreos and replacing it with sardines, the crunch of the bones perfectly complimenting the crispness of the cookie.  He blesses them all, the inebriated, the stoned, the hormonal, the exhausted.

He whispers recipes to them, and when they listen, he is with them for every terrible, glorious, unbearable bite.  He will be there for you, if you allow him to be.  If you take the first sip that welcomes him in.

Would you like to make a sandwich?

……………………………………………..

Artist Lee Moyer (The Doom That Came to Atlantic City, Starstruck) and author Seanan McGuire (Middlegame, Every Heart a Doorway) have joined forces to bring you icons and stories of the small deities who manage our modern world, from the God of Social Distancing to the God of Finding a Parking Space.

Join in each week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a guide to the many tiny divinities:

Tumblr: https://smallgodseries.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallgodseries

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallgodseries/

Homepage: http://www.smallgodseries.com/

[girls-love-girls1200]

66. Kim Lip x Reader •Together•

This came longer than expected, hope you enjoy it

Warnings: slight mention of abuse

A locker slammed shut a few feet away, one of the guys from the swim team threw you a flirty look as he passed by, his friends hanging around him like flies, resting your head against the cool metal, you closed your eyes, trying to regain control over your thoughts, you didn’t even hear your best friend approaching until her face was an inch away from yours, dark eyes staring at you inquisitively,

“You look awful y/n jesus, weekends at your dad’s seem to be taking a toll on you.”

Picking up your backpack, you flung it over your shoulder, hitting a freshman in the face in the process, Siyeon broke out in a fit of laughter as she ruffled the poor boy’s hair before shoving him playfully, he didn’t seem to be having so much fun as scurried away without even giving you a chance to apologize, you let out a tired giggle before your eyes met with the disapproving ones of last person you wanted to see at that precise moment. Siyeon stopped in her tracks as she felt you tense up against her, but it was too late, the senior counsellor had already grabbed your arm, your best friend’s grip tightening around your other,

“Y/n, you will not avoid me any longer than you already have.”

You smiled sheepishly at the older woman who had insisted on scheduling sessions every Monday mornings with her, after having found out about your current family issues through a notice that unknowingly to you been passed to all your teachers.

“Listen Yoona, I get it, you’re young and full of passion for your job, you’re ready to help poor teens struggling with how butt ugly they are, but I do not need your help, I’m fine and more than competent to handle my emotions and my struggles on my own thanks, have a great Monday.”

Her pretty face morphed in shock at your words, shrugging her hands of your arm you made a quick b-line, dragging Siyeon behind you.

“Sarcasm and denial are not the way to deal with this y/n!”

“Ah! Lippie thank God you’re here, maybe you can talk some sense into your girlfriend.”

Her hands reached for the sides of your face, lifting it slightly so that she could get a good look at it, she immediately noticed the dark circles under your eyes, you weren’t wearing any makeup, and your lips seemed more chapped than usual, you felt your body tingle under her worried gaze, pulling away from her you glared at Siyeon who only pulled her tongue at you,

“Why? What’s wrong babe?”

She tried to pull you back towards her so that she could look into your eyes but to no avail, you resisted, grabbing onto your best friends’ arm, Jungeun’s eyebrows furrowed with concern,

“Nothing is wrong, Yoona just tried to scold me for hitting a freshman, but I manged to get away from her devil grasp just in time.”

You knew your girlfriend hadn’t bought a single word you said from the second they left your mouth, she was about to reply when by miracle Jiwoo popped up from behind her, not even greeting an of you before diving into the wild account of how her weekend went, her bubbly voice cutting through the tense atmosphere that had been previously forming. You felt Jungeun’s inquisitive stare on you all the way to class, for probably the first time in your life you were relieved of arriving at your algebra lesson, your teachers’ expressionless face welcomed you in the doorway as you scurried inside, thinking about the imminent conversation that was going to happen the next time you’d see your girlfriend.

You knew avoiding confrontation was probably the least rational choice you could make, yet you found yourself sitting alone on one of the restricted balconies on your school’s second floor, with the curtains pulled inside you knew it was impossible to see you, this had become your go to spot whenever you felt like skipping class to be on your own, nobody ever used the language lab in the morning anyways, just making it easy for you to disappear when needed.

The night before had been so chaotic you hadn’t even had a moment to prepare your lunch for today, your stomach grumbling in complaint as you nibbled on some crackers that had been in your backpack since the previous week,

Your phone lit up on your lap, as another one of the girls sent you a message, asking where you were, you were about to turn it off when a message from your best friend arrived,

From Wolfass🐺: I know where you are, I’ve told the girls you had some homework to catch up on, Lippie isn’t buying it and she keeps staring at me as if she wants me dead. I’m terrified.

Your heart swelled with love at the realization the Siyeon would always have your back no matter what, it had been that way ever since you were in your diapers, she never left your side.

To Wolfass🐺: I owe you a thousand, love you so much.

As the bell rung you made the decision on skipping literature, guilt pooling in your stomach as you imagined Jungeun’s face as she walked into the classroom without seeing you in your usual spot next to the window, so that you could look at the birdies when things got boring.

Your phone vibrating dragged you out of your self hate spiral, another missed call from your girlfriend and a new message.

From Wolfass🐺: You know I got you, but I really think you should give Miss Lim a chance, you don’t have to handle this thing on your own babes, and you’re gonna have to talk to Lip at some point, that girl loves you so much she’s on the verge of killing herself from overthinking.

You felt your muscles tense in anxiety at the thought of having to talk to Jungeun about how you were being forced to spend the weekends at your dad’s place, she knew your relationship with him was complicated to say the least, but you were also aware of how much it would pain her to know what you really had to go through.

To Lippie💘: Sorry about today babe, not feeling very well don’t worry tho I won’t miss tonight’s game, I’ll see you there and we can talk after

To Lippie💘: I love you

From Lippie💘: I’m already worried but ok

From Lippie💘: ttyl

She was not happy at all. You cursed at yourself for being so damn stupid, knowing you should have been honest with her from the beginning, and yet, your own denial had stopped you. Not being in the right head space you packed your stuff and left. Your mom was on a day shift today so you knew there would be no one at home to interrogate you on how come you weren’t at school.

The chilly spring air nipped at your cheeks, wrapping your arms around yourself you closed your eyes as Jungeun’s familiar scent enveloped your senses,

“You’re so cheesy y/n, wearing your girlfriend’s team sweater at her first game as team captain. You almost make we want to throw up…”

You shoved Siyeon so hard she almost fell off the bleacher, ignoring her curses you scanned the field anxiously until your gaze fell on a familiar head of chocolate locks, Jungeun was busy tying her hair into a tight ponytail, her eyes scanning the crowd, timed seemed to stop for a second as her nervous gaze met yours, a toothy grin plastered itself onto your features as you waved at her. Her own smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as it usually did, giving you a small nod, she lowered her head back to the ground.

Your body worked faster than your mind, quickly getting on your feet after leaving your soda with Siyeon, you bounced down the crowded bleachers, making your way to the side of the field you pushed your way through the school paper club until you reached the fence that separated you from the team. You didn’t even have to call her, in a second your girlfriend was in front of you, hands resting on the cold metal between you. Your hand reached for her cheek as you smoothly pulled her into you, her lips fit perfectly between yours, a low hum of appreciation swallowed in the kiss. Pulling away as you heard her coach calling all the players to him, you smiled warmly,

“Don’t be nervous, you’ll do great, just as usual.”

Jungeun’s cheeks tinted pink at your words, you caught her red lips in one last loving kiss before turning around, your girlfriend’s eyes never leaving your figure as you made your way back to your seat, warmth spreading through her entire body after the quick interaction. She was ready to win.

The eerie car park was almost empty by the time your girlfriend stepped into it, in a second she had spotted your figure, resting against her car, scrolling through your phone, with the last energies that remained Jungeun sprinted towards, a surprised squeal leaving escaping mouth as she lifted you into her arms.

“Well look if it isn’t miss star player herself.”

An embarrassed groan tumbled out of her lips, running her hand through her soft hair she smiled at you. There were these moments in your relationship in which neither of you had to say a word, and yet you both understood, you knew her smile meant more than she could ever even put into words, yet a shadow of concern still lurked in the corner of her eyes.

“I like seeing you in this sweater, I think it brings me good luck.”

Her long fingers toyed with the strings of your sweatshirt, slowly creeping up until they reached your chin, she pulled your face to meet her own. Again, as her lips danced with yours, you could understand exactly what she wanted to say, her fingers trailing down to your hips, suddenly you found yourself pressed against the cold metal of the car, unsure whether the goose bumps came from that or from your girlfriend’s tongue sliding against your bottom lip, almost as if she was asking for your permission. Your fingers pulled teasingly at the soft baby hairs on the back of her neck, her cold hands finding their way under your shirt eliciting a small hum of appreciation that only seemed to spur her on, her lips detached from your own before leaving a hot trace along your jawline, on your pulse point, teeth nibbled at your sensitive skin as your head tilted back in response.

Jungeun pulled away at light speed as a series of whistles and cat calls echoed through the parking lot, a few of her teammates that had obviously lagged behind could be heard laughing as they made their way to their own vehicles, your girlfriends head burying into your neck, you could only imagine the shade of crimson her cheeks had turned. Chuckling softly you caressed the back of her head before getting into the car, your fingers toyed with the heating panel for a couple of minutes, trying to ignore the unspoken words that hung in the small space, you could feel Jungeun’s eyes on you every few seconds.

“Please keep your eyes on the road, I would like to make it home alive.”

She didn’t even bother clapping back at you with some snarky comment like she usually would, her hand snaking from the gearshift to your thigh, giving a light squeeze, her gaze straight ahead, a nervous sigh fell from your lips as you focused on the trees flying past you.

“My dad won his latest custody appeal.”

You took the complete silence that followed your statement as an invite to carry on,

“Which means, I now have to spend weekends at his place.”

Jungeun slowly nodded her head as she processed the news, you took her eyebrows furrowing as a bad sign,

“Which is, as you know, the last place I ever want to be. But he convinced the judge that he is a brand-new man, three years sober and with an actual job in a garage downtown.”

The older girl seemed to know where this was heading as her fingers intertwined with yours, her thumb rubbing small circles on the back of your hand,

“Only one of those two statements is true, I’m sure you can guess which.”

As you turned into Jungeun’s driveway the car came to a stop, unfastening her seatbelt she turned to face you, her thumb reaching to wipe away a tear you didn’t even know was there.

“Y/n why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Biting at your lip, you couldn’t seem to find a plausible answer to that very easy question, you were scared to look into her sweet eyes as the silence around you became almost suffocating.

“I’m not angry babe, I just wished you would have told me, I’m sure my mom could help us figure something out, y/n you can’t stay at that place if it isn’t safe, please, don’t do this to yourself. If something happened to you I...”

Tears started falling from your eyes as you felt the concern oozing from every pore of her body, not being able to stand seeing you like this, Jungeun pulled her seat back as you took the invitation to climb onto her lap, small sobs rattling through your body, one of her hands started rubbing comforting circles on your back, the other pulling your head even closer to her as she kissed every inch of you she could reach.

“I don’t want you to be scared y/n, I promise we’ll figure this out, together.”