#how easy it is to fake convincing ENOUGH images

[blaze-rocket]

Myself, and all the working artists I know don't mind AI when it's being used as what it is: A tool. The issue comes when it's trained on data that the original creators were not compensated for. The issue comes when it's used in PLACE of artists, instead of BY artists.

People like to get all up in arms, oh, you don't even know what AI is, you probably would have hated all new tech, you're just reactionary, weh weh wehhh. And like. No. Actually. AI, as a tool is something that has been in place, being used, for longer than you think. Being used as a tool, there's no real issue.

But the AI that have been released on the internet, to scrape and steal, that ""artists"" like to claim is fair game, and 'PEOPLE don't steal art, ai steals art' are the ones fundamentally missing the point. AI that corporations think they can use to replace artists, strong arming people into training it for them through the inherent threat of capitalisim... that needs to be addressed.

[wttcsms]

🏐 wttcsms written works, haikyuu ;

last updated feb 23, 2024

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐘𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles and i can't make you stay (in this broken place) — ( nsfw )  i sin too much to pray for you — no one can believe that one of the most powerful crime lords in the underground world of japan, atsumu miya, is wrapped around the finger of a naive girl like you, but love doesn’t really care about boundaries anyway. take care of you — ( nsfw ) atsumu just wants to give you everything he can offer: an easy job, a brand new car, a baby… wanting was enough (for me, it was enough) — ( sfw ) "He carries your confession home in the to-go box from the diner. It’s heavy, matching the American theme of burgers containing his weight in meat and fries slick with oil and grease. The two of you are walking together, and he wants to ask you, specifically, what did you mean when you told the team you liked me?" paper rings — ( sfw ) the tiffany blue ring box currently resides in the second drawer of his night stand, unceremoniously buried underneath several pairs of calvin klein briefs. when you know, you know — ( sfw ) atsumu considers marriage to be a trap, until he realizes that even a lifetime commitment to you isn’t long enough

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : domesticity with atsumu — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : ex!atsumu seeing you're engaged to oikawa — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : how atsumu says i love you — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : atsumu and you having "non-dates" — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : atsumu's green flags — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : dating atsumu — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : dad!atsumu — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : mastermind inspired — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : atsumu randomly showing you his camera roll — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : in a world of boys, he's a gentleman — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : atsumu as a college interviewer tiktoker — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : husband atsumu using ur purse — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : you're the first person atsumu wants to tell anything to — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : the miya divide — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : girl dad atsumu — ( sfw )

multipart afterglow — ( nsfw ) finding out that his hot supermodel girlfriend is dumping him for some baseball player? that sucks. finding out via her red carpet debut with her new man as her plus one? sucks a bit more. having this happen to him the same day he just lost the last game of the season? yeah, it’s starting to feel like the universe has it out for him at this point, right? but atsumu miya is nothing if not petty, childish, and immature. he’ll get back at her. after all, there’s a secret dating app created by publicists and agents that pair up perfect matches for brightening up any celebrity’s public image. all atsumu has to do is pay a pretty sum of money to convince the media (and mainly his ex) that atsumu miya is still on top of the world and living his best life with the best (albeit, fake) girlfriend ever. unfortunately for him, his perfect match just so happens to be you — his first girlfriend, his highschool sweetheart turned sour, and the first girl who ever broke his heart. you know what they say: when it rains, it pours.

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐔 𝐎𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐖𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles customer satisfaction — ( nsfw ) you go above and beyond for your customers...

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : engaged to oikawa when atsumu's your ex (yikes) — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : ex husband!oikawa still in love with you — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : ice skating au — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : royal au — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : learning about the tradition of giving the first slice of cake to who you love the most — ( sfw )

multipart forever golden — ( nsfw ) everything is going fine: you just graduated with your first degree, you get to work alongside your older brother for the 2021 olympics, and you think now might be the perfect time to finally jumpstart your dating life (atsumu miya certainly seems cute...). there's no time for you to think about torn acls, shattered dreams, and the fact that this was never your original goal in life. and there's certainly no time for you to worry about tooru oikawa, the boy who practically grew up in your house now turned into the man who poses as your team's fiercest competitor. you definitely don't have the free time to remember how he's the first boy who ever had (and subsequently broke) your heart. or that the two of you went from practically joined at the hip to total strangers for the past four years. you don't even bother wondering why he suddenly wants to repair the broken bond between you two, and you totally don't give in to him (except for the times that you do... which is almost all the time).  yeah. everything is going fine.

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐊𝐈𝐘𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐒𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles rapture — ( nsfw ) his tenacity and stamina prove to be a deadly combination indeed. you know you make my cold heart warm with a touch — ( nsfw ) how else can kiyoomi show you how close to his heart he keeps you than by fucking into you so deep, you’re pretty sure you can feel him reaching for yours?

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : how kiyoomi says i love you — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐌𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles as the world caves in — ( sfw ) they say your life flashes before your eyes when you die. if that’s the case, then that explains why kageyama only sees you.

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   :  kags' act of service — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : tobio craves your attention — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : vampire hunter!reader x vampire!kags — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : he responds to all your texts individually — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐇𝐀𝐉𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐙𝐔𝐌𝐈  ✩ ✭

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : domesticity with iwaizumi — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : shoujo concept with iwaizumi — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles it's the same damn thing that made my heart surrender — ( sfw ) you never do get over your first love. / you fell first, he fell harder.

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : domesticity with suna — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐉𝐈𝐌𝐀  ✩ ✭

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : marriage of convenience with ushi — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : underground fighter ushi — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐓𝐄𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐎  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles in every universe, it's still you — ( sfw ) in all the universes, in all the different versions of you and kuroo, you’re certain of two things: that he’s always a good person, and that you love him.

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : fake dating au — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : business school academic rivals to lovers — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : kuroo tweet — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : dad!kuroo is the best — ( sfw ) ✩✮   : single!mom reader x kuroo office romance — ( sfw )

multipart get him back! — ( nsfw ) so, in an attempt to get back at your ex - who posted a sex tape of himself cheating on you with your best friend - you decide that you’re going to upload your own film, and it’s going to be even hotter than theirs. you don’t anticipate your class’s teaching assistant being your co-star, especially considering that he’s the one who took your virginity, and after all was said and done, you ran out on him. but there’s no running from him now, especially whenever your tape does better than expected. now, you’re one of the hottest up and coming content creators on the platform, and the cash is too good to let this opportunity go to waste. what starts as a petty revenge scheme results in a lucrative business partnership with three simple rules: profits are split 50/50, all videos remain faceless, and this newfound partnership means absolutely nothing. just because you two fuck on a daily basis does not mean you’re friends, and you’re certainly not lovers. then again, things hardly ever are that simple.

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles paper rings — ( sfw ) shinsuke kita is a creature of habit.

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : influencer!reader x kita — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐘𝐀  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles xoxo — ( nsfw ) just thinking about recreating the infamous maison margiela kiss button-down shirt for your boyfriend osamu

headcanons & concepts ✩✮   : the miya divide — ( sfw )

( 🏐 )  ⸺ 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐈 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐈  ✩ ✭

one shots & drabbles everything's blurry but you — ( sfw ) barely in your baby twenties, and you think life is so over for you. then, while at rock bottom, you run into futakuchi, and realize that 1) he’s kinda pathetic, and 2) someone else’s pathetic-ness totally distracts you from your own. so, guess you two are in it together.

[yizuhaoz]

⸻SAINT MATTHEW'S ACADEMY (preview)

READ HERE

SYNOPSIS ⸻ being a smart kid comes with a lot of advantages; one of them being a full scholarship to one of the best schools in the country. one of the best school's that's filled to the brim with disgustingly rich teenagers. Heeseung knows you're not like them, and he also knows that'll be easy to take advantage of.

PAIRING ⸻ toxic!heeseung x innocent!fem-reader

GENRE ⸻ strangers to lovers, private school au, smut

TAGS ⸻ tba

WORDCOUNT ⸻ 11k atm, estimated around 20k or more

RELEASE DATE ⸻ hopefully very soon!

TAGLIST ⸻ open

Lee Heeseung was the youngest son of Lee Guwon and Kim Shinhye, the founders and owners of the largest hotel line in the country. They just recently went international, opening yet another hotel-restaurant in the heart of Singapore. His older sister, Lee Rina, had no interest in the company, firmly convinced that it's a greedy industry. She moved to Norway to study and just never came back. But his older brother, Lee Haejun, was different. He was stuck on the idea of becoming the next CEO. After both him and Heeseung were old enough to understand what benefits came with being a leader of a major hotel line, they stopped treating each other like brothers, instead focusing on the rivalry that was brewing. They wanted so badly to prove to their father who's more competent, who deserves it more, that at one point it became too much.

Heeseung at one point no longer wanted any of it. He just wanted his brother back. Haejun just never was the same brother Heeseung learned to love. He didn't care, he wasn't kind. Heeseung felt like he lost both of his siblings although they weren't actually gone.

“I don’t think they mentioned you” you murmured, trying to recall the conversations you had with Wonyoung and Niki.

“Wonyoung and Niki? Probably because they don't like me” he laughed, and put out his blunt on the tiles of the balcony, throwing what was left into a jar filled with water.

“They like everyone, I think it’s a ‘you’ problem” you assumed, and he scoffed.

His body sluggishly stood up from the chair, as he tried not to fall over the balcony “Both of them are fake as fuck, and I don’t think you’re one to judge”

You sighed “You don’t know them”

“I know them better than you, transfer” he chuckled, “They always cuddle up to new students, just like Wonyoung did to Jake, and whenever they go slightly out of line, they drop them” he explained, and you foolishly didn't believe his words, choosing to stand with your new friends who you in reality, knew nothing about.

“I don’t know, I don't think the Jake that I just met, and got forced to drink by, is a good example” you murmured, playing with your hair, avoiding eye contact with the boy.

He had this dark aura surrounding him, his hooded eyes just adding into his image, making him look much more scary.

He slowly moved towards you, accompanying you on the silk covered bed. That’s when you could truly analyze his face; bloodshot, brown eyes, a curve to his lips, his nose slightly pointed and eyebrows straight. His skin was glistening, a soft tan to it. He looked at you so intensely, and you couldn't quite reciprocate, scared of his intimidating presence.

“Jake was always like this, they just didn't know how to handle him” he smiled, his hand inching closer to where your legs lied “They love saying that Jay ruined him, but he didn't even have to do that”

to be continued...

[abrandnewshadow]

the only proof I can rely on in 2024 that frank/ft willz were one and the same.

ft willz myspace blog poem "shits bananas when you're disinterested" exactly matches the one posted on franks 2013 website- crediting himself at the end. a very unique title for it to be coincidental.

this and the eyeball

this eyeball thumbnail from the 2008 skeletoncrew website is labelled as f.t.willz and will bring you to their poems. (eyeball w/ text) the other pictures of the respective artists bring you to their work.

The one that looks like it could be franks eyeball is the one that will bring you to ft willz poetry. i'm all but convinced.

upon investigating the poems, there are no matches for ft willz poems on franks website except "shits bananas"

here is how you can search frank's old website for keywords. no known texts from ft willz can be found. besides "shits bananas"

by that same method, you can search for ft willz or ftw from 2005-2014 skeletoncrewonline.com here

this image below has long served as the main piece of evidence of ft willz. reposted tons but no source.

The first is supposedly from ft willz myspace blog, the second is the same poem on franks website.

The ft willz version of this cannot be sourced. maybe someone can find it. but the source to that image has never been around. just reposted.

wayback machine has very few captures of ft willz myspace blog (like 10) and only one poem can be traced to frank.

I get that it is almost as crazy to believe the "I really like you" myspace screenshot is fake than to believe it's real.

If it's fake, they did a real good job making it look real. but text is so easy to shop, even in 2014.

So I have disposed of the "from my head to my middle finger" aspect of this theory. there just is not enough proof.

another impossible to source thing: the weird bible ft willz fans worship

there is a master compilation of "frank and ft willz" poetry pdf that an entire subreddit uses as its main resource- and most everyone who believes ft willz just accepts it as legitimate.

but whos to say the person that made it didn't just open word and get angsty? no one knows where it came from and no one can say how they got it.

this pdf is troubling because it provides many new works supposedly by frank/ft willz and many accept it all as franks words- without any proof of who the words it came from.

eyeball links: jpg, jpg with text, authors page with thumbnail "writings"- link is dumb and old)

ftw myspace

frank iero 2013 website

petition for frank to either deny/confirm the pen name (for what it's worth)

@myxchemicalximbalance edited this post with your frank photo. thank you so much for finding the eye pull frank picture so I could compare and contrast with the ft willz eyeball. it's pretty close I thought it was the same damn picture at first.

[seosracha]

Haluu!! Currently obsessed with taylor’s guilty as sin, was wondering if you could make a fic with hanbin in mind? :0

⸻ guilty as sin - SUNG HANBIN

genre: strangers to lovers, fluff (ig??!), imagine

pairing: sung hanbin x gn!reader

wc: 0.6k

authors note: my nonnies have such good music taste cause this song is so pretty too🙏 im sorry if i got the meaning of the song messed up tho 😞😞 anyways requests are open!

Ever since you first saw him, walking so confidently down the hallway, his smile and eyes shining so brightly, you knew it’d be him. You knew Sung Hanbin would be the one you’d be pining for, thinking about endlessly, and daydreaming about. 

Hanbin was kind. Not the type of fake, toxic kind, but genuine sweet type of kind. He was also so smart, his beautiful face being just a simple reflection of his truly incredible mind. 

He was the unreachable, desired boy everyone wanted, and nothing really set you apart from any of the other girls who’d beg for a minute of his attention. 

And maybe fantasizing about him, recalling things that never happened made you guilty, but there was no way you could help it. 

Without ever touching his skin, you had fallen for the boy. 

Your friends kept on convincing you to talk to him, try your chances, but you never did, too afraid of the annoyingly sweet rejection he’d probably serve you with. He had already done so with many of his admirers, and each time he managed to, not on purpose, make you feel wrong for even trying. 

The thoughts of Hanbin accompanied you every day, and it deep down made you feel slightly insane, wondering how much longer you can take his absence in your life. 

So when the moment you continuously dreamt about, was unveiling right in front of you, you still had no idea what to say. You had been admiring Hanbin from afar, and now he was right in front of you, that infectious smile plastered all across his face, as the simple words fell right out of his mouth. 

You imagined it, but never expected it to be so easy for him to say. It surely wouldn’t be easy for you. No matter how much you liked him, putting it into words would never be something you’d be able to do. 

“I really like you, Y/n. I have for a long time, but I wasn’t sure if you were interested in me” that exact moment replayed in your mind, and if he wasn’t standing right in front of you, you’d probably slap yourself. 

Your imagination had become so vivid, that this could well be just another hyper realistic reflection of those thoughts. But it wasn’t. After 3 years you finally got to hear Hanbin say those pretty words to your face, with all of his sincerity and honesty. 

You’d never tell him what you thought about, and he’d never tell you neither, but the affection was enough confirmation to know that it was real, and that it’d finally come true. 

And even though you had done half these things in your head, it was now all so tangible, so warm in your hands. He finally felt so real, and you wouldn’t ever give that away. 

So maybe you were guilty as sin for being so taken away by Hanbin’s image without even knowing him, but at least now you could say it aloud with a proud smile.

[philosophicalpug]

Ship whiteknight?

Why white knight? Well let me show you

So, we will start out with the obvious: beacon. why would I ship this annoying dork with a girl that is clearly not interested and has rejected his advances multiple times? It’s simple, I don’t I ship the jaune that helps people,

See he’s a dumb teenager, they both are, but the key here is that jaune matures, sure the intended comedy left more than a little room for sour interpretation, he stopped and saw that she wanted to be with another, and promptly ceased his advances, this is very key to his characterization that we must forget, he genuinely wants her to be happy. And when Neptune beefs it because of his own insecurities? Jaune doesn’t come in for the rebound or any opportunistic sense, no, he confronts him and makes sure Weiss has a good evening.

Not only that, he follows up on his promise to Pyrrha at the dance, this once more highlights his good qualities, he may not be particularly clever or insightful at times, but when he gets it, he gets it

At his heart, he’s someone who tries his best and wants only the best for others. Rocking the dress while played for laughs, still shows that he will go above and beyond because people matter to him

(Also doing this in front of Weiss is important too, he’s not afraid of acting the fool to his crush, not at all! Hes been setting aside the macho bravado, which is a good thing if he’s ever to be in a real relationship) Now onto some Weiss analysis from the beacon era, pompous, classic rich girl, doesn’t have time for all this nonsense and is a career girl through and through- and though she would never admit it, she’s just as much of a dolt as those that surround her,

But we know she’s come from a terrible household, cold was putting it nicely, her fathers a terrible man who doesn’t love anything except money, her mother is an alcoholic that didn’t love them enough (if at all) her older sister being the only member of family where she’s had  a consistent positive relationship, and she ended up running away to the military, leaving behind all the eldest daughter shield duties and trauma to her, which, boy that was a lot. And her little brother, her father’s favorite, she’s not anywhere near mature enough to confront, separate and acknowledge her feelings for said brother who is being raised to be exactly as detestable as the man that sired him. And what choice does Whitley have? He was so young, and he was left behind. Its safe to say she wants a normal, loving life. Desperately. It’s easy to see it in things like Zwei, how over the moon she was for the little guy, and in winter, how she comes to idolize her and seeks her approval over anyone’s. This girl is STARVED for affection.

With beacon being her chance to spread her wings a bit, it’s also natural to see that she would be interested in pursuing a romantic relationship, at her own pace. It’s no wonder that at first early volumes Weiss didn’t like Jaune-she doubtlessly dealt with the bravado of a dozen boys trying to gain her favor because of her status and wealth. Additionally, jaunes impostor syndrome ultimately bled into his interactions with Weiss as well, he was faking it all in beacon, what’s a little more to impress a girl? it’s not like shed like the real him, right? This and Weiss’s self-image of needing to be this pristine, perfect princess is also a huge factor as to why white knight wouldn’t work at beacon, its simply too early, Jaunes attempts were at the height of both their respective character flaws/failings. There's no WAY it would have worked.

Which is why she gravitated to Neptune, I think it was her trying to get out of her shell and try new things, yet still in the trappings of the “need to be pristine” persona. Thinking about this, seriously, yeah of course she was going to get a crush on Neptune, it’s what she knows except she’s convinced herself that its “different”. This suave guy that’s well dressed, knows what a perfect contrast to jaune doing is. It’s not like Weiss really knows Neptune but she thinks she does, at this stage of her life she’s really ruled by her first impressions of people (Ruby Pyrrha Jaune are some examples)

Back to the dance, an entire night worrying, feeling all sorts of emotions after what is likely the first time she opened herself up to a relationship and she’s been left behind. But of course, she must act like it doesn’t bother her, she’s Weiss Schnee, she’s above little insecurities like that. And along comes Jaune with the dress, she saw him make himself the fool in front of everyone laughing along it was a good time for all.

Lo and behold! When Neptune came back she started asking what happened, that she thought he was too embarrassed, Neptune says that it was Jaune that convinced him to come. The boy she’s rejected time and time again, the one she likely thought no more than a nuisance at best, took it all in stride and made sure she had a good time, he definitively proved himself as someone trustworthy, especially with how “an arc never goes back on their word”. It’s no wonder that at this point many people think it could potentially work out, they both have matured, and Weiss finally sees that while Jaunes attempts were annoying and grating, they were always sincere, especially when you consider he had no idea the significance of the Schnee name before.

This is all a solid foundation to work with, they’ve matured a decent bit from where they started, both now able to see each other in a better light. Its not that they are head over heels for each other, but you can’t deny this works as a solid foundation for a possible relationship down the line

But of course, it’s not all gumdrops and Weiss-cream

FALL OF BEACON Moving onto the fall of beacon the first person jaune calls for help with Pyrrha is Weiss, in his most vulnerable moment he reaches out to her, now could this just be how the writers decided the order of things would go? Sure.  But consider this

I think he believes Weiss to be the best among them, someone who he sees as levelheaded and skilled to do something about it, since her semblance is the most flexible one of them all. If theres anyone who can do something, it’s her.

POST FALL  

They’ve both are in their lowest point, truly where the new versions of themselves are put to the test, and oddly enough, both share a parallel with returning home both wouldn’t choose to go home, but one of them was forced to. Jaune decided to persist with his dream and followed through to help his friends, his loyalty is almost second to none: he was a hack, a fraud, no business being amongst his heroes, a dork at the best of times. The easiest thing he could do is return home. No one would blame him. But he didn’t.

Jaune is loyal, astoundingly so, he has a family, with 7 sisters, he could have gone home after the fall, no one would have thought twice about it. Instead, he stuck through, traveling for weeks through monster infested terrains for his friends with whatever they needed. At this point has been steadily improving, no longer just some punk that doesn’t know what they are doing.

(mans stopped a whole ass charging man-devil-horse -hybrid dead in its tracks, noodle boy has been promoted to Pasta with Beef) And yet...he’s still very affected by the fall, mourning. In the battle of haven he was recklessly pursuing cinder, he’s someone with a lot of pain, someone who clearly doesn’t think themselves as important as those that surround him.

Meanwhile everything in the Schnee manor is shit show, Weiss is back in the middle of her family dynamic, looking to be free once more. She ends up struck by her father, disowned and generally treated with scorn, then she gets kidnapped by bandits afterwards. Theres really nothing Weiss wouldn’t do to find real family. By the time they are all reunited, I think she will notice just how the members of Team J_NR are people to trust and confine in.  Knowing what we know, Nora and Ren  didn’t really have anywhere else to go given they are orphans, so it would make sense for them to follow ruby to haven. But once again, Jaune demonstrates true courage and chooses the hard path. That means something for sure. Skipping to the haven fight again, this is another heavy moment, particularly when Weiss-

Well, Weiss was nothing less than struck down. And what is Jaunes immediate response? The only one he seems to have, to be there, no matter what. And in that instinct to protect, in caring for others, he unlocks the mystery of his soul.

At his core he only wants to help, a selfless desire so strong, so literally suffused in his very essence of being that it actively manifests itself in the world.   

You can’t tell me this means nothing to her. For a girl that has lived in a stifling coffin of a home. To find someone who’s so selfless and caring, despite never once needing to. Finding someone that manages to see her for who she is, who cares for their happiness without asking anything in return. Someone whom despite all they have suffered, still pushes forward to be there every moment they can in service for others. Someone who reached out with their very soul to halt the hand of death, fueling your own to give you the strength to come back, to your loved ones, never once even mentioning it. Is it any real surprise that love is in the cards for these two?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What makes this ship work is all the post beacon stuff, they both have suffered terrible losses yet they still need to push through, they both have matured and see each other for what they really are,  they can both look back on their beacon days and reminisce, laugh about how stupid they were, mourn lost friends and in that, they find comfort.  They have both been given the space to improve and be better, and it’s not hard to see the qualities they would see in each other Jaune is a loyal and loving person, he knows about family and would sooner suffer ills before ever breaking a promise, someone who WILL love someone to the fullest. Weiss may be cold, but she’s a sweetheart under all that, she’s been hurt and desperately wants to love and be loved, something jaune wouldn’t hesitate to do.

[ladymarycrawley]

Love has no boundaries - Mason Mount

Request: you are not english and you always felt like one of masons friends don’t quite like you and you don’t even know why bc you have always been respectful and nice. He always mocks the way you talk and is rude to you and puts you down every time you meet. You always have been insecure and shy and it really affects you. During a night out, he always interrupts you and then started to insult you. Mason gets so angry like you have never seen him before and argues with him bc nobody disrespects or shits on you. You are it for him and he knows that you are not like the other girls and he would do everything in his power to protect you and your relationship.

Warning: some foul words but not much, hints of racism

Tag list: @masonxomount @chelsealover @johnstonesfc @prideofpd @masterclassbaby​

Living in a foreign country isn’t always something easy: moving in a new house, starting a new job, meeting new people, dealing with different customs and traditions from the ones you had been following your whole life were some of the most challenging things you had to deal with once you decided London would have become your new home.

The enthusiasm new experiences usually bring along soon turned into peer pressure, something so unbearable it was slowly tearing you apart. As a gift sent straight from heaven to help you, Mason came into your life, soon becoming a blessing to you. He proved himself to be a loving and kind guy, always ready to support you even through your darkest moments and you couldn’t be thankful enough for that.

Given his excitement for your relationship he introduced you to his friends and family rather soon and everyone appeared to be so loving and welcoming towards you. Except for one of his friends: there was this ash blonde haired lad, his name was Ryan, who wasn’t exactly happy with you being in Mason’s life and he didn’t have the slightest intention to hide his feelings or to fake it just to please you.

Ryan was there sneering every time you would open your mouth to say something, not in an amused way though, it was more like he was mocking you. For what? Not for something you said but for how you said it. The truth was that he couldn't stand your accent and apparently anything you would say or do.

The first times you would hang out with him and Mason's other friends you tried to convince yourself it was something your tricky mind was pushing you to dwell on but then you realised it wasn’t your fault at all. 

Most nights would end up with you crying yourself to sleep, thinking about that evil look in his eyes and how his glance would square you up and down as if to judge you and state his superiority over you.

Mason didn't have to know anything about it, they were his friends after all and you didn't want him to "break up" with them only because of you. You weren’t the kind of girl who wanted her boyfriend all to herself, alienating him from the rest of the world.

Every time he would notice your eyes glistening with tears, therefore asking you what was wrong, you would always answer, "nothing, I'm just tired" and tried to kiss his worry away.

One night though, when you had just gotten back home from a night out where he found you particularly sexy in your little black dress and wanted nothing but to make you his, you ended up spitting the truth out, unable to keep your pain secret anymore. 

The way he couldn't keep his hand away from your thighs added to his sexy, raspy voice whispering sweet nothings in your ear as well as what his dirty mind was thinking about doing to you, helped to keep your worries at bay for a while.

The moment he would sit you on the bed as his lips would kiss his way down your body, starting from your already swollen lips due to all the kisses you shared on your way home, to your exposed neck, his favourite spot to kiss and nip at, you freezed in your place as the images of Ryan laughing at you and imitating your accent popped up in your mind.

You soon turned into some frozen creature that couldn't be woken up not even by her lover's touch.

Mason kneeled down before you to slip your black tights off you, his lips kissing your skin relentlessly. His kisses would have the same effect on your skin as a burning flame would against some ice cubes, his passion and love would always make you melt.

The images playing on your mind of that dick of his friend mocking you pushed bitter but silent tears out of your eyes. Sleeping with your boyfriend was the last thing you had on your mind that night but at the same time you seemed unable to stop him. Your fingers were still tangled in his short hair as your blank stare was focused on the dark wall in front of you, precisely on the shadow your sitting figure was casting on it.

Your mind was so focused on that guy causing you so much pain that you didn’t even notice Mason stopped what he was doing. When you somehow got out of your trance and your eyes met Mason's, you shook your head with a puzzled expression, as if that unexpected gesture just brought you back to reality.

"Why did you stop?"

"Cause you clearly aren't in the right mindset" The slight tone of annoyance you perceived in his voice made your nervousness grow even higher, the loud sigh leaving your lips a clear signal of it.

The young man you were so fond of stood there, kneeled behind you, his arms crossed over your thighs upholding his chin as his glance was set on your worried features trying to guess the reason behind it.

"What's wrong?"

Another sigh echoed in the room making him look even more confused.

“Am I an embarrassing person? Like are you ashamed of me when we go out?”

To Mason the question you just asked made no sense at all, it was so out of the blue to him he didn’t know what answer.

“What? No…where did you get that from?” The puzzled look on his face was so endearing you wanted to kiss him in order to erase it and get that wonderful smile of his back but that would've been inappropriate. 

The secret was becoming so heavy in your chest you just needed to let it out.

You lowered your gaze on your naked thighs and started fiddling with your fingers nervously.

“There’s…I know there are people that find me embarrassing, that laugh at me for my accent, because my english isn’t perfect and love making me feel so bad about myself”

“Who are you talking about?”

Finally you raised your look to meet Mason’s breathless chocolate brown eyes and found the strength to say that name out loud.

“Ryan”

“Ryan makes fun of you?” The Chelsea midfielder’s tone was rather surprised as he never took notice of the way his friend was disrespecting you.

“Yeah…I didn’t wanna tell you at first cause I don't want you to stop seeing your friends because of me or something like that…” You got up as you needed to stretch your legs, taking a walk around the room. Mason’s eyes never stopped following your body moving back and forth, taking a seat on the bed as his mind was busy processing all the information you were providing him with, information he’d have preferred ignoring.

“...I also thought it was my fault at first but I didn't nothing wrong other than being nice to him”

“Well, if someone’s a dick is not your fault” He muttered tapping his forefinger against his chin.

“I’ve been feeling so wrong, Mase. I feel so wrong”

“You shouldn’t be. You aren’t wrong at all” After a brief, meaningful pause, Mason opened his arms for you “Come here” 

You smiled and threw yourself in his arms as it was literally impossible resisting him. He loved cuddling you and feeling you close, especially at times when he saw you were struggling.

As soon as your body met his, your tensed muscles relaxed and your back started shaking with sobs.

“Shh, that’s okay, babe. I’m here. No one can make you feel like that, no one” He stressed the last two words before pressing a long, lingering kiss against your scalp. “You could never be embarrassing, I’m the only one who can make fun of your accent, okay??” He tried to diffuse the tension with that final joke and succeeded in it, as you let out a soft giggle.

“But you never asked for my permission either”

“I’m your boyfriend, I don’t have to ask for your permission” He playfully rolled your eyes at your witty remark, pushing you down on the bed.

“Well this makes you lose points as the perfect boyfriend. You should always ask for consent”

The English footballer laid his body down on this mattress beside yours, pinning his upper body on his elbows so he could look right into your eyes that, as they always say are the mirror of a human’s soul and in your case it was rightfully so.

He hated being one of those basic people complimenting conventional features as his lover’s eyes but those were really the first thing he fell in love with the moment he saw you.

A lopsided smile appeared on his face as he drew his fingertips closer to your face, to graze his thumb on the spot between your eyebrows. He did it in a way so soft it felt as if he was giving you a facial massage.

“I’d never do something that could hurt you physically or mentally. You should feel free to stop whenever I’m doing something you don’t feel comfortable doing”

Mason sounded genuinely worried, as someone who really wanted what was best for you. You smiled really grateful for the marvelous man he was, he was perfect.

“I will, I trust you with my life so I know you’ll never harm me on purpose”

His thumb moved downwards to caress the side of your eyes before he leaned forward to let the tip of his nose touch your own, therefore giving you the possibility to cancel the short distance between you two and kiss him sweetly on the lips.

His reassuring words and gestures soon changed your mood and you made no opposition to his wandering hands down your body. After all, you didn’t need anything more than to be loved by one of the few people on Earth that wanted nothing but the best for you…

The next day Mason set a night out with the lads purposefully to check on Ryan’s behaviour towards you, even though you wanted to avoid it at first to keep you away from that toxic guy as long as possible.

“You have nothing to worry about, I won’t leave your side tonight, I just want to see how far he goes”

“You’re lucky I love you” You huffed as you applied the finishing make-up touches before the full-length mirror in Mason’s bedroom.

“I know, I’m the luckiest” He pressed his hand against your belly, in a hug from behind, and kissed your cheek before taking his car keys.

That night, apart from his best friend Woody there were also Ben and Reece who were clearly there to give you and him their support since they loved him not only as a teammate but as a friend too and loved you too, as someone who had been beneficial for his life.

It started off quietly with Mason chatting quietly with you and his pals, always making sure you were at ease.

The moment he was waiting for happened all of a sudden, when Ryan started mocking you for some slang words you didn’t grab the full meaning of yet.

“After all these months here you haven’t learnt proper London slang yet? Oh man, she’s a lost cause” He chuckled, holding his hand in his hands in a gesture that conveyed desperation, as if you weren’t smart enough to learn those things in his opinion.

“Well I know more words then when I did when I arrived here so that’s a good start”

Ryan shook his head and emitted some high pitched noises that should have reminded the presents of your voice.

“Hey Ryan, why don't you talk a bit in her language? You always say you’re good with your tongue” Ben remarked, sipping on his drink.

“Hahah well yeah but not in that sense, if you know what I mean” He wiggled his eyes and then looked at you once again “Well Mase, I hope Y/N’s tongue is better than mine so you don’t have to listen to her talking as much in bed”

That was the last straw: you blurted your eyes out in shock and feared Mason could lose his control and do something he would have regretted so you instinctively gripped his arm to block him but he wouldn’t have backed down.

“Why do you hate her so much? Did she do something wrong? Because you have been treating her poorly since the moment I introduced her and she doesn’t deserve that, so stop being a prick”

"What the fuck man? I'm just having fun, she's so funny to me"

"Do you even hear yourself? She's funny to you? She's a real person with real feelings and she deserves respect"

"Yeah only because she's with you now otherwise you'd have found it funny too…chill out bro"

“Oh man you’re so dumb”

“Why do you only care about how I’m treating her now? Did she come crying to you?”

“Because I’ve had enough of your lack of respect, she makes me happy and she’s always nice with anyone so she doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment...you should leave if you don’t think about changing your behaviour”

“You can’t decide if I have to leave or not”

"Leave now and stip shitting on her, did you hear me?!" Mason was getting really angry, like you never saw him and it was getting a bit scaring, to be honest.

“I can leave if -”

“No, Y/N, you stay here. He’s the one who has to leave since he’s too childish to understand he’s not welcomed here”

After having seen everyone in the group was against him, Ryan huffed, still convinced he didn’t do anything, did nothing wrong, and finally left. Needless to stay what happened shocked you a bit, as you didn’t want to be the reason behind any drama but Mason had enough, nobody should have disrespected you like that and he wasn’t there to take anyone’s shit. You were too important for him to see you cry over some stupid guy’s not-so-funny jokes.

"You still have to teach me something in your language"

"What do you wanna know?"

"How do you say I love you?"

"[insert how you say it in your mothertongue]"

 Mason smiles and tries to repeat the sentence after you, in the attempt to sound as close to the right pronunciation as possible. 

"How was it?"

"Good! You'll speak better than me soon" You giggled, wrapping your arms around his middle. You were nothing but grateful for that man who never failed to make you feel perfect.

He gently raised his fingers closer to your face to brush the corner of your eyes and tuck your hair behind your hair.

"I love you so much" He breathed out against your forehead, pressing a kiss right where his hot breath just touched you.

You closed your eyes pretty satisfied with the life you were living, how could you not be with a man like that by your side?

[scientia-rex]

Something about how bizarre it is that I now find myself once again trusting images in books—magazines—things that I know were vetted by humans, photo shoots set up by them, Anna Wintour or the editor of House Beautiful. Those images have provenance. We know where they came from. Unlike images online, which slip past and away from us, easy come and easy go, and can be so convincing that we miss entirely that this is AI, this is a fake, this is a replica, like the tribal god figurines that smug white people bring to Antiques Roadshow and then stand there looking progressively more crestfallen as the expert explains why perhaps buying this for ten dollars from a guy at a stop light was not enough provenance.

[dreamalittledreamofcopia]

rain -- cardinal copia x reader

the weather was gloomy, rainy, and cool today in northeastern illinois and it was the perfect condition to write about warm and cozy cuddles with copia ☺️

this takes place during his cardinal days because i cannot get enough of the sweet gentle careful copia // 2.7k words, slightly nsfw banter

The forecast called for days worths of showers after a time of relative drought. The abbey was shrouded in overcast skies and the windows reflected the rain drops on the marble walls. The consistent pitter patter of rain, the constant howl of the wind, and the occasional clap of thunder and flash of lightning dominated what could be heard in the totality of the ministry. Even the click of your heels against the tile floor was hidden within the sounds of the storm.

You made your way down the halls of the ministry, smiling and waving at some of your acquaintances as you passed by. You had your reasons for joining the ministry, for leaving your old religion behind and following the Dark One. You didn't know quite what you expected, but you certainly did not expect an interesting partnership to develop between you and the Cardinal. If people wanted to meet with the Cardinal, they knew they had to speak to you, which is why you were going to his office today. Sister Imperator had blessed you with the task of showing Copia how to access the ministry’s shared hard drive, both because she didn’t want to and because she knew he would receive the tutorial better if it came from you.

You gently knocked on the door to Copia’s office, not wanting to disturb him despite the task you were given. After a few beats, you heard his chair move and his boots tread across the floor beneath the rain before the door slowly creaked open. Copia looked out above your head before turning to look down at you, a way he loved to tease you about your height. Before a word was exchanged, you huffed and crossed your arms in front of your chest. Copia was validated in your response and smirked, his mismatched eyes shining down affectionately at you.

“Ah, sorella,” he almost cooed, his voice thick with relief, as if he was expecting someone else, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

You blushed and bit the inside of your cheek to hide a smile, “Sister Imperator wants me to show you something on the ministry I Drive.” You knew your words meant nothing to him, this was confirmed by the gentle cock of his eyebrow and his confused expression. But he did enjoy listening to the sound of your voice. “Don’t worry,” you began to reassure him, “it’s easy computer stuff, you’ll get it.”

Copia let out a long sigh, as if he didn’t quite believe you, but stepped aside to let you into his office regardless. He was secretly happy to get to spend time with you, an observation you were able to glean from the rising blush on the shells of his ears. You smiled sweetly up at Copia as you walked past him into his office. He caught a whiff of your scent as you glided below him and he sighed softly, imaging what your hair looked like beneath your habit. He shut the door gently and turned towards you, “So this computer thing…?”

You nodded and began to walk towards his desk, beconing him to follow. He obliges, sitting down in his chair whilst looking up at you like he was a child waiting for his parent to do their math homework. You shook your head, amazed at how the Cardinal could be so technoligcally inept at his age. Maybe it was the years of seclusions in the Italian Alps, or his aversion form the general marketplace of ideas that kept him offline. Either way, in his new role he would have to learn how to work a computer. That was unavoidable, and you had spent hours attempting to convince Copia of this. At this point you were genuinely unsure if his ineptitude was real or if he was faking it just to have a reason to keep you around.

You leaned over his shoulder to watch his computer screen as he logged on. “Wow, Cardinal! Look how good you’re getting.” you teased, your voice dripping with sarcasm and fake praise.

“Grazie, mio cara.” Copia looked up at you with a smug look on his face. He laid his hand on your bicep and ran his thumb along your arm. “There’s better things we could be doing than fussing with a computer, eh?”

You rolled your eyes and grumbled at the growing blush on your cheeks. “No, Copia, I’m teaching you how to get to the goddamn I Drive.”

“Okie dokie,” he said, a huff in his voice as he moved his hand from your arm and turned back to his computer. You leaned over his shoulder and instructed him, your cheek radiating by his, and he found it difficult to follow your guide as your sweet smelling voice wofted across his face.

Your relationship with the Cardinal was funny, to say the least. You were the only one in the abbey who could keep him on track and focussed on the task at hand. Professionally, you complimented him well. His productivity had gone up since you two had gotten closer, and you certainly made his transition and settlement into the role of Cardinal easier. There was talk of appointing you as his official assistant, as of now you remained in your role as a Sister of Sin with no changes sanctioned by Sister Imperator or Papa Nihil. It didn’t quite matter to you as you resolved to stay faithful to the Cardinal no matter status or position in the ministry. You saw how much he needed you after your first few days of randomly helping him, and it was beyond you how anyone could do the job alone.

Personally, you complimented him well. He enjoyed being around you. You had quickly became his best friend and your presence always put him at ease. He didn’t know if it was your aura or your personality or what, but something drew him to you and he began to depend on you to get through his day. He thought about you at night, when the bathroom was steamed over him his shower and he leaned his flustered head against the wall, low groans mixing with the sound of water falling down the drain. Unbeknownst to you, the Ghouls had a bet going to see when Copia would crack and confess his all-consuming feelings for you.

The dynamic and banter you shared wasn’t just confined to his office, but people were beginning to take notice all across the abbey. The lost look in his eyes when he was without you, the gentle smile that came over him when you sought him out. You made him feel special, adequate, whole, and the adroation that was born out of that was evident in the air around him.

You noticed it. You basked in it, reveled in it. His reliance on you made you feel important. You nursed the fallacy in your head that the papacy would fall apart without you, but the truth was it very well could have. Imperator knew that, so she avoided discussing the potential romance with you completely. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, and she didn’t want to know what was going on until it became a problem. You assumed that Imperator was assuming that you and Copia were together and you never bothered to correct her. Nothing ever did happen though, despite a few close encounters, but it was nothing that a few cold showers couldn’t fix.

After a frustrating twenty minutes, Copia knew how to access files in the drive that was shared on all of the ministry computers. He could access anything he had to, and he promised you that he would review the documents Imperator wanted him to see in the first place. He tucked his nose into your hair and kissed your cheek in thanks, a gesture that always left him satisfied and left you flustered.

Today was no different. You rolled your eyes to act like that little kiss didn’t mean anything to you, but you knew Copia knew you well enough to tell it was an act.

“Sorella,” he spoke softly, turning in his swivel chair to face you, “the rain’s reflection in your eyes is absolutely captivating.”

“Thank you, Cardinal,” you blushed as he moved to hold both of your hands in his, “you’re far too kind.” That was your default response to his flirtation and compliments. It drove him quickly.

“Do you think the abbey is cold today?” Copia tilted his head to the side and kept smiling, soft and sweet. “I think it’s cold today.”

Copia’s office had a few giant windows on the same wall, all of them letting in a tender glow from the rain and allowing the cooler air seep in through the glass. The pseudo wind did chill you to your bones and you moved to sit on the Cardinal’s desk to gaze down into his pretty face.

“I think the rain is throwing off the heat, yes. Why?”

Copia wore a mischevious grin on his face as he lazily wrapped his arms around your waist. “You’ve helped me so much today, I should give you something in return, yes?”

“Cardinal, no, whatever it is no.”

“Oh, come on now. Trust me,” he cooed as he stood up, keeping his arms around you. He was considerably taller and he looked down at you affectionately, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. “Fidati di me.”

Hearing him speak Italian always gave you butterflies and you couldn’t help the smile that lit up your face. You kicked your feet gently as they dangled off the desk, humming softly as you pretended to consider his offer. “Trust you with what?”

“Let me hold you,” he spoke softer, lower, as he leaned down to your level more. His voice and his breath fanned across the apple of your cheeks, causing your face to flush adorably. Copia smiled as he contineud to speak to you. “Let me wrap you up and hold you in my arms. Holding you is the only thought that puts me to sleep at night, and there’s nothing better than cuddles and a nap in the rain.”

“You’re very wise, Cardinal,” you smiled, tilting your chin up to meet his precious gaze.

He grinned, gently laying his hand on your cheek. You leaned into his touch and the movement melted his heart. “I’m the Cardinal for a reason, cara.”

“I suppose so,” you smiled and laid your hands on his arms.

“Let’s take this veil off, yeah? Cuddling wont be very comfortable in that.” He mused as he gently moved his hand beneath your veil and into your hair. You sighed softly and shut your eyes as he gave your scalp a gentle massage your with the pads of his fingers. After a moment he slipped the bobby pins out of your hair and laid your veil on his desk, smiling as he watched your hair settle around your face. He ran his fingers through it for a moment and you smiled sweetly up at him when he tucked it behind your ear. He was still too shy to kiss your lips but he wasn’t too shy to gaze down at yours longingly, causing your cheeks to burn.

Copia grinned wickedly and picked you up, holding onto your bottom as you squeaked and wrapped your legs around his waist. You felt his lips turn up into a smirk seconds before his hand squeezed and smacked your ass.

“Cardinal!” Your voice was somewhere between a shriek and a laugh as you started to wiggle, trying to break free of his grasp.

“Oh please, I’ve read your mass notes,” Copia smirks, nuzzling his nose into your cheek, “So che lo volevi, so che mi vuoi.”

You shuddered and held onto his shoulders as he carried you over to the couch in his office, sitting down with you still on his lap. The friction between your bodies was delicious but Copia’s goal right now wasn’t sex, it was cuddles, no matter how much his body betrayed his mind. He swivled your hips off of his as quickly as he could, covering his groin and his hips with a blanket, but the damage was already done. You knew what was happening and your cheeks burned at the thought.

His hands moved to your shoulders as he laid down on his back, turning his hips to kick his feet up on the couch, cradling you with him as he held you flush against his side. You were tucked between the Cardinal and the back of the couch, your head nestled between a throw pillow and his shoulder. He sighed, probably exagerating the relief he felt when he laid back.

You looked up at him shyly but smiled after a moment, watching the reflection of the rain on his face. His eyes met yours and they were rain soaked and beautiful, the palor of his skin turning blue in the light from the window.

Copia turned towards you gently, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. “Oh, I’ve made a mark,” he chuckled absentmindedly as he swiped his thumb across your skin to pick up the black lipstick left behind. You giggled and rolled your eyes playfully, your brain a flustered mess of electicity and lust and affection and passion.

“What if Imperator finds us like this?” You asked softly, reaching to take your black heels off and dropping them behind the couch. When you thought it was safe, you intertwined your stockinged legs with his, and arm wrapped behind you and his hand subconsiously moved to rest on your thigh.

“She wont. And if she does she has nothing to complain about, yes?” He stroked your cheek with his other hand. Nothing yet, at least.

You just smiled and nodded, leaning into his touch. “Okay, I trust you. Even though I know I shouldn’t.”

Copia chuckled, a low rumble that complimented the thunder outside. In a quick moment of remembrance, he took off his hat and placed it haphazardly on your head before turning to look up at the ceiling. He kept his eyes on you and smiled as your cheeks changed color to match the fabric hue. “Sei così carino,” he cooed softly, thankful that you let him speak his mother tongue to you.

You just smiled like Mona Lisa and nudged your nose against his cheek before kissing it softly. The Cardinal hummed happily and shut his eyes, leaning his head towards yours as you settled in besides him.

The warmth that radiated from Copia was trapped in by the blanket, and your body relaxed as you soaked in it. His gentle hands never stopped moving completly, either he would be rubbing your back with his palm or dragging his thumb across your collar bone as his fingers rested on your shoulders. He would find tiny ways to remind himself that he was still holding you, a preoccupation that continued even as little snores rose up from both of your lips.

Loving him would be so easy, you thought.

A few hours later Copia was consious enough to return to sentience. His eyes darted around the room but he was careful to keep his body and his head still as not to wake you. His hat had fallen onto his stomach, and there were some new papers and files littering his desk, evidence that Imperator did stop by, but his hypothesis was correct. For the time being, as long as you kept the Cardinal on task and continually adjusting to his unfamilliar postition, she would maintain that she had no idea what was brewing (or more affectionately, blossoming) between the fresh Cardinal and the Sister of Sin.

Copia stroked your cheek softly and smiled at the way your cheek was jello beneath his touch. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on the corner of your lips, close enough to feel your mouth against his but still far enough to leave the title of First Kiss open for the taking.

“Amore mio, sei il mio angelo,” he whispered before snuggling your sleeping form a little closer and tucking his face into the crook of your neck.

Outside, rain was still falling. The room was still cold and sounds of droplets hitting the abbey and thunder echoed off the walls. After one particularly loud boom, you stirred, clinging to the Cardinal for safety. He cooed your name into your ear, turning onto his side and pulling you closer. He brought the blanket closer to your heads, rubbing his cheek against yours as he protected you from the storm raging outside.

[ckret2]

This design is so good!!! Would love to know more about Mabel’s interactions with Bill!

(Footnotes: "wtf is that purple thing Bill's wearing?" The first thing he could find. "Mabel has an earring?" Yeah that's how I've decided to show she's 13. Also her braces are a slightly different color because I got to choose new rubber bands colors whenever I went to the orthodontist. "What's the joke with Xanthe?" It's an Ancient Greek name that means golden/yellow. "Is this why Bill's fake name around outsiders is 'Goldie'?" Yes. It's short for Goldilocks.)

They get along like a house on fire. They get along so well it makes everyone else kind of nervous. They get along so well the others suspect Bill's faking it to manipulate Mabel.

In truth, they actually do get along like that. If the inside of Stan's mind looks like a black-and-white Escher painting and the inside of Ford's mind looks like a somber Kubrick movie and the inside of Dipper's mind looks a lot like reality, then the inside of Mabel's mind looks like a collaboration between Hieronymus Bosch and Lisa Frank—and wouldn't you know, the inside of Bill's looks a lot alike. Neon DayGlo chaotic colorful anarchy.

They're similar enough that if everyone in the shack takes a random guess at what it is Bill wants, Mabel's guess is usually closest to the mark—and because of that, he gravitates more toward her, which gives her more practice making sense of him, which quickly turns her into the household Bill expert.

Add to that, when Bill's not being creepy, Mabel's the most willing to help him with not-bad not-evil things. And as the local arts & crafts specialist she's the most qualified to help with his acute self-image issues. It sounds fun!!!

Bill won't talk about (or acknowledge) his feelings unless he's hit an explosive boil-over point; but inwardly, privately, he's raw and lonely and desperately grateful for someone who's on the same wavelength as him and who's willing, in a tiny way, to help fix his body.

He's also too alien to recognize (or care) that Mabel's efforts are straight up ridiculous.

For all their unexpected and frightening similarities, the main difference between Bill and Mabel is that Mabel's idea of a good time ends when real harm to other people begins—but that only applies when she notices the harm. Bill only half comprehends that she has limits at all, and when he does understand, he assumes her limits are like his: they're driven by fear of external consequences rather than an internal moral compass.

He thinks with enough time he could free her from those fears. She doesn't mind recklessly shooting a fireworks rocket if she doesn't notice the broken bones and bloody noses it leaves behind; so the next step is to teach her to notice them without fearing she'll get in trouble for it; and from there he'll teach her to enjoy the bones snapping as much as she enjoys the rocket exploding, just like he does. She's got a whole world of bright, colorful, sparkly mayhem to enjoy once she stops worrying about the consequences!

But until he can teach her to appreciate a cherry bomb, he can deign to appreciate a glitter bomb. They're both overstimulatory assaults on the senses, and that's great.

Mabel, meanwhile, is convinced she's well on the way to reforming Bill into a Fun Big Sister/Brother.

(Starting from this post, I'm gonna put all my human Bill AU posts under the tag #bill goldilocks cipher. Easy to remember—but you can bet nobody else is using that tag.)

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day Fifteen - Prompt: Wind @rosekiller-microfic

March Daily Series - 908 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

When Nine Inch Nails’s Closer began, Evan lifted to his feet and strode across the shop to the back door. He looked straight ahead and refused to allow himself a single glance toward Frank’s stall. It was too much.

How am I supposed to function like this?

The moment he stepped outside, he inhaled deeply and fell back against the brick wall. He had never been more grateful for his nicotine addiction. It was an easy excuse to leave any room at any time. His hands shook as he fought with his cigarette pack. Eventually, he slapped the bottom of the pack on the railing and fit the tallest one between his lips. Watching the flame dance in the wind as he lit the end was oddly soothing.

Evan took one long drag after another and emptied his mind completely. When the first one burned down to the filter, he pulled out another and repeated the same steps. He was in control. He could keep smoking, smash it into the ashtray, or stare at it until the cherry burned the whole thing to ash. It was entirely up to him.

Pull yourself together.

His sister’s words echoed in his head and prompted him to pull out his mobile. Pandora would set him right again. She was one of the only people who could. Evan pressed “Facetime” and waited while the phone rang.

“Hey Ev,” she said distractedly.

He waited until she glanced at the screen. From the tiny image that showed his face, Evan could see that he looked…broken. It was an apt descriptor for his entire life, if he was honest.

Pandora frowned and leaned closer. “What’s wrong with your face?”

Evan scoffed, “Nothing. I’m just peachy.”

“Are you still moping around about your ex? Evan, you have to pull–”

“– myself together? Yeah, I know.” He shook his head and looked away. “I’m trying. I went back to work yesterday.”

Pandora arched an eyebrow sceptically. “And? That didn’t help?”

“It did.”

“But not now?”

“He showed up today,” Evan said flatly. “Frank’s working on him.”

His sister scrunched up her nose, then sighed. “What a prick.”

“Technically, this was his favourite shop first,” he admitted. Evan set the mobile on the railing and leaned back against the wall again. “Remind me why I should hate him.”

Pandora softened a bit as she settled against a sofa of some kind. “He cheated and gaslit Reg, stalked me in Wales, and lied to you. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s more than enough.”

“You don’t sound convinced, Ev, and I shouldn’t have to convince you. Every single one of those reasons is a massive red flag, but all three? He might as well have a fog horn attached to his head with one of those flashing lights.” She gestured over her head and imitated the sound. “Stay away! Sanity unclear.”

Evan’s lips quirked, but he couldn’t force a smile. She wouldn’t believe it anyway. Pandora always knew when it was fake and would call him on it.

“Work on any interesting designs?” she said, abruptly changing the subject.

“Yes, actually. A full back piece of a massive dragon drawn by a kid with mad art skills today and a rolling waves piece yesterday that turned out amazing.”

“Send me a picture when you have a minute. I want to see that dragon.”

He nodded and flicked the ash off of his cigarette. “Is Wales still treating you well?”

“Yes!” Pandora gushed as her face lit up. Suddenly, she reached off-screen and reappeared with Regulus’s flustered face. “Reg, tell my brother what a good friend he is.”

Regulus blinked rapidly at him for a moment, then glanced at Pandora in open bewilderment. “Of course he is. What are you going on about?”

“See?”

Evan took a long haul off of his cigarette, then smashed it into the ashtray. He didn’t let the smoke escape until his lungs ached. It was entirely too difficult to meet Regulus’s gaze right now. He hated himself for it, but he couldn’t help the jealousy that bubbled up in his chest at the sight of him.

Why does he get to be happy?

“Are you alright, Evan?” Regulus asked, taking hold of the mobile. “Your face is a bit swollen.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Haven’t slept well. That’s all.”

Pandora leaned in and pointed at the screen. “Why didn’t you say so? There’s some lavender oil in my room. Use it right before bed.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Silence filled the space between him and the phone. Regulus chewed the inside of his cheek as he studied him. The move twisted his mouth up to one side while his jaw worked. Pandora rested her chin on Regulus’s shoulder, but was looking off-screen. Evan dropped his chin to his chest and crossed his arms defensively.

As usual, Pandora lost her patience first. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as she warned, “Evan, don’t. You will regret it.”

“I already do.”

Regulus cleared his throat, then ruffled his hair anxiously. “This is about Barty, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is,” Pandora snarked, glaring pointedly at Evan.

Evan swallowed hard when Regulus clenched his jaw for a moment. His expression cleared quickly, but not fast enough. That tiny slip belied a mountain of hidden thoughts and feelings. Regulus was the master of masking, after all.

That’s why. Regulus shouldn’t have to relive that shite every time he hears Barty’s name.

Next Part>>>

[sourbinnie]

do you miss me? | changbin x gn!reader angst | does she miss you too?

there was no denying she was a beauty. she's so bright, bubbly and so full of comfort, it's hard not to fall for her. i feel sorry for her and at the same time not at all. it was a weird feeling that my chest was mixing whenever i saw them together. he looked so happy with her yet it was all fake (or maybe it was all fake when he was with me?). he's gotta date her because that's what their contracts say, he's gotta be with her, love her, cherish her, be seen with her, fuck her and just overall have her in every way, shape or form. 

it was no lie that the biggest magazines said they were the "it" couple. the one to watch out for as they were both rising stars in the industry. different companies that came together to be even bigger just by having two people date in front of the cameras was pathetic really but who i was to discuss these decisions? i knew nothing. hidden like a secret that nobody wanted to keep, i found myself in my apartment that i shared with him once again. wondering why he still kept me around and why he wasn't with her, maybe because he chose me first or maybe he just felt bad about leaving me. the angel and devil on my shoulder kept fighting about the worst of possibilities and i was just tired at this point. 

the most permanent news were going around that the new it girl group was dating the stray kids producer. i shut it off as i looked at the tv screen one last time to see that damn image of them kissing on the red carpet. it wasn't professional but it sure as hell looked convincing under all the facade that i was facing every single day. he didn't even come home lately, he just stayed at the dorms because it was easier to not be seen going to an unknown apartment in the middle of the night. no messages would pop up, no calls would come in and no keys would jingle at the door.

it was almost as if i lived alone here and i was starting to get used to it. as if there was a break up that happened that i didn't take part in deciding. even now thinking of it, what would i even say? that i wanted to stay? he didn't want me and it showed. so much debate going on in my head, made me miss him walking in the apartment. a sense of stress washed over me as soon as i saw him. 

"i missed you." he said calmly and i sighed. even if it did make my heart beat faster, i knew it was a lie. i didn't want more pity in my life, it was enough with my friends, my family and his bandmates making sure that i was okay all the time after seeing what was going on.

"did you?" i asked bitterly. i wanted to cry but i wasn't going to, i was stronger than my tears this time as i kept my position clear. "we haven't talked in so long changbin".

"and i'm sorry about that but you know how it is with the comeback and-". as soon as i knew what he was gonna say, i cut him off

"and the new relationship, yeah i get it." i responded as i tried to keep my composure and remain as calm as i could even if it felt like the world fell apart 300 times whenever i heard him mention it.

"i didn't want this (y/n)! don't pin the blame on me." he said and i knew his temper, he quickly lost it whenever we fought but this time it felt like a lie. putting on a mask to make it seem like he truly did love me and he was just playing along because his company forced him to. i knew better than that (or did i?).

"yeah sure, like it's not easy to be with someone who looks like a model and has the most lovely personality. oh yeah your life is so hard." i backfired and crossed my arms as i looked at him, trying to think of how to answer that without getting too mad.

"what do you want me to do? it's already everywhere and if i tell our managers what i want, they won't take me fucking seriously." he said like it would make things better that he even considered telling them about it. they chose the one member in a relationship to do this, they were so fucking cruel that it just didn't matter did it? this was better for the band and it will never be good for us. even if they did get more fans, what was the point? well...

"just tell me the truth changbin, i don't want any more lies." crystal tears were now falling from my eyes as all composure and calm was lost. "do you love her?" i asked or mumbled as best as i could.

"what? you're seriously asking me if-" he saw me sobbing and then stopped what he was saying. he got closer to me but i just backed off, i didn't want to be touched by him anymore. "baby please. you know well that i-i only love you."

"answer my question please." i insisted and i just got the worst response i could ask for.

"i don't know. it's probably because i've spending a lot of time with her but that's it!" he said and i just shook my head in disbelief. of course he was falling, just like i said it was impossible not to fall for someone like her. everything resembled perfection itself and who was i to deny him how he felt? he needed to get out of here immediately. "but i do need you, i do want to be with you and as soon as this is over, i'm announcing you as my significant other like you deserve."

"i won't be here anymore." i said almost not believing myself as i got up with all the strength that i had in that moment 'cause all i wanted was to curl up into a ball and cry. "i can't wait for you anymore, especially if you're already falling for her."

"no, you know i can't let you walk away." he said as i was already on my way to our shared bedroom. i grabbed my suitcase and started throwing stuff in, not even looking what it was but knowing most of it was mine. "don't do this, we fucking said forever and now you're throwing it away?"

"so now it's my fault huh? tell me if you saw me kissing, holding hands, hugging, fucking another guy would you like it? if i told you i was falling for him would you stay?" i asked knowing the answer and being met by complete silence. i zipped the suitcase once i was done 'cause i needed to go as soon as i could. "hope you don't do to her what you did to me 'cause it was a living hell waiting for you."

"you know it's always gonna be you right?" he mumbled as i could feel the tears coming in any second now. "i don't want anyone else and even if i did feel something for her, it doesn't compare to what i feel for you."

the quiet was so loud that i almost felt a little bad for doing this. but no, i could not walk straight into those arms as much as i wanted to. i could not do this to myself once again when all i did was love him and i got stabbed in the back. 

"too bad you didn't show it." i said, looking at him one last time as i stood right in front of the door. "please don't text or call me changbin, it was good while it lasted but you really did lose me this time."

and i walked out of his life.

forever?

[acotars]

hey! could you please recommend me some romance books with the second chance trope or that are similar to You Deserve Each Other ? you have great taste in books 🥺

omg!!! crying that’s so sweet!! here are nine of my favorite second chance romances:

happy place by emily henry harriet and wyn have been the perfect couple since college. until they broke off their engagement six months ago and still haven't told their friends. now they're stuck at their friend group's annual maine vacation, lying through their teeth and pretending they're still madly in love with each other. only, harriet's discovering, it is all too easy to pretend to be in love in public. it's infinitely harder when it's just the two of them, and she has to pretend not to be. a fantastic second chance romance that's told in then-and-now alternating timelines, showing readers how harriet and wyn fell in love and wondering how they could have ever fallen out of it.

do i know you? by emily wibberley and austin siegemind-brokka eliza and graham are as out-of-sync as can be on their vacation getaway meant to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary. the spark is just... missing. when another guest at their resort mistakes them both for singles and introduces them, eliza and graham decide pretending to be perfect strangers could actually be just the breath of fresh air this trip needs. what happens when you fall in love with a stranger who actually happens to be your wife? again, very similar to ydeo, as the couple never broke up, just lost sight of each other. a great read if you love the tough conversations!

the neighbor favor by kristina forest after being ghosted by the obscure author she'd been falling in love with over email, shy bookworm lily decides she needs to get out of her head and get back on the dating scene, and enlists the help of her dashing new neighbor (and secret obscure author!) nick. this is primarily a two-person love triangle (my personal favorite trope!!) with a hefty sprinkling of second-chance romance in there as well. the second chance comes in strong in the second half.

romantic comedy by curtis sittenfeld sparks fly on set between late-night comedy writer sally and heartthrob pop star noah while they work together on the sketches for the week he's hosting the live comedy that airs saturday night. sally's convinced noah is out of her league, but can't deny the pull she feels from him. a series of will-they-won't-theys that keep ending in won't-they until finally in the quiet isolation of the pandemic lockdown, sally and noah decide to go for it. this story is told over the course of several years, and noah and sally keep dancing around each other, but sally's self-image keep complicating things. this story is set very majorly within the pandemic, so trigger warning for that!

before i let go by kennedy ryan yasmen and josiah have loved each other since their teens. they built a life and a business and a family together, but when life delivered blow after devastating blow, the two found that love alone couldn't save everything. now divorced and co-parenting, they're finally settling into their new rhythm, but yasmen can't help feeling pulled to josiah like she hasn't in years. is it too late for them to find forever? or are some things stronger once they've been rebuilt? a truly gorgeous novel. heavy trigger warnings for miscarriage, mental illness, infertility, and deep depression. but josiah and yasmen's love story is one forged in fire.

something wilder by christina lauren lily wilder is keeping her gaze forward, guiding tourists on fake treasure hunts through the canyons of utah in an effort to save enough to buy back her family's ranch — and she is most definitely not still hung up on former ranch-hand leo grady who stole her heart a decade ago. that lie's a whole lot easier to believe before leo shows up, unbeknownst to them both, on a bro-trip guided by none other than lily herself. if only their romantic history was the biggest thing to worry about. this is a romantic adventure novel, full of action, betrayal, peril, and heart-pounding suspense. it delivers a great dose of that pining-longing-guilt that is expected of second-chance romances, but the resolution is a lot cleaner than many others in the genre. i loved this book so much, but it's definitely a polarizing one.

thank you for listening by julia whelan former actress turned successful audiobook narrator sewanee lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident, but finds a new journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel, starring opposite anonymous heartthrob brock mcnight. sparks fly as the two pass samples over comfortably anonymous emails, neither of them knowing the other is actually the missed connection from their whirlwind night in vegas. another story featuring a two-person love triangle with sprinklings of second-chance romance. the healing arc in this story is extremely similar to ydeo, like two sides of the same coin.

twice in a blue moon by christina lauren sam was tate's first everything, including her first heartbreak. the two meet as teens on a two-week london vacation, where they fall hard and fast for each other. the only complication? tate is holding a big secret about her identity. when sam finds out and betrays her trust, it thrusts tate into an international limelight she never wanted for herself, and she never sees sam again. not until fourteen years later, when the filming location of tate's upcoming blockbuster film is sam's family farm. with a likely academy award on the line, tate must focus all her energy on her performance, even while she feels her heart pulling her towards sam. classic christina lauren. classic heartbreak. loose retelling of a room with a view, which is done so beautifully.

love and other words by christina lauren macy hasn't seen elliot in ten years. not since the day that changed everything. after the death of her mother, macy's father bought a cabin in the california wine country — a place the two of them could escape. macy finds her greatest escape in the bookish neighbor boy elliot, with whom she spends lazy summers devouring books and sharing favorite words. as the two fall more enamored with each other over their teen years, glimpses into their future show macy engaged to another man, and still agonizing ten years later over elliot's betrayal. this one is a doozy. told in alternating timelines, this novel is like seeing the wreckage before being told the agonizing story of a train crash. trigger warnings for parental death, grief, anxiety, and sexual assault. i... love this book.

i hope this list is helpful for you! if you'd like to see in-depth reviews for any of the books above, you can always add me on goodreads!

[jahayla-parker]

Crushing Plans: Peter Parker x Reader

Part Five

Description: 4.2k wc, Crushing Plans part 5, y/n has a crush on her bestfriend Peter but he’s interested in their friend MJ. Meanwhile Peter and Y/n have to decide if they want the responsibility that comes with their powers (while also trying to keep these powers a secret). To make matters worse, y/n’s powers are impacted by her emotions; including jealousy. How will their class trip to Europe go with all of this going on?

Warnings (for series as a whole): Mention of injuries, villains, far from home spoilers?, evil, witches, magic, powers/abilities, jealousy, hurt-comfort, I think that’s it!

Click Here For Previous Parts and Series Masterlist (5 parts plus the story continues in Bewitched Love (No Way Home wip w/ the same characters as a story continuation)

When they arrived, Mysterio’s display was already in effect; Happy was very surprised it wasn’t real.

Peter glanced y/n’s way once more, nodding at her before slipping his mask on as he exited the plane.

Y/n could hear Peter’s voice through the earpiece in Happy’s ear, but not enough to know what he said.

She watched as he swung closer to the projection.

Happy seemed to be promising Peter he was doing -or perhaps would be doing- whatever it was Peter had said.

Y/n beamed as she watched Peter already making headway in his fight.

~~~

“You’ve come to your senses” Agatha grinned wickedly.

Y/n focused her thoughts on Peter liking MJ, allowing Agatha to only see her emotional pain and assume it was the reason she was now complying.

“I’m still worried” y/n stated, suppressing a grin at how convincing her tone was.

“Of course you are sweet child, how can I help?” Agatha said, unrealistically sweetly.

Yn glanced around the park to get her bearings but let Agatha believe it was over fear of others learning her secret.

The fact she was donning a mask worked in her favor to convince Agatha.

Her mask should be appearing to Agatha as a bland, white, scrappily made disguise; thanks to an easy image modification spell Y/n had cast on it.

But, in reality, it was a radiant azure blue; Peter managed to adjust the hue on the Stark product generator enough to match her cosmic glow coloring exactly.

Her clothes should be seen by Agatha as the same set y/n wore when they last saw each other; Yn not wasting energy or time constructing some new fake outfit just for a distraction.

Much like her actual mask, her actual outfit was azure, fit to her in a way that allowed her to move, and had discrete padding on her knees should she collapse again.

Her clothing included a contrasting dark black cloak-like item, one merging the designs of other witches; Agatha and Wanda included.

Except, the bottom inner workings of hers, the side presently resting against the back of her legs, was a shiny silver lining, embossed with swirling stitching.

“If I… if I let you have my powers, how do I know I’ll survive?” Y/n asked, hiding her thoughts as she began calling upon her energy.

“Oh hun, you have my word” Agatha said.

Not wanting to give in uncharacteristically fast, y/n hesitated.

“I did tell you the truth about your origin didn’t I? Why would I admit that but lie now?” Agatha argued with a soft voice.

Y/n knew the reason but kept the thought from her mind.

“Okay…” y/n slowly agreed.

Agatha smiled but Yn saw the evil glint in her dark irises.

As she felt Agatha’s cosmic presence reach hers, y/n whispered “pari mensura” before having her mind wander back to her unrequited crush on Peter.

She bit her lip as she kept her lips from moving and exposing her nearly inaudible spell repetition.

The pain also helped subconsciously remind her that there was a purpose behind the torture of her own mind she was doing by focusing on her doomed situation with Peter.

pari mensura

pari mensura

....

pari mensura

Y/n echoed, encouraging and directing her energy heading towards Agatha to match the force Agatha was using.

Agatha fell for the sensation, believing that she was truly pulling the energy from y/n; rather than y/n sending it to her.

It wasn’t an easy task, keeping her confidence up despite replaying Peter and MJ’s flirtations.

Let alone simultaneously hiding these underlying thoughts, her mind having to both actively think and not think at the same time.

She still couldn’t explain it, but she could feel the thoughts almost filed into different places in her brain.

She’d never compartmentalized her thoughts this way before, much less in so many different subjects at the same time for such a long period of time.

She had to pretend she was thinking about MJ and Peter but not truly think about it.

She had to hide her thoughts about her actions and newly found confidence.

She had to pretend she was thinking about how it felt to have her powers pulled from her while being sure to not truly believe the illusion herself.

It was a lot, and her underlying concerns over how things were going on Peter’s end didn’t help.

She wanted to quickly look over to see how it was coming, but she knew she couldn’t risk the brief lapse in concentration.

Especially as she already felt the ache in her head returning at her attempts.

While Agatha wasn’t truly absorbing y/N’s energy, y/n had knowingly gone into the battle on a nearly empty basis.

Technically speaking, witches had an almost infinite supply of cosmic energy at their disposal.

However, it took much more energy to produce it without thinking about it.

And even more to actively focus on something else while using it.

It didn’t help that it took practice to get to the point of being able to utilize the endless access to energy waves; practice y/n didn’t have.

She felt her eyes droop as Agatha increased her strength, somehow having noticed something was off.

Irritated, y/n wanted to scream, having been nearly ready to strike Agatha prior to this sudden detection from Agatha’s end.

Her illusion was faltering and she would soon lose her chance to strike if she didn’t quickly adjust.

Y/n attempted to once again match her force by sending her own equally balanced force back, “pari mensura”.

She hadn’t realized that she forgot to keep her voice low when reciting the spell until she saw the fury in Agatha’s eyes.

It was too late to put her defenses up by the time she saw it, but fortunately, Peter had detected it.

His spider senses had tingled in an attempt to alert him to an issue around him.

He instantly scanned the area in search of y/n, his webs shooting across the street and toward the park in mere seconds upon seeing y/n’s genuine struggle.

The signs of Agatha’s realization of the illusion soon followed his release of web fluid.

Peter squinted as he waited for the seemingly long time it took for his webs to reach Agatha.

To anyone else, it was merely a matter of 2 seconds; feeling longer to Peter due to the scene being slowed down by his ‘spidey senses’,

As the webs wrapped around Agatha’s wrist, y/N’s panicked eyes turned his way.

Peter tugged on the web attached to his subject, trying to knock Agatha off kilter enough for y/n to compose herself.

Y/n forced her legs to hold her tired body steady as she pushed back against Agatha, starting to increase her force.

She wasn’t sure how much more she could do though.

Agatha’s detection was earlier than y/n had anticipated, or perhaps y/n hesitated too long to strike.

Either way, it wasn’t going to plan and her confidence was weaning as a result.

Peter having to step in and help her despite his own battle going on fueled her embarrassment and disappointment in herself.

She knew she had to change her thought patterns if she wanted to have a chance at overpowering Agatha; she had to regain her confidence somehow.

Once her legs felt semi-steady beneath her, y/n glanced over at Peter in hopes of an encouraging smile or nod to drive her confidence back up.

However, her eyes were instead met with a burst of energy shooting across the scene and throwing Peter backward into the brick siding of the bridge.

Y/n felt a sudden force deep in her bones, it had a slightly familiar feeling to it but was otherwise an unknown sensation.

The sheer volume of cosmic current flowing through her body lifted y/n into the air.

Y/N’s spell that’d previously been masking her new ‘hero’ suit dissolved before Agatha’s eyes.

Without any hesitation, y/n let the new, stronger, faster, thicker, flow of energy do as it wished.

The only thing her mind focused on was having witnessed Agatha hurt Peter.

Y/N’s eyes fell closed as the current tore through her and shot across the park to Agatha.

Agatha howled loudly as her skin flashed blue, y/N’s energy hiting deep.

Yn pried her eyes open enough to check on Peter, giving him a grateful nod before turning back to Agatha.

She could tell if she kept going at full force, it would be the end of Agatha.

And as much as she wanted to tear her apart for harming Peter, it wasn’t in her to kill someone.

Y/n was pleasantly surprised when her energy ebbed at her unspoken limitation.

She might not plan on ending Agatha’s life, but she was going to make sure Agatha was no longer a threat.

Y/n didn’t want, nor did she think she needed, Agatha’s energy.

Even if she relished the feeling of such a strong force inside herself, she didn’t want any possibly tainted cosmic energy in her.

So, she began contemplating spells that would keep her enemy alive but deplete her power.

“Vivit et impotens” y/n stated, frowning when nothing happened.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself she could do this.

Staring at Agatha, hands stretched out to her, “vivit et impotens”.

Once again, nothing.

She racked her brain for more traditional ways to say her goal.

Chest held high, she loudly declared, “reducendus au homini”.

Y/N’s fingers stiffened as a dark aura flowed between Agatha and y/N’s hand.

She gritted her jaw as she focused on directing her own energy to shield herself from any damage and form an orb in her outstretched palm.

Within three minutes, y/n stood on the ground, holding a black and purple ball of cosmic forces in her palm.

Agatha lay on the grass, visibly defeated and weeping in sorrow over her loss; but, she was alive.

Pleased in completing her task so quickly, she gazed at the ball as she contemplated how to destroy it.

Y/n felt a sweltering heat radiating from the orb and saw the very tips of her fingernails starting to darken from the insidious and dark power Agatha’d absorbed in her attempt at managing the darkhold.

Without needing to search for the words, her mind began chanting a spell she wasn’t familiar with.

In its attempt to guard y/n and her untainted energy, her mind screamed “eliminate ab existentia”.

After five repetitions of the phrase, y/n saw her fingertips return to normal as a burst of blue energy erupted, blinding her momentarily.

Y/n rubbed her eyes and smiled proudly to herself.

However, her focus quickly shifted to finding Peter.

As she whipped her head around, her eyes landed on Peter.

He let out a visible sigh of relief and slightly slowed his approach to ease the pain in his leg.

Despite his attempts to mask his pain, y/n noticed his limp and rushed over.

Peter smiled as he hugged her, pulling her to his chest as soon as she was close enough.

“You’re hurt” she whispered, stepping back after a few moments.

“I’m okay, it’s over” he huffed, eyes checking her face for any cuts.

“Can I… May I…?” Y/n mumbled hesitatingly.

“Y/n, you don’t have to be nervous around me” Peter grinned, “what are you trying to ask?”

Y/n bit her lip, looking up at him sweetly, making his legs feel weak.

“I’d like to try a spell to help your leg” she stated.

“Is this okay?” She asked, stepping back more.

Peter nodded without hesitation, completely trusting her.

She smiled, squatting and delicately placing her right hand on his kneecap.

Her left hand shyly rested against his hip, intimidated by the intimate location.

Closing her eyes, she focused on keeping her energy warm enough to relax his muscles but not too hot to hurt him.

“Okay… lenire et confirma crus” y/n whispered, letting her energy flow from her hands into his upper leg.

Peter let out an audible release of air and Y/n felt the tension leave his leg muscles.

Yn removed her hands from his body and stood back up, smiling softly, “any better?”

Peter grinned widely and nodded, his cheeks red, “very. Thank you”.

She nodded timidly, her smile widening.

“And you? You’re not hurt?” Peter pondered, his slightly bloodstained hands cupping her face as he analyzed her skin closely.

Y/n swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the warmth of his breath hitting her face and the close proximity of his lips to hers.

“Y/n?” Peter asked, stroking her cheek just below her eyemask when he found a faint blemish.

“I’m good,” she nodded, gazing into his painfully pretty, umber eyes.

Peter blushed as he noticed how close he was upon feeling himself relax after her assure she was unharmed.

“Thank you for your help back there” y/n said, waving to the park she left minutes before.

“It wasn’t a big deal” he smiled

“Yes it was, you got hurt, because of me” she shook her head as guilt flooded her voice.

“Y/n, I swear, I didn’t mind helping” he promised, voice thick with sincerity, “I wanted to make sure you were safe”.

“Because if you I was. You helped me more than you’ll know” she hummed.

Peter watched inquisitively as y/n’s eyes began to scan his mask, left to right and top to bottom.

“The blood… your hands. You said-“ she whispered, her voice tense.

“It’s not mine” he rushed out in assurance before repeating the words remorsefully as he felt their weight.

Y/n gave him an apologetic glance, “okay. We can talk about that if you want, when you’re ready”.

Peter nodded, “thank you. I could use that”.

She gave him a timid smile, but Peter noticed she kept scanning his face.

Peter looked around before pulling his mask up and off of his head, “I’m okay y/n”.

He felt his breath hitch as she furrowed her eyebrows, the tip of her middle finger slowly sending a calming warmth to seep in through his skin as her fingertip traced a minor scratch he had obtained in his fight.

Much to Peter’s disappointment, she soon leaned back, hand lowering to her side after the scratch disappeared.

Peter lifted his hand up to feel his skin where she’d touched it, a dorky smile on his face.

“Y/n,” Peter began, his need to confess his feelings shaking violently in his chest.

Y/n sensed something hanging in the air and sucked in a deep breath.

She noticed the gentle glow of his eyes and how he seemed to be radiating nervous but excited energy.

“Peter?” She asked, trying not to get her hopes up as to what he was going to say.

There was something in his gaze that made her melt, desperately hoping she was correct in seeing the love behind it.

Peter’s cheeks were nearly as red as his suit as he gave her a lopsided smile, mentally cursing himself for not pulling it together.

His hesitation made her look around, her heart plummeting to her stomach as she locked eyes with MJ several feet behind her.

MJ hadn’t noticed them, but it was clear Peter noticed her; his lovey-dovey trance now making sense to y/n.

“Oh, “ y/n breathed, taking her time as she turned back around to face Peter, “right. Umm, you can go”.

Peter’s lips parted as he stared at her with a blank expression.

Y/n rolled the rushing energy in her, picturing the blue life source loop over itself and flow in the other direction; moving along the lines of an imaginary infinity sign.

It was a technique she’d learned years ago to stay calm.

She hadn’t been in such a soul crushing situation where she needed it in a long time.

But her -albeit brief- moment of hope over her seemingly unrequited feelings actually being requited after all drove a stake into her soul as reality emerged.

Peter rubbed his neck, his eyes never leaving her face as he tried to understand why she suddenly appeared shut down, “y-y/n..”

She shook her head, wanting out of the situation rather than letting it drag on longer.

“Look, Peter… it’s okay, really” y/n said, causing Peter even more confusion.

Before he could even think of a response, she continued, “just..”.

Y/n let the calming resonance of the energy flowing in her remind her of her accomplishments today.

She may still have been in a hopelessly doomed position with her crush, but at least she could rely on him; and herself.

Allowing her confidence to drive her towards one final courageous act, y/n closed the distance between them.

Y/n way too quickly pressed her lips against his cheek and pulled away, “thank you again for helping”.

Peter’s teeth shined as he grinned like an idiot, his face felt so hot he swore he was going to catch on fire soon.

However, as y/n walked away from him, his lips instantly fell into a pout.

Without thinking, he reached for her hand, halting her departure, “where are you going? Why are you leaving?”

She couldn’t turn back to look at him, instead squeezing his hand kindly, “she’s waiting for you, go on”.

Peter tightened his grip and tugged on her hand, pleading her to turn around and explain, “who?”

Y/n squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to tear his hand off and run until she couldn’t feel his presence near her.

Not that her currently exhausted body would even let her if she asked.

“Y/n” Peter whined, lost and upset over her sudden change in demeanor, “talk to me”.

“MJ” y/n whispered, making a resounding rush of guilt surface in Peter.

He’d forgotten y/n had known a tiny bit about his plans to act on his feelings for MJ.

Her voice sounded sad and distant to him.

Had he not noticed she was seemingly harboring feelings for him too?

How long had they been there?

His mind played back the last week, his guilt only growing as he found all the signs he’d missed.

“Pe-“ y/n began, finally facing him.

“No, please, “ Peter hushed her, his sorrowful eyes trying to lock with her irises but her downwards crooked neck prevented it.

Y/n remained silent but removed her hand from his, fingers trailing slowly across his palm, driving him insane.

“I need to tell you something…” Peter whispered.

She nodded, gaze still focused on her boots.

He swallowed, “I uhh… I clearly should’ve told you this before… or umm… well yeah…”.

Laughing softly at his own nervousness, “I like you. Like, really like you…. Not just as a friend.. I like-“.

Y/n gritted her teeth, “don’t. Peter. Please don’t”.

“W-what?” He inquired.

“I can’t do it Peter. I don’t want to hear it” her voice was stiff but he could hear the way her pitch wavered between words, “I’ve wanted to hear you say it, but not like this”.

Peter sighed, taking in the scene around them.

He knew it was far from romantic and certainly less than she deserved, but he hadn’t wanted to keep it in any longer.

If he’d learned anything this trip it was that life was unpredictable, terrifying, and short.

He didn’t want to waste any more of his hiding from his feelings.

The feelings he felt for her were far more intense than any he’d ever had towards MJ and he needed her to know how he felt about her; romantic scenery or not.

“You’re right, I should’ve -“ Peter apologized, bashfully rubbing the spandex covering his arms.

“I don’t want you to say it like this. Don’t tell me you like me when I know you like MJ, I can’t handle that” she whimpered, “certainly not right now”.

“Y/n, I don’t want MJ” he swore, his fingers twitching to touch her and pull her in for an embrace.

Y/N’s newly born confidence spoke up, “I don’t want to be someones backup or second choice. I’d rather just not be chosen”.

Peter felt a tinge of pride in her standing up for herself despite his heartache and guilt over her feeling this way.

“Y/n,” he hummed, “It was always you."

Y/N’s eyes snapped to his, anger flashing through her y/e/c eyes, “don’t pity me Peter. I can take you liking MJ. But I can’t take you toying with me. I know about your crush on MJ, you know I know about it. I told you I knew before we even left New York”.

Peter nodded, his eyes not leaving hers despite the hurt in them making him feel like he was the biggest villain they’d encountered on this trip.

“I did like MJ” he nodded, being sure to not leave much time between the conclusion of that sentence and the start of the next.

“But, I don’t anymore. Even when I did,” Peter shook his head softly, “it wasn’t the same”.

“I… I don’t follow” y/n admitted, eyes no longer displaying hurt or anger but rather confusion.

Confusion Peter could fix!

He had no problem taking however long it took to explain to her why the way he felt about her was different and far better than what he used to feel for MJ.

He would willingly go on and on about it until she understood.

“When I picture myself happy... It's with you” Peter told her, “I’ve not had that with anyone else”.

Y/n unintentionally caused a tiny whistle as she sucked air in through her barely parted lips, “…n-…not MJ?”

Peter held her gaze as he shook his head definitively, “no, never for MJ”.

She nodded slowly, still uncertain.

“I should’ve realized it that day, when you joined our school. I could sense something was different, not just about you…” he mumbled shyly, “but towards you. Sure I knew I found you attractive, but that was given”.

Y/n giggled softly as her lips curled up at the edges.

Peter blushed upon hearing his own confession repeat in his head, yet he continued for her sake, “I was too scared to approach you, and the feelings I had seemed too unusual.. I… couldn’t trust my senses at the time so I dismissed it and told myself I still had a crush on MJ”.

Y/n’s eyes scanned his face for signs of deception as she listened closely.

He sighed at his own behaviors, “to be fair, I still did. Or so I thought. Because, if this” he signaled between their bodies, “is what having a crush on someone truly feels like, I never actually had a crush on her then”.

Y/n felt a tear roll down her cheek as she took in his words.

Peter tenderly wiped her tear from her face, “y/n… I get it if I’ve missed my chance. But…There is something between us and… it is the most magical thing I have ever felt."

Y/n paused, her eyes distant as she visibly contemplated something, “ yeah, well.... you know… maybe I accidentally-“.

Peter chuckled, tilting her head towards him, his fingertips encouraging her to move face closer to his, “No y/n. I don’t mean actual magic”.

“Are you su-“ y/n worried.

“Yes, I know what your magic feels like, and as … strong and comforting as it is, this is different; better” he promised.

“So… now what?” Y/n asked, “what all does this mean?”

“Well, it’s a two part-plan. First, I'm gonna find an excuse to kiss you. The second step is asking you to be mine” Peter admitted, cheeks crimson.

“You don’t need an excuse to kiss me…” she whispered shyly.

Peter chuckled quietly, “no? Cause…You do have something in your hair, umm... Do you want me to get it out?"

Y/n wasn’t sure if there actually was something in her hair or if this was his attempt at finding an excuse like he planned to do, but she couldn’t care less.

She shook her head, her fingers grabbing the collar of his suit and pulling him closer until their lips met.

They smiled against each others lips before parting.

"Your lips are really warm." Peter blurted.

“Oh..sorry?” Y/n asked, her fingers feeling her bottom lip.

“No I liked it” he admitted, the words rushing out awkwardly.

She giggled and nodded, looking at her boots, “good….Me too, Uhh. err- the kiss, I mean”.

Peter grabbed her hand, “Wanna, like- I mean, I know the whole class is all going but ….for the flight home… maybe… We could sit together?“

Y/n nodded rapidly, gazing up at a smiling and blushing Peter.

So, her crush wasn’t doomed after all.

The trip hadn’t gone the way either of them planned.

But it was far better than they could've envisioned.

----Post Credit Scene----

Stay tuned for more of Y/n and Peter as they continue their adventures in Bewitched Love where you can read about the same characters as they handle the events of No Way Home!

Bewitched Love parts can be found on the series masterlist!

SERIES MASTERLIST/NAVIGATION

PETER PARKER MASTERLIST/NAVIGATION

TOM HOLLAND MASTERLIST/NAVIGATION (INCLUDING CHARACTERS)

MY MAIN MASTERLIST/NAVIGATION (ALL MY WORKS)

Peter Parker Taglist (comment here to be added): @galaxyholland @fishingirl12 @raajali3 @justapurrcat @natswife-marvelicious @directioner5life @ell0ra-br3kk3r @theslayerofthevampires

[juvenalesque]

Opinion: Sometimes it is your fault. Are you really a magnet for toxic people or are you the problem? Both.

If you want to see only the best in someone, always give them the benefit of the doubt, we all know that's what our brain will short-cut for us. We see what we want to see. That said, and we do say it, I don't think people talk enough about creating the opposite story: a negative false narrative. If you are a practitioner of the ever so lovely negative self-talk club, you may be guilty of this, too. We who are used to disappointment are sometimes shooting ourselves in the foot. Its so easy to just be nonchalant about it. When you automatically are assuming the worst intentions and you think the other person is always doing this or that to hurt your feelings or never does enough to show affection, you are doing the same thing. If you don't stop and ask yourself, "wait. What have they done to show they care for me? They did show it. Why didn't they change that behavior? Well, did you actually try talking about it, or did you just fume in your head? Did you tell yourself it wasn't worth arguing?" That's not on them, it's on you. You are creating the story you want. Ask yourself why? Do you just expect to be treated badly so you see it before it exists?

Reasons aside, people ask themselves how they always end up in the same situations. It's taboo to suggest that we may be responsible, to an extent, for our repeated scenarios. You don't always just pretend a bad person was good. Sometimes you convince yourself a good person is bad for being imperfect. You stopped treating them how you wanted to be treated and started giving them hostility based on thoughts you weren't sharing with them that could have been resolved with little communication. They are reacting to you, and you're not even aware of how you may be acting. Are you seeing exactly what you don't want to see? Out of expectation? Underlying issues with your self-esteem?

I AM NOT SAYING THAT WE ALL DO THIS ALL THE TIME. However, I think for some people, especially those who have had a traumatic experiences repeatedly for years, especially in their formative years can only instinctually expect the same pattern even when it finally changes. My point is that THIS is how some say "I finally had something good and I ruined it." WE push away the ones we wanted to gold close. Not everyone gets a second chance, either. So when you escape a toxic and/or abusive place, it's important to revert back to life's most basic good advice: question everything. Am I making any assumptions? What evidence do I have that disproves my hypothesis? Am I only seeing what I expect to see? Always ask yourself what the positives are. When they are plentiful, it's an indication that maybe you are seeing a blurry image. If you struggle to think of those positives, it's pretty safe to say it is isn't in your head and the relationship is what it looks like.

If you are looking at something fake, you miss what's real. If you are hiding a great chance behind a lense of negativity, you'll miss out on that real person you didn't see there all along. Relish in a beautiful reality that you create every day. You choose what attitude you think through and who to keep your company. It's your life, don't you forget.

[jiskblr]

It is nearly certain that almost all of these people do not exist. Do not donate to Gaza GoFundMes; they are frauds. 'Vetting' is trivial to fake even when it is completely false and Palestinians in Gaza have very little way to turn US dollars online into supplies that are not merely taken from other Palestinians; there is essentially no amount of money that can be spent by an ordinary resident of Gaza to acquire a week's worth of preserved food or clean water from outside the Gaza Strip and have it delivered to them. By contrast, it is very easy and very lucrative to set up fake donations from another country and pretend to be Palestinian in a way that can convince enough people to get yourself declared 'Vetted', and once you have done so for a few dozen people, you can use those fake identities to 'Vet' and mark 'Trustworthy' other completely fictional people. There is evidence to suggest a huge uptick in the creation of GoFundMes from, IIRC, the Netherlands, that match quite closely with the number of apparently Gazan GFMs that were created in the last year.

There are many reputable charities that serve Palestinians and Palestine, all of which are vastly more capable of delivering supplies to the people who need them than even an honest GoFundMe (if it existed) could achieve.

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

UN Crisis Relief (Palestine subfund)

International Red Cross (coordinating committee which handles getting aid through Israel to Palestine)

Oxfam International (reconstructing broken water)

It's none of my business to tell you how much money you should donate to worthy causes, or even what causes you should care about. But it's everyone's business to make sure that money goes to actually address those causes, rather than the fraudsters best at spinning up a sob story and cropping a couple ungoogleable images out of a video from TikTok that are enough to fool someone who's never thought about how they'd impersonate a real victim and is therefore credulous about believing it.

Let's help some people. Click on one of the links below, read their story, and donate if you can.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless when so many people are in need and you don't have the resources to be able to help all of them. But you will do more good by clicking on any one of these links and giving one person $5 than you will by letting indecision and worry stop you from giving anything to anyone.

Donate to @abdquffa9 and his family. Vetted | €1,033/€84,000

Donate to @mohammednasser and his family. Trustworthy | €5,920/€38,000

Donate to @abdallahfares and his family. Trustworthy | €7,343/€25,000

Donate to @mohalwadiya and his family. Trustworthy | $8,899/$35,000

Donate to @selenagh64 and her family. Trustworthy | $6,607/$70,000 (Initial goal of $7,000– this is within sight!)

Donate to @balsamibrahim and her family. Vetted | €16,739/€100,000

Balsam (above) has also organized a campaign to deliver clean water to displaced families. Donate here.

Donate to @lawyer-adhamayyad88 and family. Trustworthy | €335/€50,000

Donate to @darinefamily. Vetted | $4,687/$30,000

Donate to @hala123sposts and her family. Trustworthy | $813/$35,000

Donate to @fattmawurd and family. Trustworthy | $8,854/$50,000 (CAD)

Donate to @ahmadallouhahmad and his family. Vetted | €5,188/€50,000

Donate to @yousefalyazjii1 and his family. Vetted | kr5,586/kr200,000 | NOTE: kr10 = $1 USD

Donate to @aya2mohammed and his family. Vetted | €32,301/€50.000

Donate to @shadowyavenuetaco and her family. Vetted | £6,948/ £50,000

Donate to @abdalsalm and his family. Vetted | €3,016/€50,000

Donate to @samerpal and family. Vetted | kr144,682/kr450,000 | NOTE: kr10 = $1 US

Donate to @hadeelmekki and his family. Vetted | €17,326/€35,000

Donate to @bshaeromars-blog and his family. Vetted | $21,535/$40,000

–

Campaigns on this list are marked as Vetted if they have been verified by a reputable source. Campaigns on this list that are marked as Trustworthy are not yet vetted but are highly likely legitimate, meaning reverse image searching their photos does not turn up results from other campaigns, donations are protected by gofundme, and after what limited investigation I'm capable of, I do not have any concerns about their legitimacy.

Donation amounts listed in this post are as of October 3rd, 2024.