#storys from the coffee shop

[jeeklaart]

I have encountered the worst rizz of my life

"Heyyy what are you doing?"

"Just drawing for fun"

"that's not fun"

mY DUDE!?

[shouyuus]

"dance with me." "i don't -- i don't dance." "c'mon, just try." "i... i don't know how." "trust me and just let your body... move." // there's beauty in this too, beauty in this brutality. can't you see it? this art i've made of my body, this love i've written into my blood, my bones -- for you. // "hey. have you ever fallen in love?" "sure. once." "yeah? and then what happened?" "i dunno... the story's still ongoing, isn't it?" // in which a boxer and a ballet dancer fall in love // "touch her? trust me, buddy, you're not ready for the damage i could do."

𖥔 ultraviolet 𖥔 // rain x vi selfship

[e-louise-bates]

Trying to figure out if I hate my Inklings story because:

A) it seemed like a good story in my head but it's rubbish on paper

B) it's a good story but it needs way more time to mellow and would need to be written over a much longer period of time than what I have, and therefore is simply the wrong story for this challenge

C) I thought up too many details about the story before I started writing it and now it's boring and flat because there's not enough left to discover while I write

D) I am having a bad writing day

Solution: leave it for the rest of today and poke at it some more tomorrow to see if I can figure it out.

[girl-drink-drunk]

putting the horror couples who didn't survive together in the coffee shop au so they can be happy and safe

[sparklingwatermelo]

Jegulily!!!

“I listen to god when he speaks to me.”

“Wise woman.” The man says turning his attention away from James and regulus and looking at her with approval, the spiteful anger in his eyes receeding slightly. “And what does he tell you?”

“Usually he tells me to form an army.” She smiles sweetly. “Five thousand women strong. And to go round and gut all men…and leave their entrails as offerings.”

The mans mouth drops open, he stares at her in complete and utter shock. Regulus is smirking, James is attempting (and failing) to stifle his laughter.

“You-you…will go to hell! You w-won’t be laughing when you’re burning for all eternity!” The man stutters backing away then turning heel, practically sprinting away from them.

“I look forward to it! I’ve never been a fan of the cold!” She shouts after him.

James stops all attempts at restraining his laughter, doubling over, his body shaking as he gasps for air through the giggles.

“Lily Rosalie Evans. You are a mother fucking marvel.” Regulus says his smirk turning into a full grin, almost wolfish.

“I know.” She winks at him, pleased when a gorgeous soft blush paints his cheeks. “doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear it though.”

“I-I can’t.” James is still laughing his head off looking as if he can no longer breathe and yet he’s still trying to speak. “Entrails as-as offerings!” Then he laughs even harder.

Regulus shakes his head in exasperation. “You broke James.”

“Clearly.” She chuckles fondly, and leans back into regulus’s chest, he wraps his arms around her waist and leans his chin atop her head. She breathes him in, he smells like lavender and the fancy oil paints he favours for his canvases.

Eventually their boyfriend calms down enough to function normally again. “Me and Reg are exempt from having our entrails offered…right?” The trademark lopsided james potter grin on his face, dimples on full display in a way that makes her want to kiss him senseless.

“Sure.” She reaches out and pats James’s cheek softly. “My favourite boys get a free pass. I won’t be gutting either of you.”

“Is it bad that I kinda want you to?” He sighs, closing his eyes. “I think I would enjoy it if you gutted me.”

“Masochist.” Regulus mutters, Lily can practically feel him rolling his eyes.

“That would kill you james.” She shakes her head in exasperation, tucking a lock of messy hair behind his ear. “Then what would we do.”

“I don’t know. But it would be a lovely way to die.”

“Reg is right. You are a masochist.”

James’s opens his doe eyes looking at them both in adoration. “Maybe. But you two still love me anyway.”

“Unfortunately.” Regulus says, though his voice is soft.

“Very much so.” Lily leans forward placing a gentle kiss on his lips. James smiles so wide and bright she is surprised is face doesn’t split clean in two. “Now come on let’s get out of here.”

“We can go back to my place.” Reg offers. “It’s closest.”

James hums in agreement. “We can watch a movie or something, I’m pretty sure there’s a shop somewhere here, we can get sweets! Oh and popcorn, the toffee one.”

“Or wine and cheese. I can make a charcuterie board.” Regulus suggests with a pointed look.

She smiles fondly, Regulus has never been a sweet tooth, compared to James who would happily consume sugar and only sugar for the rest of his life.

“You’re so fancy love. To fancy for us mere peasants.” James declares dramatically.

Reg rolls his eyes and huffs in response. “Either way we should go now it’s getting late.”

“Mm hm.” Lily hums, straightening up, immediately missing the warmth of regulus’s body and the weight of his hands wrapped around her. “Let’s go.”

Regulus pushes himself off the wall, dusting himself off. Lily smiles, he looks very fancy even when he’s wearing casual clothes the way regulus holds himself shows he’s posh down to his bones. “You are very fancy.” She concedes leaving no room for argument.

Reg sighs in defeat. “Fine. I am… a little bit fancy.”

James throws his head back and laughs brightly, eyes shining and Regulus blushes again, while Lily smirks at their antics. “The fanciest.” James says still grinning as he takes both of their arms and begins to pull them down the street. In the direction of Reg’s flat.

[ashtonisvibing]

The Magic in Parenthood

Chapter 1 - Early Bird

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Ao3 Link:

Full Story:

Nine years came and gone, certainly not in the blink of an eye. And to say it was easy was… Such an overstatement. Taking care of a baby as a single parent was rougher than Jackie could’ve ever expected, and he figured from the beginning it would be rough. Sure, he had people that could watch Sam while he was at work, but that wasn’t possible every day. And then he was having to add getting groceries and baby supplies on top of both of those, plus monthly doctor’s appointments to make sure his son was as healthy as he could be. It was also rough missing out on important moments, like Sam’s first word (which was apparently “ducky”, said while he was getting a bath) and his first steps.

But those baby and toddler years came and went all the same. Birthday’s Christmas’, family gatherings, Sam’s first time riding a bike and swimming with floaties. The first and last days of kindergarten and every day in between. All leading up to another day started with the beep of an-

“C’moooooon, wake uuuuuuup…! We’re gonna be laaaate…!” That wasn’t the clock alarm. Jackie’s consciousness was slowly starting to wake up… Until something suddenly flopped onto his stomach and woke him up completely, causing most of the air in his lungs to escape him. So much for a slow and peaceful wake up. He propped himself up on his elbows to see whatever could’ve disturbed his morning, seeing the slightly blurred figure of a small person, their face looking towards him now that he was awake. The realization of who this was made him let out a slightly winded chuckle.

“Sam, buddy.. You can’t jump on someone like that..” He gently pushed the small child onto the other side of the bed so that he could sit up properly and put his glasses on. All Sam did in response was giggle and slide off the bed. “Okay, what’s got you all excited, huh?”

They looked at their father for a second, slightly zoned out in concentration for what they could’ve possibly woken him up for. But the small gasp, wide eyes, and scramble back to Jackie’s side of the bed to tug on his arm indicated they had remembered. “School! My first day of school!”

So that’s what had Sam so energetic at… Six thirty in the morning? Jackie knew that his child was eager for school to start so they could see their friends again, ever since he had let them know just a week ago. But it wasn’t even seven yet. “Okay- Buddy, the clock says 6:30, yeah?” The nine year old looked over at the analog clock on the bedside table, shaking their head and pointing to it.

“Nuh-uh, it says 6:31.”

If there was anything obvious that Sam got from their father, it was being literal about everything.

“Oh, well, okay, that’s actually true. But my point is, school doesn’t start until 8:30. You’re about two hours too early.”

Your average child would get disappointed over not getting a toy they wanted, or being told they couldn’t have a second bowl of ice cream. Sam was probably the first child Jackie had ever seen get disappointed that they were too early for school. And upon hearing such devastating news, they laid themself down onto the floor, arms and legs spread out as far as they could spread them. Jackie was trying his absolute best not to laugh at the dramatics before him. “Wh- What are you doing, bud?”

“Wondering why I got cursed today.” They sighed, their eyes now closing. And with that Jackie couldn’t hold it in any longer. His laughter was loud and strong, needing him to hold his head in one hand from how hard it was. And it was admittedly made harder when he heard the sharp, offended gasp that Sam had let out as they bolted . “Curses aren’t funny, Daddy-!”

First his kid knocked all the wind out of his lungs, now he was having a laughing fit. What other things would leave him nearly breathless today? It took him a few seconds for him to finally calm down and be able to talk, taking a few deep breaths before doing so. “Sorry, sorry. You’re right, curses-” He gave himself a second, feeling another wave of laughs coming on. “Curses aren’t funny. But you’re not cursed, don’t worry. I think you just woke up a little too early.” He cut Sam off right when they opened their mouth. “And no, it’s not because someone cursed you.”

“Mmmmmmmm-” And right back onto the floor Sam went. “What do I do until 8:30?? That’s… That’s like a million years away!” Over exaggeration, a child’s greatest gift. What’s only ten minutes can become an eternity.

“It’s only two hours, buddy.” Jackie chuckled. “You could just go and play until it’s time for breakfast, we can have that at about 7:30. Or you could come up here with me.” He took his glasses off and set them aside before laying back down, snuggling under his blanket again. “I dunno about you but I’m still a bit sleepy..”

A child’s face can tell a million words about what they’re thinking and feeling. Unless they’ve been raised to mask their feelings, they’re little open books. And Sam was no exception. Jackie could tell by how hard their eyebrows were furrowed and their eyes were closed that they were thinking over how to spend these next two hours. Playing with their toys? Maybe watching some morning cartoons? The possibilities were endless, at least to a nine year old.

It took nearly a minute for the child to make a decision. They stood up, fixing their fish print shirt that had gotten twisted up during their previous antics, walked around to the empty side of the bed, and climbed in to snuggle as close to their dad as they could. “‘m gonna stay here with you. Cuz what if you get eaten by monsters while you sleep?? Or your blanket swallows you up! I gotta keep you safe!”

‘Such a big imagination..’ Jackie thought to himself as he chuckled, wrapping his arms around Sam to keep them close and snuggly. “Wow, you’re gonna help protect me from all the scary monsters? Even the ones in the closet and under my bed?”

The pause when Sam made this realization was quite long. It seemed that they hadn’t even considered they’d have to protect their dad from so many imaginary monsters. One or two? That seemed reasonable for them. But more than two wasn’t even a possibility in their mind.

“Um… Maybe you should fight the monsters…” They mumbled a little under their breath as they slid further under the blanket and into Jackie’s arms. This time he managed to keep his laughter to himself.

“That’s alright.. I can make sure we’re both safe from anything scary.. The moment I sense any danger I’ll wake up and fight it, okay..?”

“Like a superhero!” Sam exclaimed, their head perking up from under the blanket. “Like- Like a Super-” Their sentence was interrupted by a small yawn, taking with it most of the excitement that they had when it left their mouth. “-Daddy..!”

“Yeah, exactly like a Super Daddy.” Jackie laughed. He leaned down, leaving a little kiss on his child’s forehead and ruffling their hair right after. “Now, you should get a little more sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for breakfast, okay?”

“Mmmmm’kay…” Another little yawn before they leaned up, leaving a kiss of their own on their dad’s nose. “G’night, Daddy…” They didn’t even get a chance to hear Jackie’s chuckling over their little mistake that it wasn’t night time anymore. Once their eyes were closed they sunk into the warmth and safety of the cuddle, now fast asleep. Of course waking up so early would have made them so quick to fall asleep.

“Good night, buddy…” Even if it wasn’t night, Jackie felt it right to repeat a good night back to Sam. Feeling his own tiredness start to catch up with him, he carefully reached over to his alarm clock to set a new alarm for when it was time for breakfast. ‘Hopefully I don’t forget to change this later..’ He thought. But that was a problem for future him. For now, he was fine with just falling asleep with his son, for a longer than usual nap.

[inkmaze]

did this local queer tattoo artist flirt w me or are they being friendly...

[butchvamp]

this is a long video but it popped up on my feed and i thought it was quite interesting, (she shares some videos in the description too i want to link directly: a shorter video/tiktok summarizing the topic, and another tiktok stitched in response that digs in a little deeper) and is kinda relevant with some of the things i've been talking about with DA, though this discussion is specific to monster romance + "cozy" fantasy and how a lot of these stories use d&d or tolkien as the foundation of their worldbuilding with little thought and without understanding the harmful, racist stereotypes it perpetuates..... and of course these are just prevalent tropes across the fantasy genre as a whole, whether inspired by d&d and tolkien or otherwise (as we've seen in DA). i really like the quote from the substack article she links by Michael LaBron, i feel like it makes it very obvious how these depictions are directly connected: "In the same way that Orcs create a boogy man that justify the hero's violence, sexy Orcs create a monster that the damsel in distress doesn’t actually have to be afraid of."

the other article i shared previously really expanded the first half of that quote with the "civilization versus savages" binary that we see with a lot of fantasy races (orcs, goblins, drow, and qunari in dragon age) but i think this half of the discussion is important to have as well so i just wanted to share. here is the article by Michael LaBron:

and here is this article again too that i shared when talking about dragon age earlier, by Daniel Heath Justice:

i love fantasy, it's my favorite genre, it's what i personally write for myself, and i think learning about and discussing the flaws within the genre are an important and integral part of enjoying it, too, which is why i've been discussing it so much with veilguard, and i wanted to share more examples as this discussion has become relevant in a lot of spaces right now outside of just gaming/RPGs/TTRPGs.

[heatwa-ves]

maybe I'm just being a hater but I really dont like a lot of alien stage aus and I don't like requited ivantill. the point of it is the tragedy and the point is that ivantill is unrequited and putting them in flat situations where they're a happy couple undermines everything that matters about their relationship

[captainclickycat]

Asking because I get why the term is broadly applied, but to me there’s still something amusing about the way it gets used for anything from like “people who got off on the wrong foot and were mildly standoffish towards each other when they first met” to “what if Batman and the Joker fucked nasty” when these are very much not the same thing.

[mifithemuffin]

aus where the core message stays true to canon but it's written in a very funky font you are so dear to me

[approvedtrash]

always finding you

"Please..." His voice cracked as his fingers ghosted across my wrist.

"Please what? It doesn't change anything. You're not changing your mind," I said. Tears streamed down my cheeks while I looked anywhere but at him.

"It's not because I don't want to. I would do ANYTHING to kiss you right now, but I can't. I'm not - you don't deserve to have your heart broken again," he said between gritted teeth.

Shaking my head, "Why do you get to decide that? How do you know this isn't what I want?"

He moved closer to me now. His chest was against my back as his hands found mine and wrapped our arms around my torso. His lips were next to my ear as I leaned into his warmth.

"Because you know, this isn't going to fix anything. You're still going to go back to him because it's the right thing to do, and I'm not going to be here forever," he whispered.

My body shuddered at his words, "It's not fair. Why can't I have you?"

He huffed out a breath almost like a snicker, "I would turn your world upside down."

"Maybe in the best ways though," I replied. I tried turning around to face him again but he wouldn't budge.

"if I look at you again, I won't be able to control myself. I'll steal you away from him without a second thought," he said almost like a promise.

I gulped, "What if that is exactly why -"

I couldn't get the words out fast enough. I heard my name being called. My duty to go back and be with someone I didn't love. My body started to shake as I knew my reality was getting closer.

"You be brave, my darling Starshine. I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures," he said. His voice shaking as he knew his time was coming to an end here.

"Please don't -" but my words shattered on my tongue as the white light shone brighter and his warmth was gone. He had gone back to his own time. He had left me to tend to my own world just as my fiance rounded the corner with relief in his eyes.

__________________________________________________________

Walking through the busy streets in a new city always had my head spinning. How did everyone know where to go? Even with my maps telling me where to turn, my navigation was off. I had decided to duck into a coffee shop. Earning myself a delicious latte as I got my bearings again.

"Is anyone sitting here?" I heard someone ask.

Still looking at my phone I shook my head, "No and I won't be here long so you won't be bothered with-"

My words got stuck in my throat. I had finally looked up into familiar eyes. Losing my thoughts in the process.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" He asked.

Licking his bottom lip as he studied me. Not in a creepy way but in a way that had my brain short-circuiting. I took him in as well, that voice.

Struggling to get words out I finally replied, "No I'm new in town."

He hummed at my response and pulled out a book. One of those fantasy novels I kept hearing about. Maybe I'd get to read some once I settled in.

"Are those books good?" I asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.

He nodded, "They're my favorite. They've got a wonderfully beautiful heroin that I can't get out of my head."

"That sounds right up my alley," I said taking a sip of my coffee.

"I think you'd really like her, she has the same - Nevermind," he said, shaking his head.

I eyed him curiously, "The same? What were you going to say?"

"You'll have to read them and find out," he said and whispered my name.

I hadn't told him my name and it wasn't on my coffee cup. Just like that, the darkness surrounding my day filled with a wonderful and joyous light. A light that felt familiar and safe.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

i’m spending my sunday evening going through my google drive, saving everything to my external hard drive (don’t @ me i should’ve done this ages ago), and deleting it from the internet, and hoooo boy am i already having A Time™

[kanerallels]

bessxhenry and i must know how you'd coffee shop them. (also have you written any other fic for them???)

Oh you have no idea how many different ideas I just cycled through before finally landing on this one I'm still not totally sold on it but I feel like I'm never totally happy with the M Sec stuff I write. I feel like I have a hard time getting Bess's voice right

But in answer to your question yes! I have! I wrote one Christmas drabble for them last year, and I have an unpublished fic about them and Stevie where I basically went "what if they interacted with one of my blorbos?" and didn't wait for an answer. Anyways, without further ado! My much longer than planned ficlet, beneath the cut

The clatter of pans in the background tugged Elizabeth’s attention away from the paper she was writing for what had to be the hundredth time, and she winced. Usually, this off the beaten track coffee shop was less busy at this time of day, leaving her in peace to finish her schoolwork.

But today, it was packed. Every table was full, and there was a long line stretching back from the counter. Things weren’t going to be getting any more peaceful any time soon.

Closing her laptop, she slid it into her bag. It was probably time to head back to her dorm room and see if she could get anything done there. The day had been enough of a loss already.

She grabbed her cup of coffee, which had long since gone cold, and moved to her feet. Elizabeth took one step towards the trash can— and immediately crashed into one of the other customers.

The coffee slipped from her hand, splashing across the front of the man’s shirt, and Elizabeth let out an involuntary gasp. “Oh my— I’m so sorry!”

Hastily, she grabbed some of the paper napkins from her table, apologizing as she did so. “I didn’t see you coming— it’s so crowded in here and loud and I was just leaving—”

“It’s okay,” the man assured her, offering her a smile as he accepted the napkins from her. Despite herself, Elizabeth found herself giving him a quick onceover. With dark hair and warm brown eyes that reflected his friendly smile, he was… definitely not unattractive. 

“It was my fault, anyways— I was distracted, wasn’t looking where I was going,” he continued apologetically. “The least I can do is buy you a new coffee.”

That made Elizabeth’s eyebrow shoot up. “I’m the one who dumped a drink all over you. If anything, I should be offering to buy your coffee.”

“Well, if you’re offering,” the man said with a half-grin. “But it’s not exactly good manners to tell someone to buy you a coffee. This gets the job done a lot better.”

Oh, so that’s what’s going on. Giving him a polite smile that, with any luck, communicated a polite disinterest, Elizabeth said, “I was actually just on my way out, I have some studying to do. I appreciate the offer, though.”

He accepted that with a nod. “Sure. You’re at UVA, too, right?”

“I am,” Elizabeth said, and the man smiled.

“Thought I recognized you. I’m Henry.”

“Elizabeth,” she said, casting a quick glance towards the door. Henry seemed to get the point.

“Maybe I’ll see you around, Elizabeth,” he said, giving her a final easy smile before joining the line for coffee. 

Despite her insistence that she had to leave, Elizabeth lingered just another second to watch him chat with the cashier, wearing that smile, warm as the sun. Interesting, she thought, and almost found herself hoping they did meet again.

However, it was unlikely— she had school to focus on, not a social life. And she wasn’t about to keep pining away for a boy she’d just met that day.

She headed for the door, and had almost made it to the door when she shot a last look over her shoulder. To her surprise, Henry met her eyes, and lifted his coffee towards her in a quick salute. Sending him a quick smile and a nod, Elizabeth pushed open the door. Focus, she scolded herself. She had work ahead of her that was bigger than some boy with a nice smile.

[mafiatsunafish]

Guanyu owns a quaint but also very popular coffee shop that tend to give out small gifts for the local university near by and George is a business student who can’t cook to safe his life from the very same uni 

They are neighbors and have diner together  

(Toto is the business professor and a regular at the coffee shop)  

[maximus-gluteus]

nothing to see here