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candlewaxandp0lar0ids · 1 year

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jealousy, jealousy || I.N. x Reader

Summary: Watching the guy you have a huge crush on be a pretend couple with one of the prettiest girls you know for a photoshoot isn't the perfect way of spending your morning, that's for sure.

Who knows though, things might start looking up sooner than you'd expect.

Word count: 3.9k

Genres: college AU, fluff with a little angst, idiots to lovers (but only one of them is an idiot and it's not IN)

Warnings & Tags: reader has anxiety, reader is insecure, someone is verbally unpleasant towards the reader, kissing, Tzuyu from Twice is in this

series masterlist

A/N: So this is part one of my lil project for Stray Kids' anniversary! I've got three one-shots written so far, so I'm confident I'll be able to post the maknae line in the next few days, and then take a couple of days to finish the hyung line or post them as I write them, I'll see. I hope you'll like it!

For this one-shot, please do suspend your disbelief for the way the school work is described in this lol, think of it as an artistic rendition or as something out of one of those shojos that go wayyyy overboard.

The shoot is supposed to start at 10, which means you’re there at 8, and the second you walk through the door you’re already plagued with thoughts that you should have shown up half an hour ago. Even as you’re the only one from your team there, you feel the familiar lump forming in your throat. Your mind goes over everything that needs to be done, everything that can go wrong, everything that is likely to go wrong, and everything you’ll end up taking the blame for.

You force yourself to take a deep breath. You focus on the end of the shoot — supposed to be at noon, but likely to actually be at 2, and it should be around 3 by the time you finish cleaning up —, on how you’ll be able to get back to the quiet of your home afterwards, and on how the atmosphere here isn’t too bad, this early in the morning. You’re not the only one here, you’ve already met the tired eyes of a few of the other students who you suspect didn’t go home last night, but there is something light in the air. You saw the sun rising on the way over and the light is still gently pouring in through the windows.

What a shame this won’t last.

When the others start rolling in, you’ve set up your little corner, just the way you like it. Your lights, your mirrors, your brushes and products, right where they should be so that they’ll fall right under your fingers when you need them. It helps you breathe a little better, but the lump doesn’t go away. It’s alright; you’re used to it by now.

Nari’s the first one to walk in, which isn’t surprising considering she’s the one directing the shoot, and it’s her clothes that the ‘models’ are going to be wearing. That is to say, the students she’s recruited to model for her, just like she recruited you into doing the make-up for her. The two of you aren’t close, not even friends, but you’re good at your job and a bit of a pushover, which makes you the ideal target for that kind of things.

She waves at you with a tense smile, but you know it’s not meant for you, she’s just stressed out. She always is. Unlike you, though, she has a tendency of taking it out on others, and that explains at least half of the tension in your shoulders today.

You need to learn how to say no to people.

Tzuyu, from the dance program, enters next, looking unreal as always. You’ve worked with her a few times before, too. She’s a sweetheart and you know she’ll make your job easier.

The same can’t be said about the next person to make his way through the door, whose apparition you’ve been waiting for since you got here, embarrassingly glancing at the door every few minutes.

Yang Jeongin walks in like he owns the place.

To be fair, he kind of does. Also enrolled in the fashion course, he’s pretty much the go-to when it comes to getting male models. Hwang Hyunjin, from the dance programme, is the second one, mostly because he’s harder to get a hold of — and because, you’ve heard, his girlfriend is pretty scary.

Your breath hitches in your throat as he walks over to your spot. His coat is thrown casually over his shoulder, his walk confident, and stylish glasses that you know he doesn't need rest on the tip of his nose. He died his hair back to black recently, but you can see it’s still damaged from the light pink that was his previous color.

“We meet again,” Tzuyu chimes from her seat, grinning from ear to ear, and Jeongin smiles in response, his expression changing entirely the second he does.

“It’s great to see you, Jeongin,” Nari purrs as she approaches, before she sets her eyes on you. “Are you done with Tzuyu? We really need to get started here.”

You know you shouldn’t let her speak to you like that, you have no reason to, but all you can think about in the moment is to pacify her to ensure that she’ll leave you alone.

“I still need a few minutes with her,” you say, and Nari huffs in annoyance, before her attention is captured by a guy setting up the lights and she power walks over to him.

“Do you want me to tell her something?”

You shoot a surprised look at Jeongin, who’s staring at you with a frown on your face, and you immediately look away. You hope it looks like you’re just focusing back on Tzuyu, and not like your heart jumped up to your throat when you met his eyes.

“It’s fine,” you say, “I know how she gets on shoots. “Just sit down and I’ll be with you in a second.”

He nods slowly, eyes still on you as you busy yourself around Tzuyu, but the tension remains in his jaw, which you don’t miss. It gives you a pang in the chest — shit, you don’t like when people are displeased with you.

It also makes his jaw look really good.

Tzuyu leaves to go appease Nari as soon as you’re done with her, and you’re relieved when she’s dragged away to go put on her clothes.

That doesn’t last, though, because next thing you know you’re a few inches away from Jeongin’s perfect face, and he’s staring straight at you.

You swallow. Then you grab one of your brushes, and you get to work.

“No late night snacks this time?” you ask, half-teasing because the last time you’d worked with him, his face had been somewhat puffy from it.

A smile breaks on his face, and immediately there are flowers blooming in your chest. He can look so serious and unapproachable one second, but as soon as his lips curl and his eyes crease, he’s a whole other person.

“I didn’t want to make your work harder,” he replies. You feel yourself freezing, and then you turn away to grab another product, praying that you didn’t just stare dumbly at him for too long.

“You got started on your take on the modernized hanbok already?”

He hums in reply.

“I have one sketch. You?”

“I’m counting on the rush of adrenaline I’ll get the week before to finish it,” you admit.

You’re too focused to see the curiosity in his eyes when you say that. You do, however, notice him tilting his head, and you immediately correct him, fingers sliding along his jaw to pull him back in his correct place. As you do, you feel him swallowing, and you’re quick to remove your hand.

If you’d been looking, you’d have noticed his ears turning red.

“You were the first one here, though,” he says after a few seconds of silence.

“Oh, yeah, that’s because I don’t want to let people down. I’m the only one who’ll get in trouble if I procrastinate too long.”

And even then, you won’t, you’ll just spend a horrible week telling yourself you’ll never do that again.

You inevitably will.

God, you’re so tired of living with yourself, sometimes.

“You should tell me if you need a last second model,” Jeongin mumbles. He’s careful not to move his lips, but you’ve perfected the art to understand that language over the years. The comment makes you laugh.

“You're always completely booked for shoots on the last week,” you grin. You yourself still give a few hours of your time here and there, though you don’t stick around very long. You know that Nari plans her shoots ahead partly for that reason. It’s kind of flattering, if you think about it.

Someone with her drive and her talent gets to have a shitty personality, you suppose.

“I’ll get Hyunjin to replace me.”

There goes your heart again. It’s not fair. It’s not fair that the only time you spend with him goes like that, because you’re too cowardly to approach him during class, and it’s not fair that invariably—

“Are you done soon?” Nari shouts from behind the screen she’s put up to make a corner into a changing room.

“Just a few minutes more!” you reply before focusing back on Jeongin. “I’ll think about it,” you tell him, though you know yourself well enough to be able to tell that you’re extremely unlikely to go through with it. Just the drafting of the text would take you hours, and actually sending it? The idea is laughable.

You really wish you were normal with that stuff.

“Don’t move, I’m almost done,” you say, and he goes still, and your heart’s hammering in your chest, but at least he’s no longer saying things you’re at risk of misconstruing.

As he closes his eyes to let you put on the finishing touches, though, you know you’re in for a long day.

“Jeongin, can you put your hand a little lower? Tzuyu, smile with your eyes please? Now tilt your head more to the right? More? Jeongin, look at the camera but like, from the side, from— Okay, two seconds for touch ups, and then we’ll need to get things done a little faster everyone, alright?”

Nari’s forcing herself to smile so much that you think she might cramp. You rush past her to get to Tzuyu and Jeongin, carefully touching up their make up where you need and adjusting a little for the light. You also pat Jeongin’s forehead to catch beads of sweat that formed under the artificial light, and he gives you a grateful nod as you do your best not to think about things you shouldn’t be thinking about.

“We’ll be done soon,” Tzuyu says cheerfully, but even she seems to be forcing her smile at this point. You don’t blame her for it. You do, however, think she’s not being very realistic about how much work they have left.

It’s 11.30 and they’re nowhere near done. The start of the shoot ran late because of Nari’s adjustments to the clothing. After that, there was a heated conversation between her and the photograph over the subject of filters, leading to the guy throwing his hands in the air and quitting on the spot, meaning she’s the only one there. You can tell she’s fuming, and though you have sympathy for that, you’re also pretty terrified of becoming the subject of her ire.

“You’re not messing him up, right?” she asks, glaring at you, and you jump away from Jeongin.

“Sorry,” you say automatically, even though you haven’t done anything wrong. “I’m all done.”

She looks at him critically, trying to find flaws in your work.

“He has a spot on the chin,” she says finally, “seriously, if you don’t get your shit together we’ll never—”

“You don’t speak to her like that,” Jeongin interrupts her, and his voice sounds sharp and cutting.

The air freezes in the room. You risk a glance in his direction. He’s staring straight at Nari, lips curved ever so slightly downwards in distaste.

He also does have a little spot on the chin.

Shit.

Nari’s staring at him, too. She’s paled, and her lower lip is shaking.

“Sorry,” she finally says, voice trembling. “Sorry, I’m j-just— We don’t have that long and— Sorry.”

She looks small and vulnerable, and your heart melts on the spot. You can’t help it.

“It’s okay,” you say, “just give me a second to fix it.”

Jeongin exhales slowly next to you, but you suspect it’s in annoyance, not in relief. Still, he leans towards you to give you better access to his face.

“You don’t have to placate her,” he mumbles, lips barely moving.

“I know,” you reply. “It’s just easier that way.”

He frowns, but doesn’t add anything. For a second, you almost tell him that you wish you could stand up for yourself, that the truth is your ‘freeze’ response strikes you every single time and you can’t figure out what to say, that if you could, you’d—

“All good?” Nari asks.

You give her a nod and, this time, she doesn’t say anything about Jeongin — or about Tzuyu, for that matter. So you walk back to your spot, and you watch as the shoot continues.

You don’t really like watching these. That’s generally true. You have friends who do, who think that ‘this is where the magic happens’, but you know all the magician’s tricks, and that leaves no actual magic for you. Still, you’re needed here. You suppose you could have quit on the spot after Nari’s outburst, but it’s— you can’t actually do that. So you’ll stick it out until the end, even if you’re not enjoying yourself.

And that is particularly true as Nari directs Jeongin to pull Tzuyu closer to him. As he does, neither of them questioning it because they’re used to it by now, you find yourself sucking in a discreet breath between your teeth. Jeongin’s hand seems large over Tzuyu’s shoulder, long, pale fingers gently brushing against the skin and for a second, you think about the electric feeling that would run through you if he ever—

Just thinking about it makes heat shoot through your entire body, and you swallow. At least no one’s looking at you.

Another direction from Nari, and Tzuyu puts her hand over Jeongin’s chest, shooting a bold grin at the camera.

You bite the inside of your cheek.

Direction. They step away from each other, but Jeongin reaches out for her, and she delicately places her fingers into his open end, both of them longingly staring at their hands.

Your fingers dig into your arms.

Direction. Keeping Tzuyu’s hand in his, Jeongin brings it to his lips and they gaze into each other’s eyes. They look perfect together. They’re both stunning, and you know there’ve been whispers about them on campus already, in no small part because they’re often reunited for these shoots.

But God does it burn in your chest to look at them right now.

“We’re done!” Nari shouts at 1.50 pm. Behind her, the group that’s supposed to get the room at 2 is huffing and puffing, but you don’t think a fucking panzer could have gotten her to clear the space until she was happy with her work.

You should be relieved. You’re not. You won’t be until you’ve locked the door to your room behind you.

“Wanna get a drink to celebrate?” Tzuyu asks Jeongin. Her smile’s back to its usual brightness, now that the tension’s mostly gone.

You start picking up your stuff, but, embarrassingly, you’re very much focused on hearing his answer to that. You wish you wouldn’t be doing that, because that’s not any of your business, yet you can’t seem to help yourself right now.

You probably would have caught it if Nari didn’t stop by your side just then.

“Hey,” she says, “I am really sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have said that.”

The thing is, you’re pretty sure she meant it then, but now there’s a lightness to her voice that you find… annoying. It seems to you that she’s already moved on and expects you to do the same. Normally you would, but after having spent the last two hours watching the guy you have this stupid, hopeless crush on all over one of the prettiest girls you’ve ever seen, something in you just— snaps.

“I think you’ll have to find someone else next time,” you tell her with a polite smile. Her face falls, and you immediately feel guilty. You shouldn’t. Probably. Should you? Are you being mean? Are you doing something wrong? Does that make you a bad person?

“I— Okay,” she says, and this time her voice’s much softer. She looks down at her feet. “I get it. I know I’m not easy to— Yeah. I’m sorry.”

You thought standing up to her would feel good, that you’d feel Schadenfreude over this moment. This is the furthest thing from that. Actually, you only manage to bite back your own ‘I’m sorry’ at the last second.

“I just— this environment stresses me out,” you still say, speaking too fast. “It’s not really good or fun for me and—”

“Sure. Don’t worry about it.” A deep breath, and then Nari nods at you politely. “Well, I’ll get to cleaning up my stuff.”

And just as you’re replying “Same,” she’s spun around on her heels and started putting the clothes away.

You don’t know where that leaves the two of you, but that reaction makes the moment just a little easier on you.

You wonder, vaguely, if she did that on purpose. You don't linger on the thought though, and you go back to your own program, walking towards your little make-up station to start putting stuff away, getting everything back to its place in your bags. It’s something you slow at, just like you’re slow at setting them up, but it also helps you getting back to your normal self. With every object coming back to where they belong, you can breathe a little easier.

You still notice almost immediately the presence behind you, and you’re not particularly surprised to find Jeongin there. You give him a smile, and gesture at the chair.

“If you give me a second, I can get some of that off your face,” you say as you gesture to him. Camera make-up would look quite strange outside, and he’s been to enough of these things to know that at least as well as you do.

“I heard you told Nari off.”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess you, uh, were right.”

That’s not all that happened there, but that will have to do.

When you glance at him, though, he doesn’t look happy about it, a frown barring his expression, and your fragile confidence immediately falters.

“Do you think that was a bad idea…?”

His eyes widen and he's quick to shake his head.

“No, not at all, you did good!” You can’t help but smile at the words. He’s younger than you, but somehow keeps behaving like he’s not. “I just like working with you.” He gives you a sheepish smile, lips pressed together.

“Sit down,” you say like your heart didn't skip a beat, “the least I can do is not let you go out like that.”

So he does, and even though you still have stuff out that you should be taking care of, you lean close to him and get to work once more.

There’ll be other shoots, of course, Nari isn’t the only one who requires your services. In fact, you’re surprised that he’d have thought of that at all. You know that it didn’t cross your mind, probably because you think these moments mostly as fueling your delusions.

The idea that Jeongin could actually enjoy spending time with you hadn’t even occurred to you.

Huh. That might say a thing or two about your self-confidence.

“So, you’re going out with Tzuyu after this?” you ask before your thoughts start running wild.

His eyes open.

“We’re going to get drinks, yeah,” he says, a cautious edge to his voice. “You should come with us, actually.”

“Oh,” you laugh, “I don’t know if she’d be very happy if I did that. Wouldn’t want to third wheel, you know.”

You hope you do a good job of keeping any bitterness out of your voice. You certainly try your best to appear nonchalant, like you’re merely doing small talk while you’re removing his make-up, even if you avoid meeting his eyes, knowing that it would

That might be why it takes you by surprise when Jeongin’s fingers wrap around your wrist, interrupting you. When you look at him, you find him staring at you with a surprisingly serious expression.

“You wouldn’t third wheel,” he says, which you certainly don’t think warrants all of that.

“It’s fine,” you reply, attempting to joke about it even as the breath is knocked out of your lungs, because you will not be caught dead misreading the situation for something it’s not, “if anything getting a date with Tzuyu is—”

Then, several things happen at once. The hand around your wrist pulls you forward and you stumble, just as his other hand shoots up to cup your face.

And then he’s kissing you.

His mouth is warm, his lips soft, his fingers carding through your hair, and suddenly you’ve lost your balance and you’re half sitting in his lap and any attempt at forming a coherent thought is swallowed by what is happening.

A very, very distant part of your brain is thankful for Nari’s screen, which has been moved to the make-up station to make place for the group that comes after you, but that is only a fleeting thought, because still, Jeongin’s kissing you. His hands are gentle, holding you like you’re a porcelain doll, but his lips are fierce, and you feel, briefly, his teeth grazing against your lower lip. His right hand travels from your wrist to your waist, and you’re pulled even closer to him, and now you’re pressed against his chest and all you can think about is how you want more of this.

When he moves away from you, you’re panting, breath short, and you can only stare at him with wide eyes.

“You wouldn’t be the one third-wheeling,” he says.

“What,” you say in response, ever the eloquent one.

He sighs, runs a hand through his hair while the other one remains on your hips, not quite squeezing, but not letting go of you either.

“I— thought I’d made it pretty obvious I was interested in you,” he mumbles.

Oh. Uh, yeah, about that…

“I, uh, I assumed it was just wishful thinking,” you admit under your breath. “I mean, we don’t really, uh, talk outside of these shoots.”

He sighs and puts his forehead against yours. Your noses brush, and you’re acutely aware of the fact that you would just have to move a little to kiss him again.

“I— always looked forward to seeing you,” he admits quietly, almost shyly, something you’d never thought you would see, “but you always looked like you wanted to run away when I came up to you in class, so I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You don’t make me uncomfortable, just— just shy, I think.”

It makes him grin, and you realize that seeing that specific look on his face makes you want to kiss him even more. If you were bolder, you would, especially right now, but you don’t think you can dare to just yet.

It’s fine, though, because he’s the one who kisses you, briefly, tenderly, and then he looks at you like you’re one of the world’s seven wonders.

“Want to go make Tzuyu feel like a third wheel?” he asks, rising an eyebrow.

You laugh, and you can’t know it, but his chest swells with pride when you do.

“And then I can take you on a proper date,” he offers. “If you’d like.”

‘If you’d like,’ he says, and you suspect that he knows exactly how much you’d like that, but you humor him because how could you not.

“I’d love that.”

this was my first time writing for IN and this made me realize that he's probably the member whose personality I'm least sure how to write, so I hope you enjoyed it still and I'll see you tomorrow for Seungmin's part! Any feedback, comment, reblogs or asks are extremely welcome, I may not be able to get to it right away because I'm working on the rest but I they're much appreciated ❤️

#stray kids #i.n.#yang jeongin #in x reader #jeongin x reader #yang jeongin x reader #stray kids imagine #stray kids x reader #jeongin fanfic #candywrites

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vitaminseetarot · 8 months

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PAC Pick a Palette: One Small Thing That Will Help You Grow ☕🌞💴

Welcome back to my pick a card readings! This time we're looking at the time between our New Moon sowing and our Full Moon flowering. At this stage of the magic making process, work has gone underway to build upon the seed that was germinated and growth happens. Soon it will reveal the peak of its work through the flower, but before then the stem and leaves also deserve attention. They're the ones helping to power the whole thing!

It's important, then, to look at what you're using and where you are in the process. Not everything is meant to grow at the same rate, but sometimes the right ingredients like plant food or pruning clippers can do an incredible job at providing a needed boost.

Pick one of these three color palette swatches to find out what you can add or remedy to assist the growth of your own magic!

(Forgive me if the spread out looks a bit funky this time, it's all about finding the part of the house with the best natural lighting!)

Pile 1: Coffee Beans

Draw: Four of Wands; Queen of Pentacles, Page of Wands, Death 18 - Communication, Aries Rising - Act, Heartsease - Compassion "Tread a little more tenderly."

You need more space to grow whatever it is you're creating. A bird can try to lay an egg without a nest, but it's never going to be easy. Building a sturdy nest increases the young's chance of survival. You should try considering the space in which you're using to create your project or desire: are you writing a novel in a cluttered room, or cooking a meal when you can't find half of your measuring cups and saucepans? Are you meditating in a place where it's difficult to tune out the background noise?

Four of Wands talks about creating the space for you to thrive like the corn in Queen of Pentacles. The Queen is able to cultivate her garden in peace and certainty that abundance is hers. You are meant to take what it is you're doing and allow it to grow, so the Queen is being quite literal here. But she wants you to do it from a place of joy and enthusiasm instead of dread.

The Page is fired up from drinking coffee and is ready to go. But you must be in a place of ease with yourself to do this. Your message is to act upon your growth, but do it from a gentle place and at a gentle pace. Do not try to over exert yourself when you do have the space to practice or create. Do not try, for example, to squeeze 45 minutes of exercise into 5 minutes, thinking that it's all the time you're allowed, so why not go overboard, amiright? This is the fast lane to killing what you're growing and your joy for it, pile 1, and what you're growing is still in a very delicate stage. You have time to work out the details, so don't rush this. Heartease was the first card to pop out and the only card to jump, so it's really emphasizing the need to be careful with how you spend your time and energy.

The Communication card is the only one that really stands out to me. Perhaps what you're developing has to do with communications. Writing a book, preparing a speech, blogging, interview, etc. but it could also have to do with growing your connections with other people through how you communicate. You could be rekindling an old friendship from school or meeting someone for coffee? In any case, Compassion is the keyword here. Be gentle and ready to listen more to feedback, while creating a safe space for your friend or colleague to communicate clearly with you. This is a meetup you'll want to act upon, but do so from a place of kindness.

Also for some reason, maybe it's because I heard the song recently while out, but Tom Petty's "Free Fallin" is in my head while typing your reading and only your reading. Argh, such an earworm! If this person you're meeting up with hurt your heart in some way way back in the past… yeah it's cool to be on the defensive, assert your boundaries. Heartease, however, still asks that you treat this situation with diplomacy.

Pile 2: Radiance

Draw: Eight of Wands; Queen of Pentacles, King of Swords, Knight of Pentacles 19 - Healing Grief, Pisces Rising - Dream, Wisteria - Longevity "Plan for and take the dedicated path."

You have some similarities to pile 1, so if you were interested in that pile I recommend checking it out for messages. For starters, you have Queen of Pentacles in the exact same space on your spread, so that tells me there's a lot of collective push for undertaking rapid growth at this time. The Queen does it from an appearance of near effortlessness, but it's not without considerable effort on her part. She's able to handle a lot with grace and consistency.

It seems like in your cards, pile 2, you're pretty solid when it comes to growing towards your goals. You've become used to trucking along without must reprieve, as if it's from one thing to another as smoothly as the train cars pass the railroad crossing. You're being asked to remember about the power of momentum, and about the little things that add up. Think of how a bird takes off. When it starts flapping, it flaps hard. Once it's high in the sky, it spreads out and soars with ease. It requires a lot of steady pushing, one flap at a time, but eventually when it takes off it gains more speed than ever.

Again like with pile 1, you have all the time you need to make your dreams grow and flourish. Just don't be surprised if this takes a rather long time to accomplish. The Queen of Pentacles is less interested in quantity or time efficiency as she is in quality. It's not that she isn't punctual, far from it, but she and the Knight know that the best fruits are ones that ripen when they're ready to. You're being encouraged to plan for the long term, with wise judgement as the King of Swords suggests, and to open yourself up to envisioning more brilliant avenues to fly through. Imagine what would make your heart soar, and grow that instead of something that you merely feel "obligated" to do. Great things can take time, but it'll be completely worth the wait.

Also, my sun catcher reflected a rainbow perfectly on the osprey in this Eight of Wands card, it's nice. There is a radiance that comes from taking time to grow something to how you want it to be, like the bird with its fish catching talents (it can pluck them right out of the water and fly around boasting its catch). Your skills will shine here, just be sure to care for yourself in the meantime.

Pile 3: Perfect Penny

Draw: Nine of Wands; II High Priestess, XIV Temperance, Seven of Wands 25 - Truth, Taurus Moon - Relax, Belladonna - Silence "Listen more and quiet be."

So this was an interesting spread because at first I couldn't tell if the message was to hold on or let go. Maybe that's your current dilemma when it comes to growth. And it's a valid one, cause it's a lot like the pruning stage. You have to decide which leaves are valuable to your health, and which leaves are dead and must be clipped away.

The penny is like… saving a wishing penny for a rainy day. You're on the defense with Nine of Wands. Do I use this penny now to accomplish this, you ask, or I should I save it for later when I might use it for something else? Nine of Wands is a lot of energy being deliberately held back for a reason, like an arrow ready to fire. It could be that you're maybe putting a little too much perfectionism into the idea. What you're growing has not yet been grounded into the material world, it's still a passion idea or a fire in your heart but you're holding it back. But Nine of Wands is also a Sagittarius card, doubly so since Sagittarius is the 9th sign. The requirement here for growth is pushing forward with optimism that your wish will not go to waste. There's an energy of perfectionism here especially as it took me exactly nine photos before I settled for this one. I finally decided it didn't have to be perfect, it just had to feel ok enough!

My first reaction was to say "trust your gut and you'll learn to balance the give and take," then High Priestess and Temperance came out together! Somewhere inside you already know what it is you would like to do with "the penny" of an idea you're casting into the wishing well. You don't have to overthink this. It's a matter of coming from a heart-centered place of Truth. Belladonna is showing you how to tap into your intuition: "listen more, silent be." Listen closely to what your heart is wishing to do. Balance this out with how others may perceive your goals or growth. There may be people who say something like, "you're going to use what you got on 'that'?" or "are you really sure that's what you want to do?"

It takes practice to choose from a place of intuitive open mindedness, but it will reward you in this case. You're being reminded to stay relaxed and steady about this. Making the next move doesn't have to come from a place of high pressure or unneeded stress, even if it's time sensitive. But by learning to listen to your intuition more, the part that tells you how to proceed from a place of optimism within reason, you'll be able to more quickly expand and grow upon what it is you're creating. With penny's copper corresponding to Venus as well as Taurus moon, it's suggested here that you could receive monetary or financial growth through this, as well.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2023, @VitaminseeTarot ™

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ctitan98official · 2 months

Text

Larissa Weems gets pregnant by Y/N part 3

Alright, so excited to return to this AU! Let’s get into it!

Larissa has been dealing with morning sickness for most of her pregnancy up until this point. She assures you that it will begin to dissipate once she gets further along, but you worry endlessly about her.

Today has been rough for her. So rough, in fact, that she ended up canceling all of her meetings for the day so she could just rest and work in her office.

No one knows about the baby yet, but a few faculty members have been speculating that the two of you are seeing each other.

You’re dreading the stupid reactions and comments you know you’ll get once you two confirm the rumors. But, it really doesn’t matter. You love Larissa and anyone who has a problem with that can go fuck themselves.

You have two free periods before your next class, so you came to bring Larissa a little snack and spend time with her. Even though she’s queasy, you want to make sure she’s eating. You decided to get her some french fries. They’re quickly becoming one of her biggest cravings and she’s happily nibbling on them at the moment.

Once Larissa finishes, she daintily wipes her mouth and looks at you adoringly. “Thank you for keeping us both fed, darling. You’re so good to us,” She says, gently cradling her belly.

You smile at this. “Anything for my two favorite people,” You tell her.

Larissa grins back and is about to say something else before her eyes widen comically as she remembers something. She totally forgot to tell you about a little project she’s been working on for the baby. “Oh, Y/N! I made a Pinterest for all the things we need to get before the little one is born!” She exclaims, waving you closer. (A/N: This woman 100% uses Pinterest)

You quirk an eyebrow, but you’re just relieved to see that she’s better for the moment. “Okay, great, babe. Show me!” You say and pull up a chair to sit next to her. She looks so cute as she enthusiastically pulls up her collection. You can’t help but smile.

Larissa finally finds what she’s looking for, but tentatively turns her laptop around so you can’t see what’s on the screen yet. “You… Won’t make fun of me for this, right?” She asks, suddenly scared you’ll think she’s going overboard.

You feel your heart break a bit at the worry on her face. You love how happy she is about the baby. It’s sweet and you would never hurt her feelings like that. “Babe, of course not. This is a special time and you should be able to enjoy it,” You reassure and lean in to give her a kiss.

Larissa kisses you back and pulls away, eyes glittering and feeling relieved. She should have known you wouldn’t tease her, she’s just feeling a little sensitive at the moment. “Thank you, darling,” She says. “Well… I guess I’ll let you take a look now,” She finally turns the computer towards you.

After you take a look, you grin. “I like it!” You soon say. Your eyes, however, widen slightly as you take in just how… Colossal her collection board is.

“Good! I started working on this about ten minutes after I found out I was pregnant. I think I did a great job, if I do say so myself!”

You’re not surprised by this and laugh. She loves to plan. “So, how are we gonna narrow down what stuff we get?”

“Well, obviously we can’t get everything on this list, but I hope to get most of it,” She says and smiles at you.

Your jaw damn near hits the floor. Holy shit. Most of it? How are you going to afford that? “Whoa… You really have all of this baby stuff figured out, huh?” You ask, scratching the back of your neck nervously and wondering how much all of this is going to cost you.

Larissa nods at you, feeling so proud of herself. “I even have different color schemes and variations picked out if it turns out to be twins!” She beams at you and claps her hands excitedly.

You blanch at this. Oh, geez… PLEASE don’t let it be twins. You don’t think your poor heart could take it. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, babe,” You say quietly.

Larissa looks over at the panicked look on your face and giggles. “Don’t worry, darling. Whatever happens, it will be alright,” She promises and reaches over to squeeze your hand.

You take a deep breath and look over at her. “Yeah… You’re right, babe,” You say. As long as Larissa’s by your side, there’s no need to sweat it.

Larissa cups your face and gives you a tender kiss.

You try to deepen it, but… An unexpected knock sounds at her office door.

You look at Larissa in confusion. “I thought you said you didn’t have anything on your schedule today?” You ask.

“I did, darling,” Larissa says, perplexed. She thinks for a moment before growling and rolling her eyes. “Damn! I forgot that I had a meeting with a prospective student’s family…” She hisses and covers her face with her hands.

Your eyes widen. “Oh! Well, I’ll just head out and let you-”

Larissa gasps at this. “No, no, no!” She suddenly says, grabbing onto your arm.

You’re shocked by her reaction. What has her so stressed? She does this sort of thing all the time. “Um… You want me to stay?”

“I just-” Larissa tries to say before another knock rattles the door. She sighs. “Just a moment, please!” She calls out as calmly as possible, but is clearly freaking out. She turns to you. “I… Know the parents of this student. Her mother used to be my roommate here at the school and we… Well, have a… Complicated history,” She reveals.

You furrow your eyebrows, but quickly nod. “Of course, I’ll stay, babe,” You tell her.

Larissa smiles at you, endlessly grateful to have you in her life. “Thank you, darling,” She tells you.

You give her a wink and stand up, holding your hand out to her.

Larissa takes it and stands as well, straightening her skirt and reaching over to adjust your jacket. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” She groans, trying to psych herself up. “Come in!” She says loudly to whoever is on the other side.

You and Larissa both don convincing smiles as the door swings open.

However… Who you see shakes you to your very core. What… The hell? You feel your heart jump to your throat.

“Mom? … Dad?” You say.

Note: Mwahaha! A big ass cliffhanger. I wonder who your mom and dad could be? Lol. Can’t wait to write the next part. I hope you enjoyed this!

Masterlist

#larissa weems #larissa weems x reader #larissa weems x y/n #larissa weems x you #wednesday netflix #wednesday addams #principal weems #larissa x reader #larissa x y/n #netflix wednesday

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liapher · 2 years

Text

Map of the World by @seperis

[Click on the pictures for better resolution.]

I read Map for the first time last year, and a couple months later decided to already reread it. The first time around, you're dropped into this story without knowing what's going on in terms of either the character dynamics or the setting, and it's like a puzzle you get to try to figure out. It's delightful! The second time around, you start out with a lot more puzzle pieces at hand (but absolutely not all of them yet!) and you manage to connect so many more dots. (I swore to myself to not go overboard and still ended up with a ten-way colour-coding system with stickers and writing margin notes. More recently, I decided to read all the comments on the Map AO3 pages, and they are so much fun to read! So many readers have shared really insightful observations, and the author has written a lot of very interesting replies as well. But having to switch back and forth between the story and the comment section is a bit of a bother, and I sensed an interesting typographical challenge, and that's how I found myself typesetting the fic again while adding foot- and margin notes to my heart's content. The book ended up being so long though that I decided to split it into two parts :-)

As for the cover of the first half: Each of the DTA fics introduces you---and the main characters---to a new, larger part of the world. In Map, the focus lies on Cas's cabin as the foundation for the relationship between the two main characters is laid, so Dean and the reader have to open the bead curtain together to get to that part of the story. If I ever get around to giving a similar treatment to the other fics in the series, the cover design would continue correspondingly: opening the gate to Chitaqua for Stars, entering Ichabod's main square for Lights, and stepping through one of the paintings in the white room for Game.

[Typesetting and crafting notes under the cut]

⁂

Typesetting

Okay so the thing is I love very involved typesetting. It's neat to look at, fun to plan (or as a reader, try to reverse engineer the typesetter's decisions), allows you to be a bit of a control freak about all details etc etc. The point of this typesetting project was to include lots and lots of commentary, so my priorities were:

maintain a clear visual distinction between the text and the comments

make the comments easy to read

keep the comments close to the lines they refer to

I used a combination of footnotes and margin notes to make the most of the available space. Margin notes are used whenever a comment is short enough; footnotes otherwise. Fortunately, I was able to typeset the text in such a way that there's no more than one new footnote per page, so I got away with just reusing the degree symbol ° to introduce footnotes and didn't have to work with a numbering system. Most margin notes refer to specific lines as well and here I got to add my favourite little typesetting detail: a manicule :) I based its design on this hand-drawn one.

Other notes: The longest comment is nearly 5 full pages long and is a comment thread about Dean not realizing how laundry works at Chitaqua lol.

I also wanted to prioritize reading comfort, so the margins are rather generous and based on the canons of page construction, and the leading is relatively generous: the body text is set in 11/14 and the comments in 8/12. The drawback is that this means I ended up with a lot more pages than planned (over six hundred). I also don't love that the baselines of the body text and the comments only line up every 6/7 lines, but every other leading option I tried out ended up making the text harder to read---can't have everything at once I guess.

I decided to not include any headers and footers since I think they'd only have made the page appear more crammed without actually adding a lot of useful information. Instead, the page numbers are in the margins, sharing a baseline with the topmost line of text. The beginning of each chapter and/or day is still easy to find since those black tab-like day number indicators extend all the way to the fore-edge:

2. The text block

I wanted these books to have a nice 2:3 (14 cm × 21 cm) page ratio, which meant I needed to trim the fore edge. I had a bit of a paper trimming disaster with another book last week, but for these books I found a method that worked better for me: Use the blade of the cutter to line up the end of the ruler with the spine of the signature at the head of the page, use the cutter to make a tiny cut at the 14 cm mark, repeat at the bottom of the page, and then use the marks you made as a guideline for where to place the ruler to actually cut away the edge.

This is the first time I sewed a book on tapes. I didn't have bona fide bookbinding tape and just used some leftover non-stretchy woven cotton tape (width: 1.5 cm) I had lying around. I followed the video tutorial by DAS. I don't have a sewing frame, but the tape was fairly stiff, so just letting about 2 cm of the tape protrude at the top worked like a charm.

3. Headbands

I followed the two-colour headband instructions by DAS and used a leather band with a diameter of ~1.5 mm as well as some three-ply thread that I got by separating a six-ply embroidery thread. This worked pretty well---the stiff leather band was easier to work with than the shoelace I used last time (mostly because of its even circumference). The slightly tricky thing about the embroidery thread is that the different strands sometimes try to bunch up on top of one another instead of lying flat, but I'm happy with the results. Per headband, the ideal length to work with for this kind of thread and a text block spine width of 23--25 mm was ~30 cm for the green one and ~55 cm for the blue one.

After finishing the headbands, I glued some (80 GSM) paper to the spine---but only between the tapes, to sliightly even out that difference.

4. The case

I followed DAS's video on the square back bradel binding.

The straightforward case:

Front & back: 216 mm x 140 mm

Spine: 23 mm (text block) / 26 mm (case)

Hinge: 7 mm

For the cloth-to-paper ratio of the half binding, I just picked what looked good rather than following the general ratio recommendations. Before gluing on the paper, I used a blue pen to make a couple subtle marks on the bookcloth, which helped a lot while trying to quickly place the paper.

To case in the book, I found it easiest to add a little glue to the spine edge of the back cover, put in the text block and do some quick readjustments, shut the book, let it dry for a few minutes, and then paste down the rest of the back endpaper (maybe in two or three more goes---add glue to the next couple cm, go wild with the bonefolder, repeat). Add glue to all of the front endpaper, shut the book, open it again, go wild with the bonefolder to smooth everything out, done.

For the wrap-around case, I ended up just winging it. It's mostly a square back bradel binding though.

Front, left: 216 mm × 102 mm (at the top)

Back: 216 mm × 145 mm

Spine: 25 mm (text block) / 28 mm (case)

Fore-edge piece: 19 mm

Front, right: 42 mm

The fore-edge piece is thinner than the spine piece since, unlike the latter, it's directly wedged between two pieces of bookboard, and the text block is thicker at the spine than at the fore-edge. I had initially tried making the spine and the wrap-around section level, but that looked a bit silly since you could see the gap between the text block and the right part of the cover.

For the wrap-around part, I glued the back, the fore-edge piece, and the right part of the front cover to a piece of paper (80 GSM), with one board width (2 mm) in between. In retrospect, I should've maybe added 0.5 mm to the hinge between the fore-edge piece and the front so it shuts more easily.

To secure the leather straps with the clasp, I cut two grooves into the bookboard: (Ignore that I obviously only thought of that after I'd already glued the bookcloth to the board, and also ignore the remnants of some paper that are glued to the right edge of the back cover...)

I cut out a couple small bookcloth triangles and used them to fill in the gaps along the back of the curved edge.

I painted on the cover design with some acrylic paint---super fiddly and it took forever, and unfortunately I only did it after casing in the book---before would've been easier. Oh well! I used a pencil to draw guide lines; fortunately it can just be erased from the cloth without leaving a mark or damaging the (dried) paint. (I tried this out on a scrap piece of bookcloth beforehand.)

⁂

In conclusion:

DTA, my beloved

Comments, my beloved

Involved typesetting and crafting projects, my beloved

#down to agincourt #dta #bookbinding #book design #mission update #crafts tag #this was so much work but i'm so happy with how it turned out :)

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malum-forev · 2 years

Text

Game On: Chapter Five

Author's Note: this is a reaaally long one, I hope you guys like it! Please comment and reblog if you do! :)

Chapter Four

Bucky stormed into the lecture hall. “You’re in trouble.” Wanda said in a singsong manner but (Y/N) just calmly closed her laptop and straightened up.

“I imagine this is your doing.” Bucky’s voice boomed as he slammed the safe sex pamphlet on her desk.

She looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, and I am quite proud of my little arts and crafts project.”

“This is all over the fucking campus, and now people thing I’ve had gonorrhea or crabs or something!”

(Y/N) took the paper and straightened the crumpled-up edges, gazing at her masterpiece. “I believe it’s better for people to know what they’re getting into before it being too late.”

“I could sue your ass for defamation.” Bucky barked back.

“I don’t think it would be wise for you to get all technical with a lawyer.” She replied, standing up and gathering her things.

“Oh give me a fucking break, you’re pre-law. Do you understand that term? Pre, as in before.” Bucky said.

(Y/N) took a step closer to be face to face. “Don’t patronize me. Do you understand that term?” Bucky scoffed and rolled his eyes as she continued. “I know that’s a pretty big word for you, you can look it up later.”

“Everyone, make way for princess Elle Woods over here.” Bucky told what was left of the class.

“Aw, what a nice compliment.” (Y/N) turned her head to give him a fake smile. “That wasn’t even a comeback, you’ve lost your touch Barnes.”

She could hear him huffing as she left the room, which only brought her an even bigger smile.

“Don’t you think you went a little overboard with this whole thing?” Wanda asked as she looked over the pamphlet. “It was kind of mean.”

(Y/N) shot her friend a confused look. “Who’s side are you on?”

Wanda shot up her hands in defense. “I’m just an innocent bystander.”

“Okay well, as someone who wants to keep to the sidelines, I suggest you don’t get involved.” (Y/N) spat back.

“Hey! Don’t direct your anger towards me!” Wanda shoved her friend playfully. “I just don’t want this whole feud to get out of hand. Aren’t you worried about what he’s going to do next? Retaliation?”

“Don’t you worry about that.” (Y/N) smiled. “I’m already one step ahead of him.”

___

“As you know,” Carol’s voice brought (Y/N) back to reality, she was sitting next to her co-chairman in front of the whole debate club. “Our final debate is tomorrow. And it is time to unveil our opponents.”

(Y/N) was nervously tapping her pen on the papers in front of her. This debate was a key factor to whether she would stay on the debate team. As one of her professors had put it, this was the moment when they would decide who was cut for this field and who wasn’t. She looked down at the mahogany table where she sat and tried to steady her breath. Ever since she was a child, she had dreamt of this moment. Standing in front of her peers and proving to them, and to herself, that she was worthy of it.

Although she had been preparing for this for weeks, and (Y/N) knew she had every single argument to win, she couldn’t shake the jittery feeling blooming inside of her.

“So, everyone please welcome our competition.” Carol said with a smile as the giant doors that lead into the debate room opened. (Y/N) couldn’t help her mouth from dropping to the floor.

“What the hell is he doing here.” (Y/N) whispered to Carol, her co-chairman shot her a look that in any spoken language could be translated to: ‘Shut up.’ But that was exactly the opposite of what (Y/N) was going to do.

“This debate cannot be held with opponents that aren’t part of the Pre-Law branch.” (Y/N) said as she shot out of her seat, straightening her dress.

Bucky kept his pace and walked over to Carol. “Hello darling.” He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

Carol blushed as (Y/N) pushed her to the side. “Stop acting like a goddammed schoolgirl.”

“Don’t get your granny panties in a twist, doll.” Bucky smiled as the room snickered. “I don’t know if you’ve read the requirements for this debate-“

(Y/N) rolled her eyes and interrupted him. “The rules clearly state that majors that do not have a direct relation with prelaw cannot participate. So you, as a finance major, cannot be here. You shouldn’t even be in the building.”

“Well, if you had read correctly, you would have seen that only one of members on the team has to comply with that. And that is why I have accompanied my good friend, who is an English major, to this debate.” Bucky took a step to the side to reveal his teammate.

(Y/N) felt her heart drop. If that were physically possible, it would have plummeted all the way down her system and into the underground parking lot. Her breath raced as she met his eyes. It was him, Brock Rumlow, the man from that party all those semesters ago. (Y/N) grabbed the back of her chair to steady herself.

“Are you okay?” Carol asked her but it only registered as a small voice inside (Y/N)’s head. She felt like a heavy mass was weighing on top of her, as if the gravitational pull had magically increased. Her legs started to feel like rubber and her weight suddenly felt too heavy for her frame.

“I- I need to get out of here.” She blurted before speeding past everyone and out the door.

“Heavy is the head that holds the crown I guess.” She faintly heard Bucky say from behind her before the whole group erupted in laughter.

As she got out of the building, the feeling only got worse. She could start to feel her mouth going dry and those awful black splotches had once again appeared in her vision. She was about to drop when suddenly she felt someone pull her up.

“(Y/N) what’s going on?” Peter’s voice started to ground her. When she looked up at him, everything hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Peter,” She managed to say through sobs. “Get me out of here please.” Was the last thing she said before everything turned to darkness.

___

(Y/N) woke up in a strange apartment, laying on a surprisingly comfortable couch.

“Hey, look who came back.” She heard Peter say softly as he brushed some hair out of her face.

“Hi.” She managed to croak as she tried to sit up, only to be faced with the harsh reality that her limbs were still in their previous gelatinous state.

“Shh, relax some more.” Peter said as he helped her sit and lean back on his couch. “You had a pretty big fall back there.”

(Y/N) smiled as she looked down at the already forming bruises on her arms and knees. “I gathered that.”

“Why don’t I make us some tea and you can tell me what’s on your mind.” He said.

She rubbed the palm of her hand against her face and shook her head. “Don’t worry about that, it’s just cause I’m under so much stress. It’s okay, I should be heading back to my apartment anyways.”

“Look, I may be a biophysics major but that doesn’t mean I’m a total knob head when it comes to emotions. Something happened back there, and I think you should talk to someone about it.” He stated as he started the kettle. “So, peppermint tea or chamomile.”

“Chamomile please.” She murmured, sinking down into the couch.

“And so after that happened, I decided to start avoiding him. I stopped going to parties where I knew he would be there, I took a different route to classes, you know just normal healthy behavior.” She said the last part dripping with sarcasm.

Peter started breathing faster, his nostrils flaring more every time. “I’m going to fucking kill Rumlow.”

(Y/N) tried to calm Peter down as he shot up from the couch. “Pete, this happened a really long time ago. And I truly had everything under control. Really. It’s just seeing him tonight brought back everything.”

“And I’m going after Barnes too.” He spat.

“Peter, really, it’s fine. It’s just something assholes do.”

“No!” Peter hissed. “It’s something men that are extremely insecure and fucked up do! And it’s something that should have never happened to you.”

“But it did, and I’m fine.” She said calmly.

“Yeah sure, what happened to you today was an indicator that you’re fine.” He said sarcastically.

(Y/N) laughed lightly. “What I meant is that I’m going to be fine.”

“Why hadn’t you told me? Do Natasha and Wanda know about this?” Peter questioned but his face fell once he saw her shaking her head. “You should have talked to someone about this.”

“I know, I know. It’s just, I had no one back then. The girls from that party were my only ‘friends’. So when I met Nat and Wanda, I didn’t want to unload my whole trauma on them. I just wanted to forget what had happened.” She explained.

Peter nodded understandingly. “Look, I just want you to know if you ever need anyone to talk to about this. I’m here, I’m your friend. You don’t need to feel like you’re dumping your trauma on me. I’m always here if you need someone to listen. You’ve got a friend in me.”

She laughed. “Are you seriously quoting Toy Story?”

“Hey! That’s one of the best movies out there. It’s a beautiful story about two people from different worlds coming together and persevering.”

“Wow, I didn’t know I was in the presence of a Disney adult.” She replied as Peter pulled her into a hug.

“Okay, now let’s go. You have to get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow. You need to kick some ass.” (Y/N) just nodded.

As Peter parked his car and got out to open the door for (Y/N), he saw Bucky. Peter had always been extremely observant so, instead of reacting with his emotions, he decided to do the one thing that would get Bucky’s blood boiling.

“Thanks for the ride, and the tea, and the talk.” (Y/N) smiled and before she could say anything else Peter brought her body forward and gave her a hug. Before letting go he whispered a quick: “Just go with it.”

He cupped (Y/N)’s face and placed his lips on hers gently. Peter saw Bucky from the corner of his eye looking at them. The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds but (Y/N) felt like it was a lifetime. She would have been lying if she said that kissing him hadn’t crossed her mind. He was extremely handsome and she had managed to catch a glimpse of his abs a couple of times when he reached to grab something off the top shelf. But she had never thought of him as something more than just a friend.

“What was that for?” She asked surprised.

“Just thought you might need a kiss for good luck tomorrow.” Peter said and even though he hadn’t yelled it, he knew Bucky had heard him. He didn’t need to look back to feel Bucky’s eyes piercing through.

“O-okay.” She smiled as he placed another kiss on her cheek.”

“Remember the song!” He said as he headed towards his car.

“The song?” She questioned.

“You’ve got a friend in me! Ohh you’ve got a friend in me.” Peter sang as he closed the door and sped up.

She couldn’t help but smile all the way up the stairs to her apartment. And as she opened the door, she was met with a motherly stare from Natasha and Wanda. “Hey guys.”

“So does this mean I can tell the rescue team to stop looking for you?” Natasha said annoyed.

“Look, I’m sorry for not telling you guys anything. I just met with Peter at the parking lot and I went back to his place.

“So you’re telling me that we were worried to death while you were getting some freshmen dick?” Wanda ranted.

(Y/N) couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh that only made her roommates even more mad. “I wasn’t getting dick, we were just talking.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“I am sorry to have worried you guys, I’m fine. Everything is fine.” She smiled. “I do need to get some sleep, I have my debate tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I heard that Bucky and Rumlow are the ones you’re going up against.” Wanda said, (Y/N) couldn’t help but cringe at the sound of his name. She just nodded.

The next day at the debate, she couldn’t shake the horrible feeling filling her body and it showed. It was time for closing arguments and she really had to make a good impression. All of the people who were sitting at the judges table were some of the most intelligent she had ever known. But, as she headed towards the stand, she felt a hand on the small of her back. She froze.

“C’mon prude, maybe after this you’ll owe me one and we can get back to what we didn’t finish all that time ago.” Rumlow’s words sent chill down her spine, she gasped.

“Miss (Y/L/N)? Could you please come forward?” One of the judges snapped her back from her trance.

As she tried to get the words she had studied during weeks out, she felt her hands clamming up and her body stiffening. She managed to finish her statement and quickly went back to her place. It hadn’t helped that Bucky, even though it didn’t seem like he worked on anything, had delivered an amazing closing argument. It was safe to say that they had won the debate by a landslide.

“What the hell happened back there!” Carol yelled. “We had everything, and they won! Do you not want to keep your place at the team?”

“Carol, I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” She muttered and looked down at her shoes, Carol scoffed and stormed out of the place. (Y/N) went back towards the stage once everyone had left to gather her things.

“I would love to say that you were a worthy opponent but, you just stood there like a year-old frozen piece of meat.” Bucky laughed.

“Not now Barnes.” She barked.

Bucky gathered some of her papers in his hand and extended the other one. “It was lovely to beat you.”

Her lips stiffened as her anger consumed her whole, she ripped the papers out of his hand and started walking the other way.

“Hey! I think you gave me a paper cut.” He said but she just raised her middle finger towards him. “Is it safe to say that you’re not coming to the game this afternoon?”

With that, she left.

Bucky had a little more pep in his step as he walked into the locker rooms. He felt as if he was bouncing off the walls, it could be because it was the last game of the season but he was sure it was because of his win earlier in the day.

“Hey guys.” He beamed as he made his way through the packed room.

“Look who’s all nice and bubbly today.” Sam laughed as he tightened his cleats.

“It’s just a wonderful day to be me.” Bucky beamed and his teammate chuckled.

“Do you guys know what that’s all about?” Steve asked as he entered, it wasn’t a second after that when the whole team came in and started singing happy birthday.

“Who’s birthday is it?” Bucky asked confused.

“Man! I didn’t know today was the big day!” Thor cheered and patted Bucky on the back. His brows only furrowed even more.

The team brought a cake to Bucky and ended the song. “Dude, open the present!” someone yelled.

“But it’s not even my birth- what the hell?” Bucky asked as he read the frosting on the cake. It had a grey and white fox on it with the words: Happy Birthday Furry Friend. Bucky opened the box that accompanied the cake to reveal a human sized furry costume complete with a fox plug.

Steve cautiously grabbed the strange tail. “Where the hell are you supposed to- oh I get it.”

The whole locker room erupted in laughter and some of them started chanting: “Fuzzy Bucky.”

Bucky slammed the box down and headed towards the field before being stopped by the coach.

“Barnes! Get back in there and change, the game starts in 10 minutes!” He yelled.

It was safe to say that even though Bucky had won the debate, they had lost the match 2-0. That evening, he stormed into the bar looking for one person only.

“Where the fuck is she.” He snarled once he arrived at the table where Nat and Wanda were sitting.

“Good evening to you too.” Wanda said.

“Where. Is. She.”

“First of all, calm down. Second of all, she’s not here yet. Why?” Nat said trying to calm him down, she was quickly met by a phone being pushed against her face.

Wanda glanced over. “Why are people saying you’re a furry?”

“Because your lovely roommate had a full fucking furry suit delivered to the locker room.” Bucky grumbled.

Natasha cocked her head to the side. “Oh yeah, I can kind of see it.”

Bucky just rolled his eyes and sat down, trying to control his anger. This didn’t last because a few seconds later, (Y/N) waltzed into the bar.

“Hey girls.” She smiled, ignoring Bucky.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Is this your idea of comedy?” Bucky sneered but she just ignored him.

“Was you sabotaging my debate your idea of comedy?” She hissed.

“Well, I didn’t need to sabotage. You did that all yourself.” He got closer to her.

“Guys, let’s all relax and unwind.” Natasha said separating the two but even though they weren’t face to face, they were still staring at each other.

“You guys can have a staring match if that means you’ll be quiet.” Wanda said as she sipped her beer. “We need you two to get along because tomorrow we’re all leaving for Steve’s cabin upstate. Remember?”

“I’m not going if that witch is coming.” Bucky said, not letting his gaze leave hers.

“Oh you totally hurt me.” (Y/N) replied to feigning sadness.

“What’s your other option? Stay here in town when everything is closed?” Natasha asked him, Bucky didn’t reply anything but he stood up and left the table.

“I guess it’s going to be another amazing and uneventful Christmas.” Wanda sighed her words dripping with sarcasm.

___

“Why don’t you just wait for us, and we can leave together?” Wanda whined as she pulled on the sleeves of her pajama.

“Because, we won’t all fit in Steve’s car. Plus I need to get there earlier to start getting everything ready. Christmas dinners take like three days to prepare.” (Y/N) said as she closed her luggage.

“Whatever you say chef.” The redhead replied through a yawn.

“I’ll see you guys over there in a couple of hours, okay?” She smiled.

“Just be careful on the road. They’re saying it’s starting to snow up there.” (Y/N) simply nodded before heading out the door.

Christmas at Steve’s family home upstate had become a tradition. Sam, Steve, Wanda, Nat, (Y/N) and unfortunately Bucky, would all drive up and have a friends Christmas. Most of them couldn’t head back home so, this was their solution.

The drive had been going incredibly smooth, (Y/N) was about thirty minutes away when her car started making a weird noise. At first, she wasn’t concerned until the car stopped responding.

“Oh no.” She muttered. (Y/N) managed to pull off to the side of the road and turned off her car, mentally cursing herself for not wearing her long coat and just a light jacket. As she got off the car she saw her whole tires filled with snow that wasn’t budging.

“Hey Nat.” (Y/N) said as soon as her friend picked up the phone. “You guys almost here?”

“(Y/N)! Why hadn’t you answered the phone! We’re snowed in.”

“What do you mean snowed in?” she yelled.

“The roads have been blocked off, we’ve been trying to call you for the past hour but I think you didn’t have cell reception.” Natasha answered.

“Great.” (Y/N) said as she kicked her wheel. “Well, I’m on the side of the road, my wheels are covered with snow.

“Wha- Are you- I’m going to call-“ Was all she heard before the line cut off. (Y/N) looked back at her phone and realized she only had one bar. She sat on the trunk of her car and tried to think of a solution when she heard another car coming towards her. She tried to catch their attention but they sped past her. A few feet later, the car stopped and she rushed towards it.

“Hi, thank you so much for stopping. My car is-“ She stopped her sentence once the window rolled down fully. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Hey doll, how much for the hour?” Bucky said with a smile as he lowered his sunglasses.

(Y/N) turned around and headed back to her car. “Where do you think you’re going!” She heard Bucky say. He got off the road and exited the car.

“I don’t need your help!” She yelled back, trying to balance on the icy ground. She had decided to wear heeled boots that apparently didn’t have enough grip because she suddenly found herself on the snow.

Bucky’s laugh only stopped once he was towering over her. “I think you do need my help.” He laughed and offered her his hand to help her up. She swatted it and got up.

“There will be another car coming by and I’ll ask them for help.” She muttered as she tried to get the snow off of her body.

“Don’t know if you heard doll, but the roads are closed.” Bucky smiled as he saw how her teeth chattered. “I think your outfit is not cold weather friendly.”

“Well, I thought I would just be driving with the heat on and arriving at the cabin. I obviously didn’t know this was going to happen.”

“Here.” Bucky took off his overcoat and handed it to her.

“I’m fine.” She grumbled looking towards the road, wishing a car would magically appear.

He huffed and put the coat over her shoulders. “You’re not going to be fine in a couple of minutes when you have hypothermia.”

She ignored him but put her hands through the sleeves and closed the jacket. She took a long breath and was met with the smell of his cologne. If there was one thing she thought Bucky had done right, it was choosing his cologne.

“You should have put on the chains in your wheels about three miles back.” His raspy voice brought her back.

“Well thank you for stating the obvious.”

“C’mon lets go.” He said turning back to his car.

“What are you talking about! I’m not leaving my car here to be stolen.”

“Look, no one’s coming this way and we don’t have reception. Let’s go to the cabin and there we can call someone. I know a guy.”

“Of course you do.” She muttered.

“You’ve got a better idea? Because I would love nothing more than to leave you here stranded but Steve and Nat would kill me if I did that.” Bucky said. “So, if you don’t want that to happen. Come with me.”

(Y/N) looked back at her car stuck in the snow and sighed. “Fine, let’s go.”

“You need help with your bags?” Bucky asked but he was ignored, she went back to the trunk of her car and started hauling her luggage plus the four bags containing food. He shook his head and headed towards her and held his hands out.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked.

“Why must you make everything so difficult. I’m trying to be nice, I’ll help you with your things.”

“How am I supposed to know divine intervention told you to be nice today?” She replied and passed the things over to him.

Bucky groaned and looked up at the sky. “God, I hope you have at least a dozen models waiting for me when I get to heaven because this whole being nice thing is really a pain in my ass.”

The car ride to the cabin was quiet, only a murmur of the only station available was playing.

“Does this car seriously not have Bluetooth, or at least an aux?” (Y/N) whined.

“This is a 1980’s Porsche 911. Did you actually think it was going to have modern day technology?”

“Well my car has it. It’s new and its comfortable.”

“Well right now you’re car is a huge piece of junk that’s lying on the side of the road. If you would rather we go back and I leave you with your unmovable garbage I can make a u turn. If not, please just keep quiet and thank the man above that I left early too.” Bucky said and (Y/N) replied a small ‘thank you.’

As they arrived at the cabin, Bucky started taking the things out. “Please just go inside and change out of those boots. You’re going to get hurt, again.”

“I can take these things out and look cute while doing it.” She muttered, seeing Bucky let out a smile.

“I do think they go with your outfit.” Bucky eyed her from head to toe, taking a little longer to stare at her tight-clad legs and skirt. “But, they’re not very useful for snowy weather.”

“I’ll just go inside, call me if you need help.” She said. In the past day, she had calmed herself down from her defeat at the debate, the face Bucky made when he saw the furry suit had also helped. She had been hiding at the entrance just to see her whole plan play out.

A few hours later, they had settled in for the night. Bucky had only brought a bottle of whiskey but he wasn’t in the mood for that.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” he yelled through the door but found no response, he knocked again but the door opened.

“(Y/N),” he repeated and took one step into the room. “Did you bring anything to drink?”

Bucky heard the shower running and looked around the room. He had spent most of his Christmases here and he knew the place like the back of his hand. Bucky spotted her open luggage on the bed, he found himself walking towards it and looking inside. On the top of the bag was a red sheer lingerie dress with lace, at the cups of the bra were two fluffy circles mimicking Santa’s hat.

“What are you doing in here!” (Y/N) squealed gripping the towel around her body. Bucky took the dress, that was more the length of a shirt behind his back and stuttered.

“I knocked! But the door opened and I- I just wanted to know if you brought any drinks. It’s just that- um- I whiskey is the only thing and I wanted something else.”

“Give me that!” she snatched the fabric from behind him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, it was open and the color caught my attention. And yeah, I’m sorry.” Bucky immediately looked at the ground embarrassed.

“I should have some bottles of rose down there, or some cabernet in the pink bag.” She said, becoming more and more aware of her current attire.

“Yeah-okay- I’ll go look for them- yeah. Didn’t check there.” Bucky said nervously while still looking down at the floor, he bumped against the bed frame on his way out.

(Y/N) quietly went down the stairs once she was dressed to find Bucky looking at the Rogers’ record collection with a glass of rose in his hand.

“Rose? Really? That’s your drink of choice?” she laughed.

Bucky turned around with a pink hue on his cheeks, she didn’t know if it was due to the fireplace or the embarrassment from before. “Hey, I have weaknesses too.”

He went to the kitchen and poured her a glass before she headed to the living room to look at the fire cracking. Some time and a bottle of rose later, Bucky decided to turn on the record player.

“Someday, when I’m awfully low. When the world is cold-“ (Y/N) heard Frank Sinatra’s version of ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ start to play. (Y/n) started chucking. “I can’t believe you put that song on.”

“Well, it’s one of the only four records we have for the whole weekend. I would much rather play this than sit with the awkward silence we’ve been having for the past two hours.”

“That used to be my father’s favorite record.” She said as she started to sway a bit. “He used to tell us that we were wasting our time listening to modern music, that we had the best singer at our disposal and we were burning brain cells by listening to other genres.”

“Frank Sinatra always reminds me of Christmas time.” Bucky said coming closer to her and putting his hand out towards her. “My dad always says that whenever ‘Ol Blue Eyes’ is playing, you must ask a pretty lady to dance.”

“James,” She chuckled. “I’m not really in the dancing mood.”

“C’mon, no one is here. We can postpone our bad blood for some other time.” He said, keeping his hand where it was. “Would you please grant me this dance? I promise we will be up to high school prom standard and leave room for Jesus.”

(Y/N) finally nodded with a smile and took his hand. They started to slowly dance across the room.

“Have I ever told you that my dad is the reason I got into law?” She hummed, closing her eyes for a second. She would never admit it but one of the reasons she had accepted his proposal was to get closer to his smell. It was the perfect combination of amber and wood with a touch of citrus. Bucky hummed for her to continue as he swiftly moved his feet with the music. “When I was younger, my dad used to tell me that he could never get too mad at me because I would always refute his arguments logically.”

“Well that’s a trait that carried on to your adulthood.” Bucky said, his voice had changed from his normal boom into a more relaxed version that made her feel calm,

She smiled as she got closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder. “I really wish he were still here, I think he would have liked to see me all lawyered up. Even if I didn’t win the debate.” She poked fun.

Bucky brought her back to be in front of him. “(Y/N) I really wanted to apologize, for the debate. I thought it was one of those stupid things you prelaw kids do, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. To be completely honest, I didn’t think me being your opponent would actually throw you off your game.”

She smiled at him, not wanting to remember what had happened the day before. “I don’t want to talk about that. I’m actually enjoying the moment, don’t ruin it Barnes.”

She closed the gap between them again and kept dancing as the next song played on. “When my dad passed, it was hard for me to come to terms with it. Just this feeling of total anger. Like why did he leave me, you know?”

Bucky nodded, not being able to do much because her whispers against his neck were making him a little more nervous than he would like.

“I don’t blame you. In fact, I understand what you’re going through.” He said softly. “It’s hard to change your perspective.”

“You grow up, thinking you’re parents are superheroes. They’re there whenever you get bruised up, inside and out. When I was younger, in little league, I used to turn back and look for my parents in the crowd whenever I scored a goal. It kind of carried through, even now that I’m older and I know they’re not there I always look over at the bleachers to try to find them. Sometimes I can even see my ma sitting there smiling and giving me a thumbs up.” Bucky let out a laugh as he spun her slowly.

“But, there is a special moment in life where you understand that holding them at such a high standard is impossible. Perfection is unattainable. And in that moment, you take them off the pedestal and see them as equals. Because they’re people too, they make mistakes. Even though they wouldn’t like to admit it. And harboring all that anger in here-“ He said touching the place where her heart lies. “causes more pain. Letting go brings forgiveness and love replaces the agony.”

She let go of him and turned her head the other way, not wanting him to see the flood of tears rushing through her cheeks and down her neck. She sat back down on the couch taking a long sip of her wine.

“Hey, c’mon now. Don’t turn your pretty face from me. How will you be able to shoot a snarky comment if you’re looking the other way.” His soft smile revealed a dimple she had never before noticed.

She smiled back at him and took a deep breath. “I need to calm down, premature wrinkles will not look good on me.”

“When did you become so wise? I feel like I’m face to face with the next Hemingway or something.” She added.

“Hopefully this story ends with less tragedy and more daquiris.”

“I believe his drink of choice was scotch and soda.”

“Agree to disagree, I guess.” He hummed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer. “Now, are you going to tell me why you brought that outfit?”

(Y/N) couldn’t help her face turning red. “It’s for the white elephant party you jerk.” She playfully shoved his shoulder.

“Can’t blame me for imagining you wearing it.” Bucky tried to hide his smile with his glass.

“You’re so gross.” She laughed.

Bucky stood up from the couch. “You want me to open another bottle?”

(Y/N) closed her eyes for a second, basking in the lovely music accompanied by the sound of the fire cracking. She shook her head. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

Bucky nodded and followed her up the stairs. “This is me.” (Y/N) smiled and opened the door, before she could close it Bucky took her hand.

“I had a really nice time tonight, and if you need someone to talk to in the middle of the night I’m just a door away.” He pointed towards the door across the hall. (Y/N)’s breath got caught when he came closer to her and placed a kiss on the edge where her lips met her cheeks. “Good night.”

“Yeah-um- good night to you too.” She stammered before closing the door and plopping herself on the bed. “I really need to stop drinking rose.” She muttered before placing her head on the pillow.

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girlfromthecrypt · 8 months

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My first Writeblr tag game!!

Thanks so much for the tag @mthollowell-writes! This is one of my first ever tag-games, so I'm pumped. Also, this made me realize I rly need to do a WIP intro for my main project. It's a dark fantasy/horror with some romance, too. The working title is Fucked Up Fairytale. That aside, let's goooooo

1) What motivates you to write?

Anything and everything! Writing is my coping mechanism, for good times and bad. It helps me keep hold of happy feelings and release negative ones.

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I have multiple WIPs, but I'm going to refer to the one I plan on actually turning into a book. The working title is Fucked Up Fairytale. That may undergo revisions. Anyhow, I'll share two lines/snippets, if I may! Mainly because the first one is very short indeed. Here it is:

I braced myself for stupidity, and he didn’t let me down. —This is in the main character's (Margot's) narrative inner voice during a conversation with her little brother.

And here's the other one, same chapter, same conversation! I feel like I may have gone a little overboard with Margot's world-weariness, but I kinda like it:

“The world I dream of has me making six figures at a job where my boss doesn’t need me to show him my tits,” I said, a chill creeping into my tone. “It has me going home at a reasonable hour so I can watch TV and fall asleep with a bag of spicy chips, preferably next to a spouse who doesn’t mind that they make me gassy.”

Neither of us spoke for a couple beats. Then, softly, my brother asked, "And where's the magic in that?"

"Nowhere, Callie. That's kind of the point."

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

That would apply to Margot's love interest from Fucked Up Fairytale. He's, um… special. To me, and in general. Seeing as he's one of the Folk, it would be unwise to share his name, especially since not even Margot knows it as of right now. He calls himself the Huntsman, so that'll work for now.

He's this rather delicate-looking youngish man; slender, short and long-haired—he's quite pretty, really. And he's the smuggest, most self-satisfied dork you've ever met, but in a sweet, non-threatening way. I just love his and Margot's more wholesome exchanges. They clash a lot; she's a recent university graduate, has been a skeptic all her life and didn't mean to get roped up into any supernatural stuff, and he's this forest-dwelling fairy-like entity. But they end up being really good for each other, despite (or perhaps because of) their differences. Even though their dynamic starts off based purely on physical attraction, it grows into something more and their interactions really feel cathartic at times.

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

I love what happens shortly after getting the idea for something. It's like a little twitch in the brain that grows and grows and it's just… awesome. And I'm not actually doing anything at that stage, so it's also the easiest step. Also, I just love writing dialogue.

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

I think that's also writing dialogue! Not much else to say there. Oh, and nature descriptions sometimes. I've been told my nature descriptions are beautiful.

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

How passionate everyone is! We all do the same thing, we write, and we all love doing it. And there's such an undertone of positivity to it all, of openness. That's really nice.

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Oof. This one's too hard for me. I'm honestly struggling with a lot of writing software so… I don't have a good answer to that.

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

The majority of Fucked Up Fairytale takes place in a single location. It's a magical forest that is its own entity, almost deity-adjacent. Certain characters worship it to gain its protection and power, but it can also be dangerous, trapping humans and turning them into so something they're… not.

I just really like that forest! I enjoy describing it, I enjoy creating new creatures it may be harboring, I enjoy lending this seemingly inanimate idyllic environment a personality that kind of shines through in a lot of scenes. I almost wish it were real. Almost.

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

I'm with you.

That's all I, or anyone, can really offer, I believe. I've dealt with month-long dry spells, really horrible ones. I know it's shitty, I know it sucks. My advice, if I had any, would be to force yourself to write anyways. It's the only way to get back into it, and you should never ever give up writing. Writing is worth it.

10) Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

Well, obviously I'm gonna have to mention @prismatic-bell who once wrote a wonderful thirty-part fanfic to one of my stories and is, in fact, amazing. Xe has contributed greatly to a lot of my stories and I will be forever grateful for that. Also @rehnwriter who helped me set up my blog because I'm bad at internet stuff and need constant surveillance.

I'm tagging… uh… anyone who sees this and wants to participate! I'm really eager to get to know more folks from this community.

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holdontwstistakingovermymind · 2 years

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Crafting With The Dorms Pt 1.

I'm being intentional vague with what crafting implies, because I am the dumbass who does the majority of these things.

This is also polyam!Reader but it's such a small part that it's hard to notice. Sorry for a two parter but I'm doing a lot rn ifbshfkenn

♡

Heartslabyul

Do you think any of these idiots can work a glue gun?

That alone would cause enough chaos in the dorm that Riddle would attempt to collar everyone to calm the situation down. Which would fail miserably, of course, because glue guns obey no laws of magic or man.

Trey at least has the patience to figure out how to do things the right way. Thankfully you have him for whatever task you decide to undertake.

The others aren't nearly as... together.

It's best to keep your projects with this group simple. No special tools, no complicated stitches or knots, ext.

They might be insulted at first but by the time you've all finished your little concrete stepping stones, with everyone covered in the mix and Ace sporting a nasty cut to his thumb after Deuce handed him a sharp mosaic piece, there's an understanding.

Cater takes a video of you guys making it for his socials and tbh most of the comments are laughing at Riddle's red face as he struggles to place a decoration.

Ace and Deuce are going to try and compete to see who has a better stepping stone. They both lose.

(^Ace's cracks because takes it out the minute he thinks it's hardened. Deuce's never sets properly because he added too much water. Yes they are disappointed.)

Cater uses so many decorations that you almost fear the entire top may crack if it's stepped on.

Trey and Riddle are doing a theme together to match the garden. They'd love for you to join them but don't be too hurt if Riddle doesn't approve of your piece in the end.

The standards for the Heartslabyul dorm are incredibly high.

(This doesn't mean he gives it back. Riddle is romantic!! He'd be the type to use one of those little platestands to display your piece if allowed.)

In the end you get at least four stepping stones from this, and a mess that looks like you made twenty.

♡

Savanaclaw

Ruggie is good at some crafts and better at others. There's a few that he can't catch onto, but that's pretty much true with anyone.

Of course this doesn't mean he likes every activity avaliable. It just means he isn't as nearly as lost when you suggest doing something.

Leona and Jack on the other hand...

Jack tries. Really, he does. Anything you throw at him he'll attempt to tackle, and maybe that's the problem.

It's difficult for him to let loose, which is what being creative is all about. If you put instructions for how to make make something in front of him he'll do it by the book every single time.

Which is probably better then Leona, who doesn't do it at all.

The best craft for this group is probably going to be something that's more building based.

Kinda like one of those DIY workshops at hardwear stores for kids.

Perhaps building a cornhole game would be fun.

(^IDK IM FROM THE MIDWEST THIS IS WHAT WE DO. I don't know anything else! What other sport can you build?!?!)

They actually might be better at this then other things. Mostly because the novelty of playing the game after they finished.

Jack seems like he'd be a perfectionist in regards to specific measurements for everything, but sometimes he goes overboard and overcorrects his mistakes. Usually he's going to find a way to cover it up, but if not, you can always suggest blaming it on Leona.

Leona doesn't care.

(In the scenario that you do, in fact, build a corn hole game, throw the corn sacks at Leona and see what happens).

♡

Octavinelle

They probably do some sort of DIY.

(Azul literally enslaved half the school for free labor so it's not hard to imagine that they decorated the lounge themselves)

But don't give Floyd any glitter that's a bad idea.

^Actually most things shouldn't be given to Floyd, as he can always find some unintended use to harass the student body with.

Best option with this group is some sort of

Paint by numbers seem to be something Jade and Azul might do, but Floyd will not abide by the rules.

You'll end up with three matching pictures and one nightmarish terror.

He only does it because it makes Azul (and possibly you too) cringe.

Ugh

#twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #octavinelle #heartslabyul #savanaclaw #twisted wonderland riddle #twisted wonderland ace #twisted wonderland cater #twisted wonderland deuce #twst headcanons

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nancydrewwouldnever · 7 months

Note

Hi Nancy! I hope you see this in the shuffle of asks you get! I’m the original anon who first asked you about the “projections vs “trolling” question earlier. Just wanted to say thank you for answering my ask - and to all the other anons & blogs who joined in on the conversation! I so appreciate your response & clarification/reassurance on the topic 🫶🏼

Also, I hope it didn’t come off like I was part of that group of blogs who have been “poo-pooing” people & claiming “projection” etc.

My gut & intuition always made me feel like certain things have always been trolling & have felt/looked sus, but you know how when you believe something or have certain thoughts/opinions & then you read others’ that contradict yours and it makes you start doubting yourself? Especially after this whole crazy, wild rollercoaster ride we’ve been on for the past couple of years, adamantly believing certain things wouldn’t/couldn’t happen because of how orchestrated, strange & just all around off-putting it all was, only for endless amounts of “sucker-punches” to be thrown at us…literally sometimes I just don’t know with anything anymore *sighs*

I really hope you’re reading this, because I just wanted to also use this opportunity to tell you how much I so appreciate you & your blog (and all the other similar blogs/people around here) & how you’ve been looking at all of this & handling everything. Thank you for being so level-headed & also so kind & understanding about the situation & it’s impact on the anons who’ve been reaching out to you. Thank you for being a real one, Nancy 🩷 You’re one of the few good ones & I’m so grateful for you, your blog & the time that you give us on here. *hugs*

🌈✨💖

I think all of you are obviously glossing over where I lose my shit and go overboard, lol. Seriously... are y'all forgetting all the posts I have made in all caps? 😂 I don't know how level-headed I am when I have to rewrite everything about five times to walk back my cynicism.

I think in this whole situation you just have to hold onto what you know, empirically, that you witnessed and experienced. Just hold onto that, and hold onto your own reaction to it, because that's the truth for you. Don't let people talk you out of your truth. You may not agree with everyone else's opinion, but that doesn't matter in the end. Just respect that in this weird situation most people have a different way of seeing everything, and we should give them the space for that, and ask them to respect the space we each individually need.

#ask

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valician · 9 months

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The 90′s Kid chapter forty-eight through fifty! The three part finale!

s3.e16.Nostalgic_Zenith – Everything wraps up with a big to-do list… culminating in that promised class trip to the theme park!

s3.e17.Moribund_Animus – The big-bad reveals himself, and an epic combative introspection ensues as King Arcade crumbles.

s3.e18.Onward_Hereafter – Even the nicest weekends end.

Read them right here: 90skidstory.com

The cast page has also been updated with the latest characters.

I'm not quite done yet - I still have the Season 3 album art and soundtrack to create.

A big thanks to my readers, whoever you are, whether you just like slice of life, time travel, or fun stories. Or you wanted to relive a little of the 90s. This was a personal project and I hope the characters felt alive and even relatable to the kids you grew up with. This is more a story about nostalgia and childhood than any particular decade, though the the 1990s certainly gave it a unique flavor. From challenging myself like using a 22 page restriction per chapter to simulate TV show episodes, or improving my illustration abilities these last 4 years (July 18th 2019 to July 18th 2023!), and adapting real-life experiences into the "epic" moments seen through a kid's eyes, this series has been a joy to write, and I think it's fully stuffed with gooey comfort food nostalgia for a decade long gone without quite going overboard, and it explores the connections in the present we have with the past — while mentioning that the ticking now isn't all bad! There are always nice new things to look forward to, and friends to make.

When I began writing back in 2018, the pandemic wasn't even a blip on the radar and 2020 was still the future (and now it's hard to believe it's already 3 years in the past!). While that global event not showing up in The 90's Kid meant pushing the universe into an even further branching timeline than our own, some of the chapters I most enjoyed writing were with Jace and his friends in an alternate version of 2020. And while millennials and older generations might find the things kids are into these days "cringe" and "trash," remember that your parents probably thought the same things about what we grew up with a few decades ago. So, don't worry about today's youth. They're going to turn out fine, and in thirty years, I bet a lot of them will long for those "awesome" 20s Kid days. And some of them might even still be wearing their Nirvana shirts, too. Like a churning ocean current, nostalgia is about cycles, and you never know what might come back to the surface again.

Still, as Wes learns... dial down the tint on those rose-colored glasses a little, and try to live in the present. Old stories are great; but you should be there to help write the new ones.

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gascon-en-exil · 11 months

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With this crap happening on a public discord server and how nobody there is giving a crap unless it makes them look bad, I'd say the FE fandom has gone overboard, well at least the Edelfandom has. When we're getting to the point where people are spewing out death threats and no one in their camp is batting an eye or nipping the bud immediately, then that's crimson (pun intended) flag that something has gone horribly wrong.

The thing though is that this really isn't a recent phenomenon. It seems that way because many of us have now publicly decided to share the evidence of how we're talked about on this server, but many of these screenshots go back quite a way. I've found instances of the server linking my posts and videos going all the way back to 2019 - and I haven't even been their primary target!

Raxis did recently call out Diaphin on Tumblr...but given that he only cares because it's "setting back" his years-long harassment campaign against Nilsh it's safe to say that none of us are buying it.

I agree with Ezralahm that this flare-up seems to be at least in part a scrambling for continued relevance, in the face of time and the fandom moving away from Three Houses since there just isn't all that much to say about it any more that hasn't been said in the last several years. People move on to other games and other interests, and when they do still want to talk about Three Houses/Hopes there's no reason to entertain the wankier elements of fandom - not just in this server, but in general.

I had my fun with the Ferdibert musicals project in April, and depending on what my video schedule looks like I may have occasion to make one on the Fódlan games in the future, but none of that will involve engaging with these sorts of people. I simply couldn't fathom spending this much time and energy defending any fictional character, even those I really like and those I particularly identify with (few if any of which come from video games, by the way). It's just so...pointless.

#Fandom discourse

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space-mermaid-writing · 1 year

Text

The black cat with blue eyes [Part 2]

Summary: One day Peter drags a cat into the tower he found in the dumpsters and Tony finds himself adopting it, because – honestly – he can not say no to Peter. It turns out the cat has really strange opinions on food, belly scratches and movies. What else? Oh yes, Doctor Strange is missing. But those two events are clearly not related. Clearly…

Relationship: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

Tags:Temporary Cat!Stephen, Hurt/Comfort, life is trauma, friendship is healing, supreme family (kind of), it starts with angst and ends in fluff, a lot of fun in between, I swear this is fun, cats are weird and we love it

Ko-fi | Read it on AO3 | Masterlist | Word count: 10k | Part 1

Author’s note: I kinda went overboard with 10k words but whatever. Cat!Stephen lives rent free in my head

This cat is Strange!...

Stephen hadn‘t planned this. None of it. It had been a short-circuit reaction.

After he came back from the blip, he thought he would settle in just fine. It had been mere seconds for him anyway between the fight on Titan and the great battle on Earth. Sure, he remembered being dusted, then this weird feeling of being there but also being not at all (it was a different feeling than death by Dormammu).

And they won. Everything went according to plan. He even managed to save Tony.

Stephen didn‘t know why he had kept searching for a future with the man alive, but the longer he watched – no, lived – possible scenarios of the fight, the stronger the urge became. In the end he couldn‘t imagine a world without Tony Stark.

He even helped Tony build a new arm, providing input on the medical aspects. Stark certainly knew enough other people he could have asked for it, but he had never questioned Stephen's presence.

There wasn‘t much Stephen could do beside that little project anyway. Wong was Sorcerer Supreme now. And somewhere in the last five years another sorcerer had become Master of the Sanctum Sanctorum. That was especially weird, because the Sanctum recognized Stephen being back, but the responsibility of being its master was one for a lifetime and technically Stephen had died. Now that he was back, there were two masters as if the building couldn’t decide between them. It was an inconvenience for everyone involved.

The gaps had been filled by other sorcerers in the past years and Stephen felt lost.

Still, he could have lived with that. It wasn't the first time he had lost everything and had to start over. After all, he still had his magic and could go on, throwing himself into his studies.

But then the memories started. Flashes of the futures he had lived.

At first it had been small things, like how long had it been since they won? A month? Two? A year?

Had Thanos killed Loki? No, the Asgardian was rebuilding a home for his people in Norway, together with his brother. Stephen had talked to them a few days ago. Or had it been just Thor, who still mourned his brother? Stephen was sure someone mentioned Loki, but he didn‘t remember the context.

Did Thanos take the mind stone from Vision? Or did he and Wanda live happily together in a small town?

One he saw Natasha in the compound‘s kitchen and was so very confused, because he had been sure she had died for the soul stone. It had to be the archer then who sacrificed himself. He murmured, „I‘m sorry for your loss.“ She looked at him funny and Stephen quickly fled the room, having long forgotten what he had wanted in the compound in the first place.

When Tony called him to ask him for help to install his new arm onto his body (he had finally healed enough for that with only scars left on his shoulder and his neck), Stephen almost burst into tears because he had been so happy about the sudden realization that the man was still alive.

It got to the point where Stephen sometimes wondered if he was still looking into futures. Maybe he just went too far ahead. He tried to activate the time stone, but the necklace sat empty on his chest. That triggered a short panic attack in him and the Cloak of Levitation wrapped itself around him like a protective cocoon.

Another time Stephen was sure: this was his personal hell. He, who had a perfect memory, could not remember what was real. Was this Dormammu's work? One of the demon’s many ways to torture him? Clever! It wasn't physical torture but one of the mind. Way more effective to break a human. But Stephen would not break. He would endure for all eternity if that kept Dormammu from devouring the earth.

Stephen only had to die to start a new cycle of the time loop.

That was the point at which it became too much for him. He didn't know why he was doing it or even what spell he used. He just didn't remember. But the next moment he was a cat running out of the Sanctum, to escape everything. The feline's instincts took over and finally he could stop thinking.

Hours passed. They turned into days, and days turned into weeks.

Why a cat? Well, his hands were still injured even in any other form, so bird wings were almost useless, or at least not reliable enough. A stray dog was too noticeable in the big city. And anything smaller than a cat was too easy a prey.

Surviving as a stray wasn’t easy. He stole food, slept hidden in the bushes of the large park. But if it helped him not remembering, it was worth it. He was content to just be a cat.

The little bit of magic he still used was anchored in his being. It happened passively, unconsciously; someone was looking in a different direction when he stole his next meal, animal control happened to take a different route, he was not discovered while he slept.

But as time went on, even the magic faded until it was almost gone. He was just a regular cat now. That was the danger of staying in a shape shift form too long.

Somehow he ended up in the tower that was surprisingly familiar to him. Stephen had once built magical wards around it even before the arm was completed (after Tony had told him how magic meddled with his mind). Those wards were still staying strong and the cat instinctively recognized it as a safe space.

He was still working on his instincts to survive when he added a small spell at the elevator, to be alerted when people entered or left. Potential treats. There were stairs, but the door to them was sealed, used only in emergencies.

Stephen didn‘t have to worry about finding food anymore, about rain or storms, about surviving. Now everything was taken care of. Now there was Peter, whom his brain told Stephen he had to protect. From what? Didn‘t matter. Stephen kept his eyes on him whenever the boy visited the tower.

And then of course there was Tony. Stephen only had his cat brain right now, but even after just a day he felt the trust he held towards the man. It was enough to have Stephen relaxed and interact with the two humans.

He wasn‘t in sole surviving mode anymore and he started to get picky about the food he ate. He chose to make his presence known to Tony and Peter instead of living in the shadows, in the corner of their eyes. He was looking out for them. (There were other humans visiting, but those felt less familiar and two humans were already enough responsibility in Stephen’s opinion).

It was a comfortable life. An easy life.

And it lasted – until Stephen was suddenly standing in front of Wong, who hadn‘t entered by elevator. Wong, who he hadn‘t sensed or even noticed until he was right in front of him. Wong, who was so deeply connected with the word MAGIC in his mind.

With Kamar-Taj.

The Sanctum.

Sorcerer Supreme.

The time stone.

Dormammu...

Stephen bolted. He fled right under the couch in the living room, and would have run even further if Wong‘s spell hadn‘t captured him. Trapped in a golden ball of mandalas, he floated through the air to the man.

„What the fuck?“ came from Tony, who had followed them. „What are you doing to my cat?!“

Wong turned around to him, gesturing to the pet. „Your cat? This is Stephen.“

Tony's eyes grew wide, then narrowed as he looked at the cat. "What the fuck?" he repeated with more emphasis. „Are you kidding me? How do you know? Why would he do this?“

„I recognize him.“ Wong said it in a voice as if it were blatantly obvious and he was wondering how Tony could not. The inventor didn‘t like the implication, also Wong had just answered one of his questions before he was shooting his own. „How did he get here?“

„Peter dragged him in. He found him in the dumpsters.“ Tony had his arms crossed, still demanding an explanation.

Wong eyed Stephen more closely now. „He seems more cat than human right now. I don‘t think he knew at which place he ended up. The fact that he doesn‘t use magic to the spell I trapped him in, is concerning.“

„Can you change him back?“

The other sorcerer tilted his head. „I could, but that‘s rather hurtful if it is involuntary and I‘m afraid it would do more harm than good in his current condition.“

Well, at least they found him. Even if under questionable circumstances. To think that he had been in New York the whole time… Maybe Tony had been a fool to worry, but on the other hand he couldn't help but feel relieved.

„I guess, you‘re taking him back with you?“ He didn't like the idea of the sorcerer taking the cat. The realization surprised Tony. The cat was Stephen. And Stephen's home was the Sanctum, he reminded himself. This possessive feeling of him was just a result of bonding with a pet. A pet that wasn‘t actually a pet.

Wong didn’t answer immediately, but weighed all the factors before admitting, „If I take him back to the Sanctum, he will probably run away again.“ Then they would be back at square one and the search would start at zero. Even if Wong tried to look after him, he couldn't lock Stephen up. "How long did you say he was here?" the sorcerer asked.

„A few weeks.“

„And he didn‘t try to leave once?“

„I don‘t think so.“ Friday would have told him if the cat had run into the elevator. Or flown out a window. Could Cat Stephen fly? He would not rule it out.

The cat had been surprisingly quiet during their conversation. His ears flattened, he sat huddled in the magic ball, not making a sound.

Wong turned his full attention to Tony. „I know this is unusual and now that you know this is Stephen you may have objections, but I think it would be best, if he stayed here until he is ready to change back.“

Tony blinked once, not sure he understood correctly. It was weird; five minutes ago he had been angry about the deception and now he was glad he got to keep the human turned feline a little longer? Well, in the list of strangest stuff that ever happened to him, it was only in the top 20. „Okay.“

Wong raised his eyebrows, surprised at the willing acceptance. But he didn't question it. "Good. Engage him in human conversation, activities… anything to remind him who he is. If a sorcerer stays too long in an animal shape he might forget how to change back.“

„That can happen?“ Tony asked, concerned. „How long of a time are we talking about?“

„It depends on the person and the circumstances.“

And they were quite worrisome, as Tony had already picked up on. „Alright. You‘ll be the first I‘ll call as soon as he gets his thumbs back.“

Wong nodded. „And I will think of ways to help him heal.“ Because that was what Stephen was doing. Coping with everything that happened in the last years, with everything he had done to keep the world safe. Their whole reality. It was one hell of a job and it came with a heavy toll.

Wong dissolved the spell and the cat landed on his feet. In a flash, he dashed out of the room. This time the other sorcerer didn’t follow him, but his tightly pressed lips showed his concern for his friend.

With a last nod to Tony Wong opened a portal and was finally gone. And Tony was left with a whole lot of information to take in. He wished Stephen had talked to him – before he became an animal. He had thought that their friendship, which had developed after the fight with the mad titan, was a strong one. Hell, Tony wouldn't mind if it was more than friendship.

But he couldn't blame Stephen. The sorcerer closed his feelings off even more than Tony did. And even Wong, who had known him much longer, hadn't known how bad things really were with his friend.

Tony was not one to dwell on the past, but he cursed Thanos' soul wherever it had gone after death.

„Fri, where‘s Stephen?“ he asked his AI.

„Under the drawer in the guest room.“

Tony went over and crouched in front of the drawer. Stephen looked at him with vulnerable blue eyes. Unsure, and afraid Tony would kick him out.

“If you knock another coffee pot off the table ever again, I will drag your magic ass to the next animal shelter. No matter what Wong says.“ He was petty like this.

The cat blinked once, slowly, and Tony took it as a sign that he understood and would behave.

“That being said, when you‘re done hiding under there, I could need your expertise in the lab.“ With that, he got up and left. It was all he had to say.

Back in his lab he worked on a model for a new Starkphone. Honestly, there wasn‘t much that could be improved, but customers were happy when they had options. So SI released a new model every year, slightly varying in size and style.

Friday projected a hologram of the blueprints and Tony took them virtually apart and put them back together.

Perhaps an hour or two passed before he heard the door open. Not many had access to his personal lab, and since Friday hadn't alerted him to any visitors, he knew it had to be Stephen. His suspicions were confirmed when the cat jumped onto a nearby chair and watched him in his work.

Now that he knew this was actually the sorcerer, it was kind of obvious. The mannerism was similar, they had the same eyes – Tony didn't dwell about how he knew what Stephen's eyes looked like – the cat even chose the same chair to sit in the lab.

Tony blamed it on ‘well, I didn't know this was an option' that he hadn't recognized him.

He raised a finger as a sign to wait. "Let me wrap this up real quick."

After he completed his updates, Tony forwarded the plans to the software team. Pepper might be CEO, but it was still Stark in where Stark was written on.

He then opened up another project. He had started it only recently and wanted Stephen's input on it anyway. Except that the man had since disappeared.

"I'm working on a way to make the technology from my arm available to everyone. It's also based on nanotech, but in a way that medical staff can easily handle it," he explained, enlarging holograms of various prosthetics.

The cat stared at them curiously. Maybe bored, it was hard to tell. His eyes were always equally intense in this non blinking way. At least he had Stephen's attention. Tony took advantage of that and talked him through everything he had so far.

He had never given a presentation to a cat before. The feline didn't make notes – he had no thumbs and couldn’t operate a pen – but at least he didn't ask stupid questions, so it could be worse. (He also didn't ask clever questions. He asked no questions, he was still a cat.)

Maybe it was imagination, because he knew now this was not a simple cat, but Tony had the impression that the feline was behaving differently than it had been before. It was as if it was more aware of everything going on.

Perhaps the encounter with Wong had triggered the rational part of Stephen's brain. Or the magic part.

During Tony‘s speech his black tail moved back and forth slowly. To any bystander, he looked like a regular cat who took their nine lives for granted and enjoyed long naps. But his blue eyes were wide and alert, focused on the hologram in the air.

After he finished his explanations, Tony trailed off and looked at Stephen. Silence spread. The cat’s tail had stopped swishing, then a second later he elegantly bounced off the chair and left the lab.

Perhaps Tony had been rash with his conclusion about the cat’s consciousness. He sighed and looked back at Holo, making a virtual side note to an idea he had just had.

Friday's voice chimed in. „It is time for dinner, Boss.“

„Is it already?“

„Doctor Strange sure thinks so.“

When Tony entered the kitchen, the cat was already sitting expectantly on the counter next to the refrigerator, yelling an impatient "Meow" at him.

"I'm pretty sure you can magic your own food on your plate. So you're just doing this to annoy me," Tony realized with amusement.

He reheated the Thai food from yesterday. Now that he knew Stephen wasn't a normal cat, he didn't have to worry about what he ate. As usual, Tony put two plates on the table – one for himself and one for the animal that followed him – and gave him a kiss on his furry head.

It had started as a joke, now it was a habit. Stephen made an unhappy sound and scowled at him. Oh, this was even more fun now.

They ate in silence. Stephen finished his smaller portion more quickly and licked his maw while he waited for Tony. (Waiting for Tony meant stealing food from his plate). He then followed the inventor back to the lab, where he jumped on the table and tried to access the hologram with his paw.

Tony handed him a Starkpad. "Here take this. It will work for your paws."

And so – to Tony's surprise – they started working together. At first, Stephen just read a lot. At least his eyes stared at the text on the screen. Every now and then he uttered a sound, but he seemed to be talking to himself rather than to Tony.

Tony just shook his head at this. As he did so, his eyes fell on a small device lying among various other tools on his table. He didn't have to think twice and grabbed it. A thumb pressed down and the small dot of a laser pointer appeared next to Stephen.

The cat froze, pupils blown. Tony moved the red dot to the floor, watching Stephen's head jerkily follow. The Starkpad was forgotten. Instead the feline wiggled his butt, lifting it up into the air while his chest pressed down onto the table. His hunting instincts were taking over.

Tony grinned broadly, waving the dot in small circles to lure the animal.

Stephen pounced and slid across the smooth floor. He scrambled, his claws extended, just missing the small red dot as it darted away.

Tony laughed as he watched him. The cat had no trouble keeping up but every time he reached his prey, it jumped places. And the feline followed. From the floor to the side of a drawer, back to the floor, up the wall. Stephen didn't hesitate and the next moment he was running on the ceiling.

Normally this was the point Tony would have called an exorcist, if he was still thinking that this was just an ordinary cat. He was in tears of laughter; it was just too funny to watch Stephen shooting after the point. He laughed so hard that his lungs hurt and the red dot disappeared.

The cat blinked and seemed to realize what he was doing there, what had just happened. He gave Tony a dirty look. Elegantly, he leaped down from the ceiling, rotating midair to land on his paws, and stalked back to his Starkpad.

For the rest of the day, the cat turned his back to Tony and ignored him.

_____________________________________

It was late at night when Tony went to bed. He could barely keep his eyes open and didn't realize until he was under his covers and no one was trying to climb on top of his blanket that Stephen had stopped at the door and was cautiously peeking at him.

"Get your fluffy ass in here. We have shared a bed before, so don't play coy now all of a sudden." Tony turned on his side and told Friday to turn off the light.

It wasn't long before he heard a noise by his feet as Stephen jumped up and curled up in a proper distance.

(When Tony woke up the next morning, the cat had ended up next to his face anyway.)

_____________________________________

Tony had made himself comfortable on the couch with his Starkpad and a bowl of popcorn, browsing for some light entertainment in the form of a series or movie.

Stephen was lying next to him on a pillow, his paws neatly tucked under his small body, and appeared to be asleep. Tony reached down and scratched behind the cat's ear. Stephen's eyes opened a crack, not looking at him directly. He tried to maintain a serious expression, but a small mew escaped him.

"Aw, look at you, all soft." Tony chuckled softly.

His hand moved to the other ear. Stephen stretched out to better appreciated the scratches, his eyes still barely open. He meowed again, not really caring about appearance anymore. But with his next move he lost balance and toppled off the pillow onto the couch. With Tony's laughter he sat up and flicked his tail in embarrassment, darting a glance at Tony.

„Don‘t look at me like that. I didn‘t push you.“ Smirking, Tony moved his Starkpad in front of Stephen's face. „Here, I even let you choose a movie.“

The cat used his paw to scroll through the selection, until he found something and told Tony by blinking at him. His choice surprised Tony more than it should have. „Doctor House? Really?“

„Meow.“

„Fine, but don‘t complain about incorrectly used medical terms.“

He placed the Starkpad so they could both see and pulled the popcorn onto his lap. Stephen didn't complain. In fact he curled up and went right back to sleep.

After two episodes, Tony decided to watch something else. As much as he liked Doctor House, it was not a series he would normally binge watch. But as soon as he paused the stream, Stephen‘s head perked up and looked at Tony with so much disapproval that he felt violently judged. So he continued the next episode.

And Stephen went back to sleep.

_____________________________________

Tony was not a morning person, never has been. Sure, he can get up if he has to, but he's not happy about it. And most of the time he runs on autopilot until his consciousness slowly kicks in. (Most of the time it was between the first and the third coffee).

Even back in the days when he had been CEO, he never scheduled meetings before 10 am and ever since he 'retired', that time had shifted even more backwards.

His body was just a subject to the first Newton's laws of motion. It liked the state it was in. If Tony was awake, he had no trouble working late into the night. And if he was sleeping, his body wanted to maintain that state too.

A body in motion remains in motion. A body at rest remains at rest, unless acted upon by force.

Such a force was usually a nightmare. But sometimes it was his alarm. When Friday woke him up with the soft voice of Evanescence and 'Wake me up. WAKE ME UP INSIDE'. She played the song in full length, even after he was already on his feet.

It was a very unappreciated joke. One Tony did absolutely not put into her code. (He was secretly very proud of her).

Tony was able to make his way to the coffee machine blindly.

He sipped his black elixir of life and placed a second, smaller cup on the table for Stephen. It was only at this point that he noticed the cat was nowhere near. That was unusual enough, because normally his furry roommate always greeted him and demanded his morning coffee. His absence didn't sit well with Tony.

Still too tired to form a clear thought, Tony stared at the empty spot on the table.

He could hear the rain pattering against the windows. It was as dreary a day as yesterday and reminded him of the time Peter the feline had brought home. Drenched, scrubby and generally sad looking.

Then a brief pang of panic rose in him. What if Stephen had left without letting him know? Did he no longer feel like being a feline? Or had the state of his mind worsened and the sorcerer had fled once again to be a stray. Or maybe an other animal? How would Tony know?

He had been under the impression that Stephen was doing better, had found more human traits in him; his scolding gaze, those huffs that he was sure were funny quips in replies to Tony‘s teasing.

Tony‘s thoughts were racing and he tried to pull himself out from spiraling down by speaking out loud. „Fri, have you seen Stephen?“ His voice was still raspy from sleep (and maybe concern).

There was a second of hesitation in the answer of the AI, while she was analyzing the data of her video footage. Normally she always knew where everyone was in the tower at all times, but Stephen had the advantages of both being magic and having magic. If he truly didn‘t want to be found or seen, Tony was sure he had his means to secure that.

For a moment he feared Stephen was truly gone.

Then Friday's voice spoke again and Tony hated how uncertain it sounded. "It appears that he never left the bed."

Tony returned to his bedroom and examined the chaos of blankets and pillows on his bed until he found black fur. Two blue orbs looked up at him briefly before the void curled up again and let out a small whimper.

"Hey, Blue Eye. You okay?" Tony asked softly. He got no response, not even another glance. He would think the animal was just as tired as Tony was earlier, but he noticed the way the feline held his front paws: cradled to his chest, paws shaking.

"Show me his scans from the medical, Fri." His voice was low, breathless. He grabbed the phone from his nightstand and zoomed in on the projected holo.

At the medical check Tony had done of the cat after Peter had dragged it in, an MRI had also been done. At the time, he hadn't paid any attention to the results because he just wanted to know if the cat had carried any diseases. But when he looked at it now, he saw his suspicions confirmed: Stephen's front paws were a mess. The small bones had so many fractures and poorly healed scars that he wondered how the cat could even walk with them.

Rain was still pelting on the windows.

It had to be one of those days.

„Your hands hurt, don‘t they?“

He heard the smallest of meows, more like squeak really. As a human, Stephen had barely talked about the aftermath of his accident, and when he did, it was in a rather nonchalant way. But Tony had his own scars and his own days when he could barely breathe, even though he'd had the arc reactor removed years ago.

"Does heat help reduce the pain?"

He got a small nod of agreement and knew what to do.

Tony left the room and got an electric blanket, which he placed on the couch in the living room and activated to preheat it. Then he built a nest on it out of the softest blankets and pillows he could find in the penthouse. When he lifted Stephen into his arms – like a baby on his back and making sure that no weight was on his front paws – the feline made a weak mewl. But as soon as he was put in his new nest and tucked in, he gave a contented sigh.

Tony smiled gently. "See? That's better."

He placed a bowl of water and Stephen's favorite yogurt near him so the cat wouldn't have to walk to his food.

"I have a meeting, but Friday will notify me of you need anything. I'll be back soon," he promised. He'd stay home if he could, but Pepper only gave him the most important meetings he needed to show up for anyway, and he didn't want to make her job any harder as it was. Not the way he had done it in the past.

They had a deal that Tony would attend any meeting she scheduled for him as long as there was no emergency like the end of the world.

Tony trusted Friday to keep an eye on Stephen.

_____________________________________

When Tony returned late in the afternoon, he noticed that Stephen had hardly eaten anything. But the man had taken precautions and had stopped by that French patisserie on the way home, from which Stephen always said he didn‘t like it because their stuff was too sweet (but Tony knew he secretly loved their chocolate croissants).

With the brown paper bag in his hands he sat on the couch next to Stephen’s nest. „Hey, sleeping beauty. Are you up for the amazing and very accurate Doctor House?“

„Mrew.“

Well, that wasn‘t a no. Tony sat more comfortably and told Friday to project the series onto the wall. He waited for Stephen to come to him on his own.

It wasn't long, however, before the cat poked his head out of his nest, lured by the rustling of the paper bag. He looked like a little black gremlin that had just woken up from a deep slumber and if Tony hadn't known that he had a bad day and his hands (or rather his paws) were hurting, he would have smiled about it.

Slowly, the cat moved to the water bowl and drank from it. Then he sniffed at the yogurt - a little too deeply, he got a blob on his nose, which he licked off. That was enough effort then, his front paws were shaking tremendously, and admitting defeat, he flopped back down.

Tony took this opportunity to pull him, blanket and all, into his lap. He grabbed one of the croissants and plucked off a piece, holding it in front of Stephen's nose.

The cat gave a surprised 'oh' and promptly snatched it from Tony's fingers.

"There you go. There's more where this came from."

Was it strange that he was feeding the sorcerer? Maybe. He saw it more as helping out a friend. Who was also a cat. A pretty adorable cat.

After Stephen had eaten the entire croissant (Tony maybe snuck a piece or two too), he snuggled contentedly into the human's lap. His paws still clutching to his chest so as not to strain them, he showed his belly. Tony gently stroked the soft fur and Stephen didn't even bat an eye, trusting him with this vulnerable side of him. And wasn't trust a funny thing?

Stephen purred softly and Tony suppressed the thought of what it would be like to pet human Stephen's belly and chest.

_____________________________________

When Wong stepped through a portal into his kitchen, Tony, who was sitting at lunch with Peter, had deja vu. But this time Wong was followed by the Cloak of Levitation.

„I know you have a phone and know how you use it, Wong. Hey, Levi, long time no se-…“ The cloak ignored him completely and rushed past him out of the kitchen instead. Tony sure felt appreciated by that piece of fabric.

He heard the cry of a cat and then a shatter as something fell to the floor and broke. It sounded like a vase or something similar.

The three humans looked at each other.

Tony was the first to speak. "So... you wanna join for pizza? Pepperoni and onions."

Wong eyed the pizza boxes. "Extra cheese?"

"I am deeply offended that you're even asking."

The sorcerer ignored that and grabbed a slice, humming appreciated as he bites into it.

Since they were sitting together anyway, Tony gave him an update on Strange (unchanged, he was still a cat, besides that he seemed to be doing okay).

Tony had already told Peter about the situation and the boy had apologized to Doctor Strange for every time he had carried him around, called him Mr. Fluffy, and for trying to teach him tricks by offering treats as rewards. He probably would have apologized for more things if Tony hadn't intervened. („If he chooses to look like a cat, he gets treated like a cat. It‘s his own fault.“)

The noises from the next room had stopped and now it was suspiciously quiet over there. Tony was just about to ask Friday if he had to get rid of a body, when the red fabric came flying back into the kitchen. It was wrapped tight into a bundle like a burrito, with a black cat head sticking out of it at one end. And that cat head was not happy about his current situation. Stephen fidgeted but wasn’t able to move and finally gave up with a huff.

Tony snapped a photo of him and even Wong couldn't quite stifle a grin.

_____________________________________

„Sometimes I wonder what you saw in those futures,“ Tony confessed when the two of them were alone. „I mean, I can imagine it wasn‘t anything good, hence you kept looking.

Stephen glanced at him from the table next to him in the lab. The cloak was wrapped as a red collar around his neck. It didn't seem to mind its new form and refused to leave Stephen's side.

„I told you about the witch that messed with my head, right?“ Tony had stopped working and starred at a point far away. „I‘m sure I did… she showed me a future where Thanos won. Everyone was dead but me…“ It was still hard for him to talk about it and he didn't know why he went on now – in the presence of Stephen of all people – and told him what he hadn't told anyone else. "You know, it wouldn't have mattered if I had died. If you hadn‘t been able to save my life after I snapped my fingers. As long as everybody else survived.“

The cat jumped into his lab, furiously. Meowing loudly in complaint, he climbed up Tony's shirt, to bumped his head into Tony‘s jaw.

When Tony looked down to him, he found Stephen’s blue eyes more human than ever before. Full of concern for the man, but also full of adoration.

Tony buried a hand in the soft fur and gave him a kiss between the ears, to calm him down.

„Yeah, of course. You‘re right. I‘m glad I‘m still alive… and I‘m also glad you are alive. No matter what you need to heal, we‘ll get you there, alright?“

Stephen blinked slowly and nudged Tony‘s cheek with his nose.

Tony took that as a yes.

_____________________________________

Stephen had settled in well as a cat in the tower. When Tony wasn't home, he used his magic to open the refrigerator or to operate the Starkpad. (One time he watched Doctor House without Tony. That traitor! Tony got invested during the second season). Friday helped him when he wanted to order food or informed him when Tony or Peter were on their way to the penthouse.

He still didn't want to meet anyone else and also only the closest friends of Tony knew about his presence: Rhodey and Pepper.

After Christine hadn’t been able to reach Stephen for weeks, she started sending texts to his phone, which was still at the Sanctum. To the point where Wong shoved the device in Stephen’s face in annoyance. "I don't want her coming into the Sanctum. So, fix this."

Stephen agreed to reply – he really had no choice – and explained to her that he was staying at the Avengers tower for some time.

Three days later, Christine showed up in the lobby with a case file under her arm she wanted to discuss with Stephen – as they had been doing from time to time.

Stephen was horrified when Friday told him his best friend wanted to visit him. He would have refused, but Tony was also present and intrigued to meet her. (Tony also knew how bad it was to hole up and that sometimes you had to force people to be happy). So he told his AI to give her clearance and greeted her personally in the spacious living room of his penthouse.

Out of the elevator stepped a good-looking woman, her hair knotted into a practical ponytail. She had circles under her eyes, which widened when she saw who she was meeting.

“Miss Palmer, it‘s nice to finally have a face to that name.“

“Tony Stark.“ She was clearly startled about his presence, but he had to give her credit for overplaying being starstruck quite well. She shook his offered hand just slightly too long and managed to tear her gaze away from him. Tony offered her the couch with a gesture.

"Where is Stephen?" She looked around searchingly, as if expecting her friend to pop out from behind a piece of furniture at any moment.

Tony ignored the question and asked one of his own instead. “What do you know about his current occupation?“

Because while the Avengers and many other heroes were pretty present in the media, Stephen and his magic order operated mostly in the shadows. They had signed the accords, but one of their conditions had been to stay out of the public eye. And since Stephen was currently a cat, Tony had not been able to ask him about the details of Christine's knowledge.

„You mean his magic cult?“ Christine asked, tilting her head, wondering about the cause for the question. „I‘m familiar with it. He told me after he showed up in a closet in the hospital, after having been missing for several months. Then he immediately died on me and his ghost told me to do CPR.“

She didn‘t mean to ramble and at this point she was clearly oversharing, but Tony hadthis kind of impact on people.

He laughed, hearing the story. „He does know how to make an entrance. First time I met him, he kidnapped me from a jog in the park before informing me that the end of the world was near.“ Christine chuckled and he totally saw that as a win. „But where are my manners? Do you want a drink?“

„I won‘t say no to a coffee.“

„Good choice.“ Tony got up and got a mug from the cupboard while Friday had already fired up the coffee maker. „Sorry, you didn‘t come here to trade stories,“ he said over his shoulder. „Although I‘m all for that another time.“ He leaned against the counter while he waited for the coffees to finish. „Stephen has been living here for a while now, because honestly – and I‘m only telling you this because I know he considers you a close friend – he is not in the best shape. Not physically, although you would be surprised if you saw him. Milk? Sugar?“

„Milk, please.“ Christine sobered up by his words. But she didn‘t say anything until she had the cup in front of her and took a sip from it. "Will he be alright?" She felt thrown back to the time after Stephen had his accident. He had run away then, and now apparently again, if the radio silence had been any clue. He had been too proud to ask for help, maybe too ashamed. She hoped his stay in the tower meant he was handling it better this time.

"He's doing better than when he arrived," Tony reassured her.

"Can I see him?"

Tony hesitated. He didn't want to offend her, but he didn't want to lie to her either. „He knows you are here… he just hardly wants to meet anyone these days.“

Christine bit her bottom lip. „He is not good at asking for things. Please don‘t let him push you or whoever is helping him away.“

„I won‘t,“ Tony promised with a small smile. Little did she know that Tony and Stephen were more alike in some ways than she thought. „If you want, you can leave your number and I will call you if something changes. Although I‘m sure Stephen will reach out to you on his own when he is ready.“

Christine looked at him over the rim of her cup and wondered why this man, who was always portrayed so eccentrically in the media, would have been this thoughtful. She also wondered about his relationship to Stephen.

„That would be appreciated. Thank you.“ Her eyes fell on the file she had placed next to her on the couch. „Tell him I‘ll put this in the cloud, if he wants to take a look at it before Nick does. In case he needs something to put his mind into.“

„I‘m sure he is too curious to let that pass,“ Tony replied.

After that Christine finished her drink and took her leave. Tony walked her to the elevator, which was really only a few steps away. As soon as the doors closed, he turned to the seemingly empty room. "You never told me she's the Pepper to your Tony."

"Meow," Stephen said, annoyed, emerging from the shadow between two shelves. But he couldn't disagree.

It made Tony laugh. „Well, you are lucky to have such a good friend. And you heard the lady, don‘t wait too long or that Nick guy will get all the credit.“

Stephen huffed. Under no circumstances he would let that happen.

_____________________________________

Friday turned the TV on. This was quite unusual, because without Tony or Peter home, she didn't operate without being asked. Especially since it appeared to be the news she wanted to show Stephen.

Stephen stared at the screen. He saw tall buildings, but not like Manhattan, more like New Jersey. There were several flying figures, one of them in a shining red and gold. The cat bristled his whiskers, making an unhappy hiss. Even more when he saw that one of those figures wasn‘t flying but swinging.

Then one of the enemies hit Peter and the boy got smashed right into a brick building. Shit, that wasn‘t good. Iron Man covered for him, but they were clearly outnumbered. They needed help.

He was startled when Friday suddenly spoke up. „Mr. Stark and Peter are approaching the tower. He requested medical help on stand-by.“

Stephen hurried to the elevator. He had never left the floor of the penthouse since Peter had brought him here, but right now he cared very little if anyone saw him in this form. He couldn't just sit here and wait.

The doors opened for him and no sooner than he entered the elevator it started moving on its own. Stephen trusted Friday to take him to the right floor.

The tower had a small sickbay from back when the Avengers had first worked together. It wasn't as big as the compound's, but it was quicker to get to from downtown.

Stephen had never been here before, but it wasn't particularly hard to find his way around. With his good cat hearing, he simply followed the sounds of the incoming Iron Man. The sickbay had an entrance via a small outside platform for flying patients, of which there were quite a few among the superheroes.

Iron Man carried Spider-Man in his arms. The nanosuit retreated into the house unit, showing the man’s grim face, when the nurses took the motionless boy from him.

Stephen watched as Peter was transferred to a bed. He could help, he was a doctor. One of the best. He just needed his human body back. He needed hands and feet.

Stephen called his magic. He stretched and turned, but he didn’t change. He was stuck in the body of a cat. Impatiently, he tiptoed between the nurses' feet. It was important that he used the right spell, but he couldn't quite remember which one it was. It was on the corner of his mind.

His small body had no muscle memory and at the moment he was still much more cat than human. Panic rose in him because it felt like he was losing control. And he had never liked losing control. Frustrated, he cried out, but it came out of his mouth only as the yell of a feline.

Surprised, a doctor looked down at him. "Get that cat out of here!"

Stephen got scooped up, squirming in the grip, until he heard a familiar voice. "It's alright, Stephen. Peter got hit in the head, but he will be alright." Tony wasn't sure if his words were meant to reassure the sorcerer or himself. With an 'oof' he dropped into a chair on the other side of the room.

The cat headbutted him until Tony stroked his fur. That always had a calming effect on the man.

"He will be fine." Tony's eyes stayed on Peter and the medics. Stephen remained sitting on his lap. He still felt uneasy because he didn't know why he couldn't change back. But Tony needed him and so he would stay

That was when he noticed it: the way Tony sat, his back not touching the chair, the faint metallic smell.

With a leap, Stephen stood on Tony's shoulder and looked down his back. And sure enough, the shirt the man was wearing was sliced up at various places, blood oozing.

"Meow!" Tony tried to grab him, but Stephen kicked his little legs. “Meeeeeow!” He yelled loudly and persistent. So much that it drew the attention of the nurses until one of them came over to them.

"Traitor," Tony hissed but with no bite. In return, he refused to let go of Stephen and the cat stayed, now purring soothingly, in the man’s arms while his wounds were treated.

_____________________________________

Both Tony and Peter were less badly hurt than it had first looked, and they were allowed to change floors to the penthouse that same day.

Peter had been awake only briefly and then had gone right back to sleep in the guest room. And Tony was also knocked out by the painkillers. (He was sleeping on his stomach because of the cuts and bruises on his back).

Stephen briefly checked in on Peter, examined the work of the medics, but couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The boy most likely had a concussion and a few bruises that would heal quickly thanks to his enhancement.

That brought him back to his current problem: he hadn't thought about shaping back for so long that he seemed to have forgotten how to do it. That was the danger of spending too long in the same animal body. Before today, he hadn't cared, he had just wanted to forget. But now… he didn't want to be useless when his friends (his family) were in danger. Stephen wanted to help. Stephen wanted to be human again.

He could use magic just fine and he still had his cloak. But he couldn't seem to change back.

Frustrated and tired, he curled up in his usual spot next to Tony. He was determined to find a solution, but first: sleep.

_____________________________________

When Tony awoke, his back still hurt; the painkillers had stopped working (he didn't like them much anyway). Tired, he rubbed his face, turned on his side, and found Stephen asleep next to him. Except Stephen wasn't a cat anymore.

He looked peaceful. His hair (which was the same color as the cat's fur plus the grey streaks on his temples) was tousled and the cloak of levitation draped over him like a blanket. At least over his lower half to give him some decency. But he was clearly naked underneath.

Well, he wasn‘t wearing any clothes as a cat.

Tony had seen him in his robes and even in casual clothes but he didn‘t know he hid these muscles under all these layers. Totally unfair. Tony blamed it on magic. (He wasn‘t ashamed to admit he was staring.)

Stephen woke up slowly and when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Tony.

"Hey," he said.

„Hey,“ Tony replied, his lips curling in a smirk.

Then the sorcerer noticed his condition and blushed right up to the tips of his ears. He wasn't sure how to react. Even if Tony had known who the feline was, Stephen had been able to hide under the mask of a cat before. But now that was no longer possible. He wasn't sure if the other man would throw him out with his next words.

Tony, noticing his uncertainty, peeled himself out of bed. "I'm making breakfast. Full size coffee for a full sized human?"

Stephen nodded. His eyes followed Tony into his walk-in closet until he couldn't see him anymore. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. At least he was human again. Maybe the spell had just needed time. He should ask Wong about it.

Stephen was startled as clothes were thrown at him.

"Not that I mind a handsome, naked man in my house, but Peter is sleeping in the other room." With those words Tony left the bedroom and Stephen blushed some more.

He put on the shirt and pants. They were slightly too short and a strip of skin was visible between the shirt’s hem and the waistband.

Following Tony, he walked into the kitchen where the smell of fresh brewed coffee greeted him. Wordlessly, he sat down at the table while Tony cracked eggs into the pan. Friday played the latest upbeat pop song in the background.

Tony put the mug down in front of Stephen and gave him a kiss on his hair. At this point the sorcerer was a blushing mess. He mumbled something unintelligibly, while Tony turned back to the stove, grinning. "Don't think you'll be spared just because you change forms, Blue Eye."

Breakfast consisted of grilled bacon and scrambled eggs. Hesitantly Stephen reached for the fork, but he felt no real appetite. „I guess I should go back to the Sanctum.“

Tony tilted his head. „You don‘t have to, if you‘re not ready yet.“

„It‘s about time I am ready, isn‘t it?“ Stephen smiled warily.

„Well, if anyone knows about time, it‘s you. I‘m just saying you have a place here in the tower.“

„Thank you. For everything you did for me.“ Finally, Stephen took a bite. It tasted delicious, even with his dulled human taste buds. "After breakfast I'll change your bandage and then I'll check up on Peter," he changed the subject.

"Oh?" Tony cocked his eyebrow. "Since when are you my doctor?"

"Since I said so," Stephen announced with more confidence now. It was terrain he was familiar with. „No need to throw your nurses out of bed, when I‘m here anyway.“

_____________________________________

Tony sat on the armrest of the couch as Stephen removed the old bandage.

The sorcerer used magic for many things in his daily life, but not for medicine when he could help himself. So also now. He only stabilized his fingers while he examined the cut across Tony's back. It wasn't deep, thankfully, and had already begun to heal.

Stephen reached for a cream the medics had prescribed. He took a look at it and found it fine. "This may feel a bit cold," he warned Tony, who merely shrugged,

"Do your worst."

Stephen's touch was soft, and still a bit shaky, despite the magic. But it wasn’t unpleasant. He worked gently, but with practiced precision. Tony felt his warm breath on his skin as Stephen reached around him to apply the new bandage. He bit his lip to keep from making a sound.

Just as he reached for his shirt to put on, Peter stepped out of the guest room that was by now his unofficial bedroom here in the tower anyway.

"Good morning. Oh, hey, Doctor Strange." He didn't even bat an eye about the fact that the sorcerer was back human.

"Peter," Tony smiled, as he always did when he saw the boy. "Should you be out of bed yet?"

"Should you?"

"Don't get cocky with me, young man. Sit down. You're next for a check up."

Peter rolled his eyes and groaned – really, when did he stop being the nice little kid Tony picked up in Queens? - but sat down on the couch. Strange turned to him and examined him under Tony's watchful eye.

"Will you stay human?" Peter asked while his eyes followed Stephen's outstretched index finger.

„Peter,“ Tony said warningly.

„What? I liked having a pet.“

Stephen was rather amused than offended by the boy. „There are enough cats at the shelter waiting to be adopted."

Peter perked up and looked at Tony. "Can we...?"

"We will talk about it later." Tony gave the sorcerer a glance for putting ideas in the boy’s head. He was just Peter’s mentor, yet he felt like a parent anyway, when he sent Peter back to bed. (He promised to bring breakfast over soon).

"So, you're really leaving?" Tony asked again as Stephen followed him into the kitchen. "Do you need a lift?" Since the sorcerer hadn’t even been wearing clothes, Tony doubted he was carrying his portal ring.

"The cloak will be happy to be taken out for a flight." As if in confirmation, the red fabric fluttered.

"Sure."

Their eyes met and for a moment Tony felt unsure on where this would leave them standing. Sure, they had been friends before the sorcerer had disappeared and became a cat. But by now he felt much closer to him. Would they pick up where they left off before or try to figure out what other possibilities they had?

Stephen seemed to be fighting a similar battle inside himself. He was standing several feet away as if he still wasn't sure if he was wanted. As if Tony's behavior had been anything but welcome.

In the end, Stephen nodded one last time and turned to just leave.

And wasn't that exactly the kind of behavior that had gotten him into this situation? Rather than opening up and talking about his fears and insecurities, he was evading it.

It was hard to break out of familiar patterns of behavior. A fact Tony knew all too well. And Tony had never been one to give up easily.

"Stephen."

The sorcerer stopped and turned back to him, his eyes hopeful.

"I expect to see you at our next movie night. No excuses."

A smile broke onto Stephen's face and he nodded in agreement. With a motion of his hand his borrowed clothes turned into his blue robes (so that had been an option all along; good to know), before he was gone.

_____________________________________

„What did you see in those futures?“ Tony asked the sorcerer.

It hadn't taken long for Stephen to reappear through a portal in Tony’s penthouse, even before the movie night was scheduled. There had been no world ending reason for it, as had quickly become apparent. Stephen was just someone who missed the company to which he had become so accustomed over the last weeks.

Tony wasn't complaining. He felt the same way.

He had poured them both a drink and then bullied Stephen into changing his robes into something more casual because 'you said yourself this isn't a business meeting. My house, my rules'.

Now there were chilling on the couch. Tony had pulled his legs up and rested his head on his knee as he glanced curiously at the sorcerer. It was a question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Everyone died at one point." Stephen's voice was low. He tried to not think too hard about the other futures but to stay in the present. „Sometimes Thanos won in minutes, sometimes in days or weeks, even years. I could never see past my own death. I don’t mean the dusting, because that was a different kind of death. At least it felt different.“ And he knew only too well how it felt to die. Another memory he didn't like to dwell on. "So, I don't know what happened after I died. If you would have won anyway..."

He paused, in which Tony reached out to him, placing his hand on Stephen's thigh.

His next words the sorcerer whispered like a dark secret, "I also ruled out the futures where you or Peter died. I couldn’t have looked you in the eye with the certainty that he would not return."

Stephen closed his eyes, focused on the feeling of Tony squeezing his leg. He used it as an anchor point. "I once took an oath not to play god. But it was me who decided which of our friends and allies would die and who got to live. I deemed this future for the best and did everything to ensure it."

It felt like he was personally responsible for every single death during the fight against Thanos. How could he not? It had been his decision.

Tony's hand left his leg. He took Stephen's glass and set it aside before taking the sorcerer’s hands in his own. Another thing the sorcerer wouldn't have allowed so easily in the past.

"Hey, listen. It's not your fault, okay? Thanos tried to kill half of the universe. You did your best to bring it back."

Stephen opened his eyes and looked at him. There was so much devotion in those blue eyes.

"Why me though?" Tony heard himself ask. "We hardly knew each other back then. Why did you want me to live?"

"I knew you fourteen million times. I saw what you were willing to do, willing to sacrifice. You don't realize how important you are to this world." Stephen brought Tony's hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Whenever you were there, there was hope. Falling for you in those futures was inevitable."

Tony's eyes widened in awe before a smile sneaked into his face along with blush. He had not expected this. "I'm glad you chose a future in which we both are alive." He slid on his knees closer to the sorcerer who still held his hand. "Or else I couldn't do this..."

He cupped Stephen's face with his other hand and kissed him softly. Stephen's eyes shut instantly. How could he resist when this was exactly what he had hoped for but had not dared to dream.

The kiss was slow and sweet, they were in no hurry. And when they broke away it was only mere inches.

"You have a head start of fourteen million lifetimes. Please wait for me until I fully get there." Tony's breath hit him and their lips brushed again, just the slightest bit.

„I would wait for you until the end of time if it meant I can call you mine.“

_____________________________________

„Do you want to come to pizza and game night at May‘s place?“ Peter asked Stephen the other day. „Now that you're not a cat, she's not allergic to you anymore."

„That‘s right,“ Tony added. „No more excuses why you can‘t come.“

Stephen smiled. „Sure. I‘d love to.“

_____________________________________

Friday is the only witness when on some mornings (after the nightmares have been particularly bad) a black cat is lying on Tony’s chest, purring soothingly.

#IronStrange #Stephen Strange #Doctor Strange #cat!Stephen Strange #Tony Stark/Stephen Strange #Stephen Strange x Tony Stark #Iron Man #Wong #Peter Parker #Spider-man #SpaceMermaid #This cat is strange

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