#my mom really helped me out editing and re-writing what i had

[bajanimation]

Hello!  So I’ve had this story in my head for my characters, and was finally able to get it down into a story outline.  The story is ever changing as I continuously change and mold it as I play round in their world, but these are the parts that are the most solid, and I wanted to get it out so maybe you could understand my characters I draw a little bit better, or see what’s going on in my head.  And big shout out to my mom who helped me write and edit my outline!

The Adventures of Ali and Bay

Part 1

Bay decides to become a famous inventor. “Why wait? I can start doing that right now.” Acting on impulse he fixes up an old airship, leaves a letter for his parents and starts on his road trip. He’s going to start his business and get his name and inventions out there.

Bay sees an uncharted floating island and stops to re-stock his supplies. He hides the airship, not wanting anyone to know that an underaged pilot is flying it. He finds out that the island is called The Maul and that ten years ago, a mysterious wind cut the chains tying the island down sending it drifting away from civilization. With no way to call for help or to escape, the residents are all still trapped on the island.

Ali grew up on The Maul but she longs to leave the island. She is still dealing with her feelings about her father disappearing from the island years ago. She tries to get along with people but it turns out wrong. People hate her anyway. She ends up being the town bully and now does everything she can to be hated. If they’re going to hate her anyway, she may as well make it happen.  

When she sees Bay, she is instantly suspicious. Nobody has ever come on or off the island. What is he doing here? How did he get here? She attacks him. In their scuffle, Bay accidentally grabs Ali’s locket, her prized possession. She becomes enraged and demands that he take her off the island with him. Bay is over-powered but sees an opportunity and negotiates with her. It would be helpful to have a bodyguard and someone strong to carry his things. He offers Ali free food and a travel partner in exchange for these things. Ali thinks this can work and agrees to the arrangement.  It will give her a chance to search for her missing father.

But before long, they have their first misadventure. A worm monster tries to kill them. Bay watches as it swallows Ali alive and runs the other way. But Ali’s magical strength is activated. She cuts her way through the monster and survives.   Bay and Ali have many more adventures involving monsters, magic and furries. Bay tries to sell his inventions but not many people are interested. Ali is still a bully and often gets into trouble with people with her aggressive approach. But even though their relationship started as a business arrangement, Bay now sees her more as a friend. Ali is stand-offish at first, not wanting to admit she is growing fond of “the kid". But as they travel, Bay increasingly becomes the target of others’ retaliation for Ali’s aggression.

When Ali sees Bay being attacked, she goes into a fury and her superpowers are activated. She grows wings and beats up the people attacking Bay. She has to admit to herself that Bay is her friend, not just “the kid”. And she’s not travelling with him just because she made an agreement. She’s travelling with him because she wants to.

Part 2

Bay and Ali are still travelling and having adventures. Bay is still trying to sell his inventions. But they’re fighting monsters for money because they need the cash (and Bay didn’t properly budget for the trip).

Ali wonders what is happening to her. And only when she fights people off her and Bay. Is this magic? The wings? The super strength?

Bay on the other hand is worried about his family. He has been away from home for a long time. His family are probably very worried because after the first note he left, he hasn’t written again to tell them that he is safe. He is worried about getting in trouble and having someone come after him and end his trip prematurely. But it is time to go home.

His parents are very emotional when they see Bay. They worried not knowing where he was and whether he was safe. It takes awhile but Bay assures them that he has been safe and that it was Ali who kept him safe. He asks if she can stay with them as she has nowhere else to go. His parents are thankful to Ali for keeping their son safe and welcome her into their home.

Part 3

Getting used to living at home with his parents and going back to school is harder than Bay imagined. His parents won’t let him out of their sight. School is not easy either. He still has his school friends, Jamie and Quinn but finds out that Jamie has a crush on him. He tries to avoid the subject and hopes that Jamie’s feelings will go away. But they don’t and Jamie asks Bay out on a date. After much fretting, Bay eventually agrees. They end up dating and becoming boyfriends. After awhile Bay develops a crush on Jamie as well.

Ali, on the other hand, is happy to have a place to stay, even if Bay thinks the room she has is way too small. Ali spends time with Alder and Annie, Bay’s dad and mom, but especially with Alder in the garden. It’s time she wishes she had with her own father. Over time, her attitude softens, she is able to explore her feelings about her dad and she slowly becomes accepted into the family.

In time, Jamie and Bay break up after a big fight. Ali, although happy with her new family, feels ready to take in the world with more compassion and wants to travel and explore. Bay’s family tell Ali that she is part of their family and can always come back. As a parting gift, Bay gives Ali a new locket that he made, to replace the one he broke. He gives her a hug as she leaves on her next adventure.

#art #story #writing #story outline #oc #bay #ali #the adventures of ali and bay #TAAB #very hard to get the story in my head out in writing #my mom really helped me out editing and re-writing what i had #also the drawings i've had done for months but struggled figuring out a write up #but it can go here #also their story isn't going to be any more than what I have been making for them #sketches drawings and the occasional comic #this isn't going to be a webcomic or anything #just wanted to share what their story is through this outline

[leeofthevoid]

Cold-blooded Beings - Part 2

Farleigh Start x Reader

a/n: Hello all! Super huge thanks to those who helped me change my perspective and gave good criticisms on the last chapter. I hope you liked this one, took a bit longer to write but a bit more slow. Might re-edit later and think about the kissing scene. Not Beta Read.

Warnings: Mentions of Alcohol, Strong language, Sex, Nudity

Word Count: 1951

|| Part One, Part Three, Part Four

Alcohol and Money

You weren’t a stranger to the Cattons’ wild side. They were known to throw parties, banquets, and get-togethers that could turn very out of hand after a few rounds of their expensive alcohol being passed around to people as young as thirteen. This rave or club was not any crazier; sure, there were a handful of borderline public sex acts going around, and people here were under the age of twenty-five, but it really had nothing against the Cattons.

Felix wasn’t known to be a guy to keep his hands to himself. He took his chance to steal you away from the guy you were making out with to get you dancing, his hand roaming while his other hand held his beer bottle. You didn’t mind; he was always like this, always a tad bit too touchy, just like the rest of them, save for Sir James. He was always childlike and in his own world.

“Why’d you steal me from Mr. Hottie, Fee?” You asked or screamed at him over the music. He chuckled and scrunched his nose. “Can’t have you doing sinful things you might regret.” You laughed as you swayed your hips to the music, dancing with him. “A bit too late for that, Fee. Been doing some very sinful things since I last saw you Love.”

“Color me impressed. You better tell me all about those,” he said with a wink while pulling you closer to him, leading you to the bar where Farleigh was eating some random guy’s face out. It was a little more quiet and a little bit more organized than the dance floor, a good chance to have a breather and enjoy the atmosphere. Felix slid away to order a few drinks for you when Farleigh pushed his little gent away. He looked so disheveled, with swollen lips and lust-filled eyes. My, my. These boys really grew into their family antics. “A little more snogging; I thought you’d be eating him, Farleigh.” He scoffed playfully and pulled you to sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around your waist, and resting his head on the crook of your shoulder. “If you could call it one; he was so bad. Probably better than Oliver, but fuck, it was so bad.” You gave him a few head pats as you teased him about his weird knowledge of Oliver’s kissing techniques when Felix handed you your drink before walking away to probably look for Oliver. Oh god, Oliver… It was crazy how you caught a glimpse of him staring at you while you danced with Felix; he was just gone so fast when you wanted to call him over. Kind of creepy.

“How was your little date with the cockless duo?” Farleigh whispered in your ear, teasing and all. You situated yourself on his lap in a way that you’d be able to see what his face looked like. That mischievous glint and smirk on his stupid face were laughable but also seriously? He just had to remind you? “Got stood up by the Math know-it-all and the lifeless writer.” Bastard.

“Jesus, Farleigh, your mouth needs cleansing.” He found humor in your censorship. Honestly, though, why do you even defend those two? You'll never know. “Oh come on! That other guy looked like he would have fucked his mom if he had the chance.” Your face twisted into a horrified expression, mouth hung ajar from the atrocities he’s telling you. “Farleigh! Is there any way for you to not say such things?” You slapped his chest, grumbling underneath you as he laughed his heart out.

“You know… Not to be one with a savior complex, but I do have an offer that’s a little tempting.” He bit his lower lip, rubbing small circles on your exposed thighs, the feeling making you shiver. You tried to play it cool by drinking some of the mimosa Felix gave you while looking at him, challenging his confidence that barely wavered.

“Do you Cattons have a kink for being handsy with childhood friends?” Farleigh chuckled as his hands traveled further up your dress. “Maybe? Is that bad?” Of course, that didn’t stop his hand from playing with your thighs and squeezing them every once in a while.

“Maybe. So… about this offer to relieve my heartache from being stood up by Oliver and Michael?” You put your drink down to wrap your arms around his neck. His eyes dropped down to your lips, heart beating fast under your hand resting on his chest. “Well, I’m not one to pity people, but you seem to be a lucky one.” He seemed to wait for your first move, but his eyes betrayed him. He looked like he was ready to pounce at any given moment anyway, and you loved the tension. Slowly sliding your hands up and down his exposed chest, you closed the gap as painstakingly slowly as possible. He rolled his eyes and closed the gap himself, earning him a small gasp from you.

His lips were soft and warm. He was delicate yet vicious as he sucked on your lower lip, hands on your back and thigh. He tasted so… different and so good you just had to pull him closer, as close as humanly possible to appease your hunger for him. He tasted like cigarettes with a hint of mint and oranges. What the hell has he been consuming to taste this good? This is probably the alcohol; for sure the alcohol making you insane and loving every second of your kiss. He slowly slipped his tongue into your mouth, swiping down your lips then nibbling with his teeth. You sucked on his lips, earning a faint groan, tightening his hold on you.

You pushed him with a smirk on your face, slightly shaking your head while he tried to pull you back. “Free taste could only give so much.” You whispered in his ear as you stood up from his lap, leaving him confused and empty-handed. You danced more that night, had a few more drinks, and woke up in a stranger’s bed. It was normal. This life was normal for you, but what about the plaything Felix found?

After a few weeks of hanging out with Felix and Farleigh, you were embarrassingly worn out on the tutoring session Mr. Ware told you to facilitate while he was out of town. Oliver seemed a little more confident and laid back now that Felix influenced him so much, but you can’t help but notice the little cracks this shy little man still had. “And life, though always heartbreaking, finds a way to course through the minds and hearts of even the most loveless individuals…” You sent an assignment last week to Oliver and Farleigh, ‘Write about life as tragic as you can.’ Farleigh seemed at least prepared for this session, but he remained quiet, and comfortably sat cross-legged on the other chair parallel to yours as Oliver continued his monotone reading. “Okay, so Oliver you have improved, and I am proud!” You interrupted, “But I still think you fail to capture a little bit more of the emotions we need to fully express to the readers and listeners about what you want them to think about your work.” Oliver pursed his lips, brows furrowing deep in thought, “I just thought maybe I’d let the readers perceive it as they want. Let them have the freedom, unlike the prison life has given to them.” It was smart and very interesting, but the exercise was for them to be able to focus on the subject they wrote about. You heard Farleigh blow raspberries as he settled back in his chair. “You know, Ollie, what she meant to say was that it was boring, again. It lacked life and the lust for things surrounding the tragedy life brings us.” He clicked his tongue and looked at you.

You sighed at his observation and gave a slight wink your way. “She was right in saying you’ve improved, but you lost your objective. You think you’re so smart in deviating from what you’re supposed to do and what you’re supposed to be, that you became too complacent.” Oliver looked at Farleigh, confused and angry, standing up abruptly after a few moments, excusing himself from the room.

“Farleigh!” You looked at him pointedly and watched Oliver disappear into the hallway. “What? Was I wrong? He was still so intolerable you almost fell asleep.”

“It does not give you an excuse to bash him like that.”

“Like what?” He chuckled lowly. “Like he’s one of us? Like he can use you and Felix as safety nets?” You chose to ignore him and stood up to fix the files in Mr. Ware’s office without another word. “I see how you give him money when he hangs out with you. How he looks at you when we go and get drinks, while Felix whispers in your ear about whose turn it was. Y/N, fucking talk to me! What is up with you and that leeching cunt?”

You sharply turned around to find Farleigh behind you, looking down at you as he waited for answers. “He’s already struggling enough, Far. Felix and I just talk sometimes about how he reminds us of the little kids our housekeepers had over when my parents threw charity parties.” He looked at you with disbelief in his eyes, biting his cheek. “You’re such a fucking Martyr. You and Felix both.” He humorlessly laughed as he backed away, throwing the essay he made on the table. “Please excuse me, Saint Therese.” He turned and left the room, giving a slight sarcastic bow in the process. What the fuck is his problem? You were only being kind, just like what Mother and Father taught you. What’s so wrong about it?

That night, you talked to Felix about the whole thing. Farleigh is right and wrong. He was right and you both knew it. While you were talking, you couldn’t help but feel a wave of disinterest from Felix. Like talking about Oliver was making him bored and he would much rather talk about something else. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Felix looked up from his laptop and blew out some smoke. You too had a lit cigarette in between your lips, unable to save yourself from the temptations of its relief. “It’s just… Ollie is…”

“Getting boring?” A silence hung in the air. You were right and Felix just didn’t want to say it. “He just doesn’t feel as excited anymore, you know?” If there’s one thing you knew about Felix, it was that he had always been the type of kid who would love his toys so much at the start but discard them when they got tired of them. Right now, Oliver was the pitiful toy. “Hey, if you’re getting tired of him then it must be the same for me?” You looked at him from the other end of the bed you were lying on as he sat up and held onto your knees in a comforting way. “You? No way! No fucking way am I going to get tired of our lovely Monarch.” You rolled your eyes at the nickname and raised both your eyebrows. “Why are we so different then, hm?” The answer was obvious and it was the bloody truth. Oliver was the scholar kid, smarter than the rest, got into a good school, had enough allowance to buy cafeteria food, and was an outcast. He was not like you. He was not from your world, only dragged because of Felix and your kindness (Pity). Felix kissed your cheek after you got pulled into your thoughts and went back to talking about everything else, lightening up the mood.

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#farleigh x reader #farleigh start #saltburn movie #saltburn fics #saltburn #felix catton #oliver quick #michael gavey #farleigh x you #childhood friends #friends to lovers #So tired I need coffee

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Let's get real! How about 💘 🌿 🍉 🎀 and 💞?

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

Honestly? There's a-lot of my fic's I would like to rework/re-edit/rewrite, but if I was to single out two in particular: Marvel Descendants: The Art Of Mischief and Ninja's Unite Book 1. Just because I'm not proud of some of the earlier writing in both fics, aka grammar issues in Art Of Mischief and it being clear I had no clue what I was doing at times and throwing shit to the wall and hoping it stuck, while Ninja's unite earlier on writing does feel like its leaning heavily into the angst and not you know, the characters. But while I am planning to try and reboot Ninja's Unite, it a bit difficult to redo Marvel Descendants: The Art Of Mischief, since stuff from the book has been mentioned in stories set after it, so its sadly in hiatus state forever at this point unless I find a way out of the corner I've written myself into (aka another reason for singling out this fic here).

🌿how does creating make you feel?

When I do get to do creating? I guess I feel good, since I do love writing my characters and their fic's, and I love getting ideas for them, really. But not gonna lie, do get anxiety a-lot lately when creating, and it's pretty hard to fight at times, hence why I said when I do get to create, really...

🍉in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

Just writing in general really, helps me navigate life, since writing means I escape to another world all together and aren't in reality where things are honestly, a mess a-lot of the time. Like, I still remember starting to write LGBT+ stuff around the time I was beginning to realize I was bisexual, but also attended a religious secondary school and had a mom who seemed to hate me briefly when I tried to come out to her, meaning writing was the only way I could be happy there with being myself. And while childish looking back, I remember making self-inserts of former friends and such in MH OCs so my own self-insert could deal with stuff and actually be happy afterwards.

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing.

Honestly? Moving on from copying Disney Descendants for Marvel Descendants. Best decision I ever made, really. It meant the series could become its own thing and do different plots and writing for the characters. Characters like Jayla likely wouldn't exist if it wasn't for that decision, so thank the gods I made.

💞what’s the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language.

All of them are important to me, really, since they all play important parts. But if I was to pick one or two: plot and characters, since you need a good plot to make the story work or it falls apart pretty fast, but you also need good characters that not only work with the plot but also are likeable to read for both readers and you, the author, looking back.

Let's get real!

#fanfiction asks #oc asks #ask games

[journalofimprobablethings]

Writing Masterpost

Hello!

I've finally gotten around to doing some blog maintenance and making a masterpost of all of the writing I've posted on here. If you've found my blog because of a fic post and want to know if there is more where that came from, you're in the right place!

I write mainly fic for The Magnus Archives and TAZ Balance, with a few original things thrown in for spice! Most links stay on Tumblr, but I've also got some of my longer pieces on AO3 linked here as well.

List is under the cut, and thanks for being here!

MAGNUS ARCHIVES FIC

One-shots & multi-chaps (links to AO3):

present tense - Safehouse-era love confessions, the world didn't end edition.

will you remember me - Somewhere Else coffee shop au! Martin is intrigued by an attractive stranger who comes into his coffee shop, especially when they have an intense reaction to seeing him.

why can't the words I need ever come to me  - Research-era Jon finds Tim crying in the bathroom. He tries to help.

slippage (4 chapters) - Jon starts to forget while he and Martin are still in Upton House. Martin has to try to get him out before he forgets everything.

something to hold onto - Tim & Jon s2 reconciliation, with background jondanny

a promise and a prayer - alternate ending to TheOestofOC's The Kindness of Strangers; or, what if Jon & Tim had reconciled before the Unknowing

these constellations will guide you back - What if Martin had been the one to find Jon trying to get his "anchor" for the coffin instead of Melanie?

Tumblr ficlets:

Somewhere Else coffee shop AU: snippet 1 (Martin) snippet 2 (Jon)

Tim & Jon's Excellent American Adventure: 1 (at the airport) 2 (there was only one bed (platonic) aka literal sleeping together) 3 (statement dependence)

Dad!Jon: Jon has always had trouble imagining the future They name her Sasha

yet broken, still you breathe - Jon & Martin listen to The Amazing Devil

life's but a walking shadow - Martin gets Jon to recite some poetry (aka Jon is a Shakespeare nerd)

i will bring you ruin - Jon Sees Jonah's plans before he goes into the Lonely

Other snippets:

Post-Circus Jon angst

JonTim Literal Sleeping Together: China Edition

Martin & Tim say goodbye before the Unknowing

Not-Sasha visits the Trophy Room

Martin can bake?! - s1 Archive gang fluff

Somewhere Else - an explorations of possiblities

Peter Lukas is having a marvelous time.

Message from Jon to Martin, several days after his return from the Buried.

TAZ FIC

One-shots (links go to AO3)

L-U-P (multi-chap, ongoing) - What if Lucretia saw Lup's name burned into the wall and figured out where Lup was? Lup gets out of the umbrella early, and she and Lucretia team up to save the world.

take me back to the start - The Chalice makes Lucretia an offer, and she has to decide what price she is willing to pay for a second chance.

without you - Magnus and Lucretia have only been together, really together, for a couple weeks. When a routine scouting mission goes wrong, he has to face to prospect of nearly a year without her. Magnus/Lucretia fic set during Stolen Century.

a recipe for home - Taako tries to cook for the first time since Glamour Springs. When it goes wrong, Lucretia is there to lend a hand. Set during between the second Lunar Interlude and Petals.

by means of heat and time - Taako gives Angus a cooking lesson (a lifetime ago, Taako gives Lucretia a cooking lesson) - TAZ November Celebration Day 23 - Cooking

how this grace thing works - Taako helps Lucretia with post S&S nightmares, and maybe, just maybe, something starts to heal.

Eventually - Kravitz told Magnus he and Julia would eventually have to re-join the rest of the souls in the astral sea. He never thought about what he would do when “eventually” finally came.

Tumblr ficlets

hold on tight - The Birds get together for a family dinner after Story and Song, and Magnus and Lucretia have a talk about what it means to deserve a happy ending.

"Today's gonna be the best!" - The Birds have a snow day.

Barry is falling. - The moment right after Barry falls from the Starblaster, when he realizes what Lucretia has done.

What if Barry found Lup in Wave Echo Cave? - Barry finds Lup, and has to find a way to hold himself together.

“Shh, they’ll hear us!” - Taako and Angus plan a surprise.

TAZ November Celebration Day 21 - Night - A lil quiet moment between Davenport & Lucretia during Stolen Century.

TAZ November Celebration Day 17 - Rest - The crew of the Starblaster take a much-needed pause.

TAZ November Celebration Day 3 - Warmth - Taakitz Modern AU ficlet. Fluff!

almost home - Magnus returns to Raven’s Roost. (and an answer to the question, how did Magnus get Julia’s ring back?)

Metas/snippets

The Director aways has music playing in her office.

Lucretia never met the Judges in Cycle 65.

The birds and hugs

What if Raven’s Roost never fell?

The Light of Creation isn’t sentient, exactly.

If Lucretia saw Lup’s name burned into the wall and figured out where Lup was

Lucretia doesn’t remember the first time the Bulwark Staff spoke to her.

Lucretia wakes up in a white space.

After Story and Song, Davenport leaves. Lucretia says goodbye.

ORIGINAL WORK Sometimes I post things on here that aren’t fic!

Macbeth in the living room - A short written at the beginning of quarantine, before we really understood anything about how the virus actually worked. The mechanics of distancing are So Wrong but the sentiment is there. It’s a time capsule of a moment.

The One Who Stays Behind (short story)

OTHER BITS AND BOBS

Thoughts on wonder

Babel by RF Kuang time-travel fix-it (ish)

#scribblings #masterpost #putting these all in one place has made me realize just how much i've written in the last three years #wow!

[dollycas]

Special Guest - Donna Clancy - Author of Kilned at the Ceramic Shop: A Braddock Mystery #GuestPost / #Giveaway - Great Escapes Book Tour

Kilned at the Ceramic Shop: A Braddock Mystery by Donna Clancy It is my pleasure to welcome Donna Clancy to Escape With Dollycas today. Hi Donna, Hi Everyone, I am happy to be here today. In 1968, when I was only eight years old, I wrote my first book. It was a project for school and it was nothing fancy. It was titled, A Day in the Life of Mr. Quarter. It was created out of plain white paper folded in half, and the contents of the book was done in pencil. It followed the path the quarter took in one day from being in a cash drawer to someone’s pocket when given back in change and everywhere in between. He finally ends up in a big glass jar with lots of other new friends in the man’s bedroom at the end of the day. I hadn’t thought about the book in many years, and actually, I had forgotten all about it. In 2011, I self-published my first book, The Baby Factory. It was a hot mess. I didn’t know what I was doing and I didn’t have a support system in place to help me. The book was edited by a friend (first mistake) and when it was printed it was done in 8X11 size because I didn’t know you could convert documents to different book sizes (second mistake). Like I said, I was really green. None the less, I was so proud of actually putting a book out into the world. My mom was the first one I gave a print book to. She was excited as I was to be holding a book I wrote. Don’t get me wrong, the story was great and it’s still on Amazon now that it has been since fixed. My mom told me to close my eyes, she had a surprise for me. She told me to hold out my hands. When I opened my eyes, I was amazed to see the very first book I had ever written sitting there in front of me, forty-three years later. I had told her all those years ago I was going to write books, books like Nancy Drew and A Wrinkle in Time. I was an avid reader and she believed I would do what I said I was going to do. She held on to that book all these years so she could give it back to me when I published my first book. I was amazed that after all my mom had been through, divorces, moving many times and all the financial problems, she held on to the book. Having it is even more important to me now that I lost her in September of 2022. It has been a long writing road to get to where I am now being traditionally published. My mom prayed every night that I would find an agent and sell a book. She died two short months before I signed with my awesome agent, Cindy Bullard, of Birch Literary Agency, and three months short of me signing my first book contract with Level Best Books. She never got to celebrate the things she prayed so hard for every night. I have my “first” book, framed and hanging above my writing desk. I gaze upon it every day that I sit down to write and it is a reminder of how much confidence my mom had in me and my writing even when all those years had passed by. I guess what I am saying is never give up. I wrote my first book at eight years old and am being traditionally published at sixty-five years old. Hang on to those dreams and share them with others who will help you to believe they can be accomplished. My mom never gave up on me and I am sure she is doing a happy dance in Heaven, along with my dad who passed five years before her. He encouraged me to believe in myself and read each and every one of my books even though he didn’t like to read. Always, always, make room for your dreams. Thank you Donna for visiting today! _____ Keep reading for info about Donna's new book. My reading calendar didn't allow me to read it now but I plan to read it soon.  About Kilned at The Ceramic Shop Kilned at the Ceramic Shop: A Braddock Mystery Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Maine Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books (March 12, 2024) Print length ‏ : ‎ 234 pages Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CV7J53PQ Tammy Wright, a bestselling mystery author returns to her hometown to give her Aunt Clara a hand with running her ceramic shop during tourist season. She discovers that two vindictive realtors have been bullying her aunt and others into selling their properties to make room for new housing developments. Those who don’t comply pay the consequences. Tammy stumbles upon a body, and when her aunt refuses to give in to either realtor she disappears without a trace. With the help of an old schoolmate turned policeman, the writer must step out from behind her computer screen and her fictional mysteries to confront real life crime. If she doesn’t, she may never see her aunt again. Great Escapes Praise for Kilned at the Ceramic Shop: A Braddock Mystery by Donna Clancy I enjoyed this book and could not put it down. This is book one of a new series, and I can't wait to revisit the small town of Braddock in the future! ~The Storybook Lady Overall, “Kilned at the Ceramic Shop” is a captivating read that combines the best elements of cozy mystery and small-town intrigue. With its well-crafted plot, memorable characters, and atmospheric setting, this book earns a solid four stars and is sure to delight fans of the genre. Donna Clancy has crafted a mystery that keeps readers guessing until the very end, cementing her place as a talented storyteller in the genre. ~ReviewThickAndThin Bottom Line: Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy kicks off a new cozy mystery series with small-town vibes, delightfully feisty senior citizens, and an investigation that gets very personal for our heroine. It sets up the community and relationship arcs nicely for the rest of the series, and the mystery took some turns I wasn’t expecting. ~Reading is my Superpower Kilned at the Ceramic Shop is a cute cozy with a dead delivery driver, tyrant realtors, feisty sisters, a kidnapped Clara, a friendly deputy, rampant rumors, and peacock keys! ~The Avid Reader Entertaining and interesting beginning to a new, cozy mystery series. I recommend KILNED AT THE CERAMIC SHOP for cozy mystery readers, especially those with an interest in the hobby of making ceramics. ~Boys' Mom Reads! A compelling mystery, a touch of romance, and the love of family and friends make KILNED AT THE CERAMIC SHOP a wonderful start to a new series. I look forward to spending more time in Braddock! ~Cozy Up With Kathy About Donna Clancy Donna Clancy lives on Cape Cod. She has three grown children and one rescue Papillion named Zumiez. She has a seven-book deal with Level Best Books for The Braddock Mysteries, writes The Trash to Treasure and Paint and Sip cozy series’ for Summer Prescott Books Publishing as well as self-publishing The Shipwreck Cafe and Jelly Shop Mysteries. She loves to write in various genres including suspense, thriller, romance, and YA. Author Links Website     Facebook     BookBub Purchase Link - Amazon  Also written by Donna Clancy TOUR PARTICIPANTS - Please visit all the stops.  March 12 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT March 12 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT March 13 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW March 13 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST March 14 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 14 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT March 15 – Storybook Lady – REVIEW March 16 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT March 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT March 17 – Review Thick And Thin – REVIEW March 18 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW March 18 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT March 19 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY March 20 – Boys' Mom Reads! – REVIEW March 20 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT March 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT March 21 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST March 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 22 – Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT March 23 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW   March 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST a Rafflecopter giveaway Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? 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[bl6ckr0s3]

Leaving the Drake Inn

We been in Nashville, TN for 3 weeks now. It really feels like we been here awhile and longer than that since we moved down here. As I was re-reading my review on this motel from my last journal entry, I realized I repeated a lot of words. I wrote everything in a blur quick manner just to vent out of my system. I didn't really have the time to go back and edit what I typed from the review I plan on posting for this motel. I will edit definitely before posting of course, that's what I normally do. I usually read over what I write and edit the grammar and wordiness of my paragraphs. English class sure did served its purpose for my education in high school. English wasn't my most favorite subject, but I am happy that I had got a lot out of it during my college year with this Japanese teacher I had during the course of a semester I was taking for credit.

With the money that Joshua's mom and friend Bobby has sent, they helped dramatically during our struggles. We have enough money to get a week stay at the Extended Stay hotel right next to my job. We will be checking in this weekend on Sunday since that will be the morning we will be checking out of the Drake Inn. We are fed up of dealing with the broken room we been living in hence all the issues I have wrote from yesterday's post about the review I plan to post on this motel. I am relieved that we are going to that other hotel this weekend. We saw some negative reviews for that place, too. I just going to give a chance and pray that we get a decent room with half of the shit that we didn't have to deal with that we been dealing with here. Josh can take my car to work and I can walk home when I get off. I just hope that Joshua keeps this job for awhile until we are able to get our own place again.

I got a list of job bids from the past month for the Bid Awards. I noticed that a lot of jobs are open thru the Music City Annex which is another facility by the airport. That's the place that my co-workers were telling me about where they work packages and parcels. Due to the current job schedules that now me and Joshua have & the transportation issue of 1 car, I will have to be at my current place for awhile. Until we are able to have a car of our own again, then this is where I gotta remain for the time being. I am getting use to the RCS2 machine I been assigned at. I spoke to my supervisor Jamie who has to go to Tour 3 to help train the workers on that tour to properly do their job. He's not gonna like the schedule, but it's to help out for the time being. He's been training this lady April, the new MDO of my tour to learn some stuff before he goes to Tour 3. He has had me assigned to work the RCS 2 for awhile until I am use to it which I am getting the hang of clearing jams and such. I pretty much got my routine down now with this area other than not having the zip codes memorized of it's assigned bin. The annoying thing I still hate is having to call maintenance to fix the machine whenever something fucks up on it, but hopefully I will be able to find a good spot to work in that place if it's not on the robot machine. I felt like time was going by quicker last night than it did the other nights. I got to learn to stay busy to kill the time when it's not too busy. I think I learned a lot pretty quickly over the first week of being there. Maybe a bid will open up and I can bid out and be at a more happier spot to work in that small place. We shall see.

I plan on getting us a P.O. Box if we truly need it, but hopefully the Extended Stay hotel will do us better and than maybe we can start receiving mail there instead. I just barely did an address change last week because I thought we were going to be here for awhile. Drake Inn has a dumb rule where they will need you to be out for a day after staying for a month before you can return back if needed. I think it's stupid. At the Extended Stay, they don't do that. You can keep staying there and you don't need to be out on a certain day for whatever reason which will be convenient and easier. I don't understand why the Drake Inn does that, but whatever. I am relieved that we will be going to a slightly better hotel and leaving this dump. I hope that maybe I can learn to enjoy my new work place. I am thankful that I don't have to travel far to work, it's only a few minutes away, gas is cheap out here, and I don't have to walk very far between taking my break outside the building and clocking in and out at the time clock. The post office is right next door so if I need to drop off mail or do business it's right next door and I can go straight there in the morning after I get off work if I need to.

It looks like we may have to miss church service again this weekend because we need to be sure that we can check in the hotel on time by 3pm on Sunday. Church service is at 10am in Memphis on Sundays and Joshua doesn't think we would be able to make it back on time due to traffic, but even if we do he doesn't want to take that risk and miss our opportunity because of what we went through with the first hotel incident when we first got here to Nashville. Yeah, that sucked ass.

[chelleztjs18]

Hello you 😌

You writers are something else. It's amazing how ideas and words just flow in your head. I wish I had that. I have the imagination and all but I can't put it into words 😅

How many times do you reread your stuff and know when to post it? Like how do you know that it's a good piece and it's ready for the world to see?

Hahaha I only do it to break the ice. Cause I never know how to approach someone just normally, I'm awkward in person so when I meet someone I just try to say something corny or funny.

I am right handed. Fun fact, apparently when I was younger I was left handed but my mom "forced" me to write with my right hand. How about you?

Do you think love at first sight is a thing?

- CuriousGeorge

Hi hi! The healthy eyebag. lol.

aw thank you so much! I appreciate it so much! Oh sometimes the idea can flows well sometimes they dont.

Someday I can have the will to write but then no idea. Sometimes I have the idea but not in the mood to write. lol.

Mostly I got my ideas or imaginations from music and I usually got it when I was taking a shower because I always plays my music when I do so. Sometimes I got new plot of stories or just simple additional ideas for the request that I got and grows the plot. Sometimes I got the idea from my writer friends that helps me brainstorming.

I alwyas lost count how many I re-read my work until I post it. Even though i re-read it many times, there's still some errors i find after I post it. lol.

I always make sure no typo, n tried my best to write gramatically correct. that's why it takes extra time for me until i post it. Plus, I always try to find gif or picture that match with story. If i cant find it, sometimes I make my own picture edit or something like a cover or header (espcially if it's a multichapters or mini series)

plus deciding the title, it can be easy to find it can be hard to find. lol. even though i have fun when it's time to pick the title.

haha i think we r kinda similar but u hv more confidence in u. lol. well, not all eyebags are the same with the other, right? hahahahaha.

OMG! I swear i said OMG out loud when I read the part about ur funfact on left handed or right handed. because it HAPPENED to me!!! hahaha. I was born left handed, i remember when i was a kid, I always do stuff with my left hand, eating, playing, holding things or taking things, even writing but since in indonesia culture is considered impolite to do things with left handed (because it's the hand most people do to clean up their body after potty) so my mom "forced" me to write n do things with right handed. Now i'm right handed but not really. it's so funny that it happened to us. Was ur mom's reason teach u right handed because of that culture things?

I can say that I'm ambidextrous now. I used both hands daily but my natural dominant hand is left. but also right handed because i was taught right handed. so some daily things like cutting with knife or scissors, i use right hand. some daily things are right handed. but mostly I use left hand.

when I eat sometimes I swtch between two hands. I write with both hands but my left doesnt do as good or as fast as my right.

That's why my bow is left handed. I shoot guns left handed, i hit baseball with left hand. I can throw with both hands. its fun but i love it if i end up become a lefty. lol

fun fact, i noticed that my daughter is ambidextrous. hahahahaha. i guess she copies me but her left hand is more dominant.

yes, i believed in love at first sight. because it happened to me twice. to my ex gf and my husband. lol. what about u?

Cheerio!

#chellez answers #ask answered #anon answered #curious george anon

[kageyamatobiyogurt]

day 8: haikyuu boys building a snowman ☃️

a/n: somethings wrong with my blog and i’m trying not to be sad about it :’/// tumblr support pls pull through edit: ITS FIXED

back to event masterlist!

includes: tendou, ushijima, bokuto, miya twins, kita

tendou:

idk but something about him refuses to be normal???

he makes his snowman upside down???

he puts the largest ball of snow on top while the stick arms go from the middle ball to the ground

he makes it look like the snowman is doing a handstand pls

tendou goes really simple with the face too, just using two rocks and and a stick broken into three pieces to form a mouth like :D

pls he adds stick legs that poke out too so the snowman’s really just outstretched and excited-looking

the kids at the park come by to approach his creation

“he’s upside down! that’s so cool!” they cry out, eyes wide in fascination

he winds up staying extra long at the park to help kids build their own 🥺

ushijima:

i feel like he kind of got dragged to the park by tendou

he helps with tendou’s snowman if he needs it

but wakatoshi brings this little extra thing he’s had since he was a kid

and it’s one of those snow duck molders

PLS imagine this 6 foot something man squatting down in the snow to make little ducks i-

he’s so precise with it

the kids at the park also enjoy this and he winds up making one for most of them

not people later on finding this army of ducks in the middle of the park 😩🤚🏽

anyways tendou and ushijima best bros

bokuto:

was a little late to the snowman game

but he also didn’t want to miss out on something everyone else did

he starts making his two days after it snowed so there’s kind of just dirty snow left

yk the mushy and dirty snow

HIS COMES OUT LOWKEY SCARY PLSS

the snow around the eyes is somehow dark so they eye sockets look spooky and not merry

also tried to form a smile with the hot chocolate he had and the mouth just looks garbled

a kid sees it and kind of rushes away

he didn’t pay attention until another kid comes by, sees the damn thing, and starts crying to their mom 💀

PLS our baby bokuto gets so emo

he just wanted try what ushijima and tendou did

calls akaashi to pick him up and unfortunately akaashi cannot lie about how it looks

the only thing akaashi can come up with is to build another snowman together, even though this one winds up much smaller

miya twins:

i’ve been having fun writing about them together recently hehe

another two who also refuse to be normal

their particular goal this year is to build an abnormally large snowman

PLS the base alone is like five feet wide and five feet tall

they gotta roll the snowballs together because it’s so damn heavy

best believe they bicker during this even though they came up with this together

“‘samu yer not even helping me push-”

“shut up, yer talkin’ more than yer pushin!”

someone probably lands on their ass in the snow before this gets completed ngl

they also gotta ask kita for help at some point to actually lift the torso of the snowman bc it’s just heavy as heck

luckily the head of the snowman is possible to lift but the tip of the torso is too high to reach

so as big-brained individuals, atsumu gets osamu to go on his shoulders for the extra height

kita know this is a bad idea

these two idiots fall over backwards first and they gotta re-roll the head

“atsumu ya gotta keep steady!”

“‘ts hard keepin’ steady when yer ass is so heavy!”

with extra (needed) assistance they finally get the damn thing on top

kita also told them to add the facial features before putting it on top to make their lives easier

finally, they use these thicc branches for the arms and these stones the size of their fists for the buttons

the snowman is menacingly large pls and the twins high-five at the end like they didn’t almost kill each other making it

ofc they get a final picture with one twin on either side, both holding a thumb up

it stands in the neighborhood park for two weeks bc it takes so long to melt

winds up on a lot of people’s social media lmao

kita:

okay here comes my best boy kita agenda

while the twins goof off, he figures there’s nothing else to do so he embarks on his own snowman journey

actually makes it like a normal person

he rolls the base around 2 feet, and forms the torso and head accordingly

it’s pretty simple

he gets sticks for the arms and he makes the facial expression with sticks too, making his snowman wink

it’s very cute (like him)

he also makes a top hat out of snow

the twins are totally not jealous

takes a selfie with his creation to show his grandma later 🥺 (somehow he got the twins bickering in the background)

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu hcs #haikyuu characters #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #hq #haikyuu boys #tendou satori #tendou x reader #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima x reader #bokuto koutarou #bokuto x reader #miya atsumu #miya osamu #atsumu x reader #osamu x reader #kita shinsuke #kita x reader #tendou x you #ushijima x you #bokuto x you #atsumu x you #osamu x you #kita x you #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu event

[eveofwriting]

Howdy! Your last request fill for me was perfect so no need to re-write it! I loved the poly-models. I do have a request for Yandere Demon Slayer. May I request Platonic Spider Mother fighting a young human fem s/o who's a demon hunter but so weak and inexperienced, barely able to lift the sword let alone kill with it. Thinking the s/o is fighting demons cause their parents were killed when they were little. They have no family to call their own and no one to take care of them. Thanks again!

[I really didn’t know what direction to go in for this, it came out a little at the end, but with what we see of spider mom, she’s cold and sadistic before Tanjiro shows her mercy, so I had little to work with. Besides, her backstory is vague, unlike the spider sister and Rui. I got rid of some parts of the story so there might be one or two things I forgot to get rid of or something that doesn’t make sense because I forgot to replace it, but this has been sitting in my drafts for months and I just want to post it already and stop editing.]

“Welcome to the Family”

You weren’t supposed to be a demon slayer. You were young, weak, and uncoordinated. Clumsiness that seemed to be hidden in every step, slight distractions grabbed your attention as much as an airhorn would, you simply weren’t cut out for this field. It was a total mystery how you made it through the final selection in the first place. You were pathetic!

You had stopped at a town near a large mountain, planning to leave the next day, but as you walked, you were rushed towards by a young child, maybe 9 or 10 at the oldest, with a panicked expression on his face. You weren’t much older, only 13, but that didn’t really matter. This was weird, considering it was the middle of the night.

“Heyyy!” The boy cried out, holding out the Y. “I need help!”

Due to the fact he caught you off guard, all you could really respond with, was, “Huh? Why?”

He grabbed your hands tightly and brought them together in front of you, looking up at you pleadingly. “Please help! I was with my older brother and his friends at the base of the mountain, and.. And something, it…” He trailed off, obviously in distress. “It?” You questioned, to which he quickly focused his attention back on what he was saying. “It had red eyes.. It was so pale, and it shot spider webs from it’s fingers, I think.. It hurt my brother, I just ran! I barely got back to the village in time! You have a sword, we need help!” It definitely sounded like a demon attack, which caused a small feeling of dread to pile up in your stomach.

“You all shouldn’t be out this late at night!” You scolded, but nodded. “Go wake your parents, under no circumstance let anybody go up the mountain, leave this to the me. I-I’m trained for this. I’ll come back with your brother, I promise.” You stated, not knowing fate would have very, very different plans for that night.

You didn’t waste a second to rush up the mountain after saying that, listening for any sounds that indicated where they were. As you got higher, you could hear a piercing scream in the distance. You rushed forward, running towards the sound until finally you arrive at the scene. The woman.. The demon, matched the vague description the boy gave, as you saw web like strung quickly wrap around his limbs, tying the boy to a tree by his bound arms and legs. You saw the other boys, it seems the demon already managed to tie them up.

“You probably taste as good as you look!” The Spider Mother said with a smile, knowing she would please Rui with her surprise. You grabbed her attention by accidentally snapping a twig under your foot, as she spun around at full speed. “Another one?” She said in surprise, although was definitely pleased. The family would be well fed! She quickly noticed your uniform, a demon slayer? You glared at her with an expression of faux fierceness, although your hands were shaking like a leaf.

“Run!” One of the older boys said, looking to be about your age. You shook your head, you could do this! You didn’t seem to notice that the Spider Mother stopped reacting, flashbacks filling her mind as she saw the look of false determination. Past the false determination was fear, fear she remembered. It didn’t seem to be in the heat of the moment fear, was this your first time facing a demon? Sweat dripped down your face as you stared back at her intensely. You finally went in for an attack, mumbling “this is for my family-” as you pushed forward, managing to miss her completely. She stepped back, watching as you pulled your sword out of the ground. You were horrible at this! You didn’t even know how to properly use a sword, it seemed. She couldn’t help but find you adorable, how you struggled to fight her even as she stood practically still. “C’mon! Stupid sword!-” You stated, pulling it out of the ground and lunging for her, missing her again and instead falling forward as you managed to dig your sword into the ground. Slice, not stab! You should know better, she scolded in her mind. She easily used her string to restrain your hands, pulling you closer to her. She began gently looking over your details. “L-Let me go! I’m going to try and ma-make your death painless- so don’t put up a fight!” You said, stuttering in fear. “Ah, you’re naive.. How did you even rank as a demon slayer? Why are you a demon slayer?” She seemed generally curious about you. “O-Obviously because demons are mu-murderers! You all are- y-you’re the reason my fam-” You paused, why in the hell would you talk to her? She saw through your facade, you were completely defenseless! “Your family is dead, hm? You don’t have a family?” She asked, although it was rhetorical.

In her mind, she already made one thing clear, she didn’t want to kill you. The pain and fear in your eyes reminded her too much of what she felt around Rui. What better to get Rui than a new family member and a nice dinner? Even though you’re not a demon.. Rui could always make use of a sibling who was so devoted to her family beforehand that she risked her life to fight demons.. He could turn that around, make you a part of the family, and she could.. Keep you safe.

“Rui’s going to love you..” She stated, not acknowledging the confusion on your face as she pulled you closer. She wrapped her hands around your throat. “I’m sorry.” She said simply before beginning to choke you.

She would only make you fall unconscious, it would make convincing Rui to spare you much easier if you were peacefully sleeping..

Welcome to the family.

#platonic content #this was actually kinda fun #like this was entertaining to make #especially since I love Rui #yandere spider mother #yandere spider mom #spider mother #mother spider #yandere mother spider #yandere demon slayer #platonic yandere

[noctumbra]

𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍

summary ─ “i’m so glad that we came across to each other,” bucky said. “it really felt nice to catch up with you, to talk to you.”

pairing ─ fuckboy!teacher!bucky barnes x reader

warnings ─ fluff, seeing each other after yeeeears later, coffee shop conversations, catching up, EPILOGUE

a/n ─ i said i wasn’t sure about writing this but i couldn’t stop myself because i want this soft and sweet closure for them without tears lol. thank you for all the love you’ve given me throughout this trilogy series. i’m really thankful. also i’m sorry for making y’all cry a lot djhfdjhf. this is the epilogue. hope you like it. please leave a comment if you do! thank you! i love you all <3

previous part ─ series masterlist

  TEN YEARS LATER

You exhaled a sigh of relief as you threw yourself into your favorite coffee shop, finally getting the chance to escape from the scorching heat of the sun. Stepping away from the door, you closed your eyes for a second. The cool breeze of the air conditioning was hitting your face so nicely, you felt like you could cry.

Shivering lightly, you opened your eyes and walked towards the short line in front of the register. You deserved a grande coffee after the very busy day you had. Your eyes were hurting slightly because you’ve been looking at the computer screen for hours now.

“Thank fuck the weekend is here,” you murmured to yourself as you fished your wallet out. You heard the guy in front of you humming in an approving way, and you froze for a second. “I should have whispered,” you said, and the guy chuckled this time. Grimacing to yourself, you decided to shut up.

As you waited for your turn, you started to watch people around you. Everyone was either tired-looking or way-too-jittery-looking because of all the caffeine and sweets. Most of them had come here with a friend, you realized and frowned lightly. Inhaling the freshly brewed coffee smell deeply, you moved your eyes to the guy in front of you.

He was tall. He had dark brown, mid-length hair, it was a bit longer than mid-length, though, you noted. He had whites peppered in it, and it looked good. He had a navy colored suit on him. The suit jacket was hugging his broad shoulders very nicely, and the suit pants he had on was complimenting his thick thighs. You hummed silently to yourself. You moved two steps forward, eyes still on the guy, as the people on the register was done with their order. It was the guy’s turn.

“Hello,” he murmured, and you felt a lick of familiarity. “Can I get a black coffee, grande?” You frowned. The guy’s voice was familiar. You watched him grabbing a small protein bar. “And this.” The boy at the register nodded as he punched in the order, and the guy in front of you pulled his wallet to pay.

You saw the hand tattoo. Your eyes widened.

“Name?” The boy asked. The guy looked up briefly.

“James.” You watched his hand as he pulled out some money and gave them to the boy. He was wearing the rings from─

“Bucky?” You asked, surprise audible in your voice. Bucky startled, his shoulders went stiff and he turned around. His baby blue eyes bored into yours as they widened with surprised.

“Y/N?” He breathed. “Oh my God.” You let out a chuckle.

“There you go,” the boy said, handing out the extra money. Bucky cursed lightly as he took the money and stepped aside. Just as he opened his mouth, his name was called. You saw him clenching his jaw. Your smile widened. “What can I get you?” You blinked, returning to the real world.

“Cappuccino, grande. Non-lactose milk, please. No foam,” you said your order and handed out the money. The boy nodded. “Y/N,” you gave him your name without him asking for it. The boy worked quick; he told your order and gave your cup to the barista and handed some of your money back. You bid him good day before you walked towards where Bucky was still standing.

Goddamn, you thought. He looked good.

The whites in his hair were also in his stubble, covering his chin slightly. He looked grown, albeit a bit older, and the crinkles around his eyes made him look more handsome than he normally was.

“Holy crap, Y/N,” Bucky said, his eyes moving up and down on your body. “I can’t believe you still look as gorgeous as before.” You chuckled, feeling the heat rushing to your cheeks after literal years. “Not that I expected you to look bad, by the way,” he said, rolling his eyes. You smiled. You grabbed your coffee when barista called out for you and turned to Bucky.

“Wanna recharge together in one of those tables?” You asked, pointing at the coffees. Bucky chuckled and nodded.

“Of course!” He said. “I would love to.”  

Both of you walked towards an empty table near the café windows. After you settled, you looked at him. He looked happy, you realized. He didn’t look haunted or sad anymore. He looked healthy and happy if not a little tired.

“You look great,” you said softly. “You don’t look so… sad anymore.” Bucky smiled. Taking a sip from his coffee, he nodded lightly.

“I’m… good,” he decided to say. “I swore not to lie to you again and I’m not gonna start that now,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t so good after our last talk, but time helped.” Bucky shrugged, his fingers were playing with his coffee cup. “I had time to focus on myself, and then my job. It kept me busy but also gave me some time to heal. So, I’m good.”

You smiled fondly at him. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” you murmured. “You deserve to be good, Bucky. I’m glad you’re now. I just hope you’ll be better soon.” You watched him blush, your smile widened and turned soft.

Bucky shook himself and straightened up on his seat. “Tell me what you’ve been up to,” he said, excitement shining in his eyes. “I haven’t seen you for ten years. Are you a cat mom or dog mom or a real one?” You let out a surprised laugh.

“Bold of you to assume I want to be a mother, Buchanan,” you deadpanned. Bucky grinned toothily. “…I have a cat,” then you added. Bucky chuckled.

“Knew it,” he said, snapping his fingers. You rolled your eyes. “’s fine. I have an asshole for myself waiting me at home.” He rolled his eyes like you. “I swear he hates me and wants to kill me, but he doesn’t because I feed him.” You laughed, almost snorting out your cappuccino. Bucky grimaced at himself and then chuckled.

“Murderous cats,” you muttered. “I had an encounter with them once or twice.” You nodded seriously. “She tried to trip me and scared me to the death, so.” Bucky giggled. “She’s the cutest, though.” Bucky smiled. He knew that feeling all too well. You sighed.

“How’s teaching? I see that you kept your tattoos, but goodbye piercings?” You asked, eyebrows high on your forehead. Bucky grunted. It wasn’t a happy sound.

“Apparently, me having piercings might provoke the students to get the same look? They told that I cover my tattoos with my clothing but can’t hide my piercings, so they had to go. ‘s bullshit.”

“…It is,” you agreed because it was. “Your hand and neck tattoos are visible, and they were troubled with your piercings? Yup, bullshit.” He grunted again and sipped his coffee.

“Love the students, though,” he added without you asking. “They’re dumb sometimes and goofy almost all the time, but I love them.” He smiled. You could see that he really did love his students. He was great with children ─shocking, yes─ and seeing him being happy with his work was making you happy.

“I’m glad to hear that. You were weirdly good with kids,” you said, looking at him over your coffee. Bucky narrowed his eyes. “It was cute, don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t expect from someone who looked the way you did back in college and be good with kids. I was shocked when I learned that you were going to be a teacher.” Bucky snorted.

“I love teaching,” he defended himself with a faux-offended face. You grinned. “I enjoy telling them things that make them go ‘wow’ and love seeing them use what I taught.” He shrugged. “How is editing?”

“Ughhhh,” you groaned. “Don’t get me started.” He looked at you, eyes wide and half-grin visible on his face.

“Oh, okay,” he said and then giggled. “I feel like you have a lot of feelings bottled up in there.” He pointed your head, and you grunted like he did a couple minutes ago.

“People who don’t even know punctuation are sending me their works, and they are brave enough to tell me that they wanted it published.” Grunting even more, you sipped your coffee. “It’s a pain to read all the cringy, too fast moving works and editing. It feels like I’m re-writing their whole work.” Bucky frowned slightly, tilting his head to his side.

“Why do you work there, then?” He asked. “You could go back to school and do something extra? Or become a professor there?” You eyed him.

“I’ve been thinking about that for some time, now, to be honest,” you admitted. It wasn’t a lie; you were thinking about going back to school and maybe spend a couple years there and start teaching. “Been looking up my options. I’m still not quite sure, but the idea is there.”

“Well,” Bucky said, draining his coffee. “Let me know. I might be able to help in some way, maybe.” You smiled.

“Thank you, Bucky,” you murmured. He sent you a cheeky wink. “Tell me more!” You exclaimed. “You told me you’re a cat dad, what else?”

“I’m an uncle,” he said and then wiggled on his seat because it still made him giddy. “I have like two nieces now, my sisters like to procreate.” You chuckled. “Oh, do you know Sam Wilson?” You frowned.

“From Psychology Department?” He nodded. “Yeah, I saw him a couple times.” Putting your cup aside, you leaned forward. “What about him?”

“He got married to Natasha, the Russian Literature girl? The one that we both found scarily hot?” Giggling, you nodded. He grinned. “Well, they’re married now, and have a daughter.”

“No shit,” you said.

“Yes shit,” Bucky kept grinning. “Steve’s gonna get married in two months. Someone called Sharon Carter─”

“Wait, is her aunt Peggy Carter?” Bucky frowned, but nodded. “Holy shit, I work at Carter Publishing. She’s my boss.” Bucky laughed.

“Okay, nice coincidence,” he murmured.

“Damn,” you whispered, making him laugh again. “Give me more gossip, please. I’m obviously hiding under a rock.” Smiling, Bucky leaned forward on the table, too.

“Alright, hear me out.”

─

You talked about everything and anything for hours.

Bucky talked about his job, about his students and his plans for future which included going back to school and becoming a professor or something, so that he could teach at a university. He also said that he was going to miss his ‘high school dumbasses’, but he wanted to become better at what he was doing. He also talked about his siblings, he had three sisters, and his parents a little. He showed you a couple pictures of his cat, a very pretty white cat named Alpine, and his parent’s dogs, two German Shepherds.

“They’re so handsome,” you exclaimed when you saw them. Bucky chuckled.

“They are,” he agreed. “They’re also old.”

“Bleh,” you blurted, making him laugh. You felt a satisfying, warm bubble building up in your chest as you bit your lip and watched him laugh. Your feelings for him were still there, still present. You never stopped loving him, and you knew you were always going to love him. He was the one for you, but your story wasn’t meant to be end together. You knew and accepted that now.

You told him about your life, your job and future plans, too. You talked about your doubts about going back to school, and Bucky somehow helped you soothe them. He encouraged you, told you that you were going to be amazing and it wasn’t late for you to go back to school. You thanked him as you moved onto talk about your cat. You showed him a picture like he did to you.

“You have a Siamese!” He cried out. “Damn, he is handsome.” You chuckled.

“He is, but he’s the biggest asshole I’ve ever known,” you grumbled. Bucky giggled.

“Hey, cats are cats. They meant to be assholes,” he said.

“Hear, hear.” Both of you chuckled.

The silence fell between you was a happy and content one. You talked about things, made each other laugh and smile, and both of you saw that how much the other had grown. It was nice. Seeing him was nice.

“I know I apologized before, but I want to apologize again,” Bucky murmured softly after a while of silence. “I’m sorry for making you cry and for hurting you. You didn’t deserve any of the shit I put you through. I was an asshole, I know and see that now,” he added. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.” You smiled. Reaching out, you held his warm and large hand. The sense of familiarity consumed you.

“I have forgiven you years ago, James,” you murmured as softly as he did. He squeezed your hand. “Things happened, but both of us were still children.” Your smile became a little sad. “Obviously, we weren’t meant to be. I wish we were, though. I wish we were meant to be, but we are not. It’s okay. You’ve apologized before and owned up your mistakes. Thank you. I forgive you.” Bucky’s hold in your hand tightened just a bit more. You squeezed it right back. “I forgive you. It’s alright. We’re alright.”

Bucky took a deep breath. You could see that he felt lighter. His guilt must have been eating him alive, you realized, and your heart gave a painful thud at the thought.

“You have no idea how good it feels to hear that,” he said, slightly breathless. You just held his hand tighter and smiled wider. “I wish we were meant to be, too, Y/N. I─” He paused briefly. “I still love you. I have never stopped loving you, and I probably will never stop loving you. No one was you, and I doubt that someone will ever be you. I know now that we’ve grown out of each other. We might still love, yes, but…”

“It’s not enough anymore because even though we still love each other, that train took off,” you finished. He nodded. “So much has happened, and it changed us. Yes, Bucky, I get it. I still love you, too, and will always love you, but it’s not enough now.” He nodded again. Both of you sighed, feeling lighter and happier out of a sudden.

“I’m so glad that we came across to each other,” Bucky said. “It really felt nice to catch up with you, to talk to you.”

“Me too,” you agreed immediately. “I─” You held his other hand. “I’ve missed you, Bucky. It was very nice talking to you.” You looked at each other for a couple minutes before pulling back. You ignored how cold and empty your hands felt after he pulled his back. Standing up quietly, you grabbed your things. You walked out of the café together.

“I would like to see you sometimes,” Bucky said. “As friends. I would love to be your friend, Y/N.” You agreed. You didn’t want to deny him anymore. You wanted him in your life.

“I would love that,” you murmured and gave him your number. Bucky added you in his contacts and sent you a text.

“I will see you later, then,” Bucky murmured. It felt so good to say that, he realized. After saying goodbye to you many times, it felt amazing to say that he’d see you later. You smiled fondly.

“I will see you later,” you murmured back. Bucky gave you a nod and a large smile. Both of you bid good night to each other and walked opposite directions on the sidewalk.

This time, it wasn’t a goodbye.

This time, it was a promise to see the other again.

It was a nice, blossoming friendship.

─

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #fuckboy!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes smut #teacher!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky x you #angel

[onlydreamofmysoul]

The new (and last 😭)sweater weather chapter put this situation in my head and I don’t have the talent to make it real:

How would Remus react after he learns he can be a player on the team? and how does the rest of the team react? and how does the media react? and what does Sirius say? and what is his first game like? And what does Jules and his family think? AND AND AND ????

Of course u don’t have to do anything and I adore your writing just thought I would share some of my frantic ramblings.

I’m getting lots of ones like these! My brain has been spinning with so many ideas but one that stuck with me were Remus’ old superstitions.

Characters and their wonderful world by @lumosinlove

Half Sheer Dumb Luck

Calf stretches before thigh

Remus just stared at coach Weasley.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“We’d like to offer you a place on the team.”

Remus wasn’t sure he could trust himself to blink, never mind talk. “Is this a joke?”

Arthur stepped forward, his face calm and reassuring. “Remus, no, of course not. I’m your friend. I wouldn’t do that to you. We, all of us, the organisation, the team, we’ve reviewed your tapes. We’ve seen you play. And we want you on the team.”

“The team knows.” It was a statement, not a question. 

Arthur nodded.

“Sirius knows.”

He nodded again.

“This is real?”

Arthur smiled as he nodded this time. “As real as me standing here right now.”

“I’ll have to be ready.” Remus’ hands were shaking. “There’s so much to do.”

Coach stepped forward and placed his hand on Remus’ shoulder. “Yeah, there is. But I don’t think there’s a better man up for the job.”

“Oh my god.” Remus thought his knees were going to give way.

Arthur grinned and pushed Remus away from him lightly. “Now go talk to your boy. Not being able to tell you has been killing him.”

Remus nodded and walked away in a daze. Sirius was right where he left him, chatting to Thomas and Noelle. He smiled when he saw Remus.

“He… he wants me to join the team?”

Thomas let out a whoop. “Loops knows!”

The tent went up in cheers but Remus could only see Sirius.

“Is.. Would that be okay for you?”

Sirius frowned, pulling Remus right up against his chest. “Would that be okay? Oh my love, there’s nothing in the world that I would love more.”

Remus laughed, tears beginning to pool in his eyes. “I’m going to be on the Lions.”

Sirius kissed him, slow and filled with love. “You already are.”

“I’m going to have to train non-stop.”

“I’ll help you.”

“You’ll train over the summer?” Remus asked disbelievingly. Sirius kissed his forehead, then his nose and finally his lips. “I’ll do anything for you.”

The rest of the team then decided they had enough waiting and piled on, a massive group hug in the middle of the wedding reception, Remus right in the centre.

Two bottles of water on the bench.

“Mom, I have some news.” Remus said over the video call, his voice shaking. He could practically see his mother looking at his hand to see if there was a ring.

“It’s not that mom jeez, can you grab dad and Jules too?”

Remus waited until they were all together for him to speak again.

“So, the Lions organisation found my old tapes.” He began, “They started looking after they saw me play at family skate.”

Jules was just listening, bouncing in his seat waiting for Remus to get to the point. His mother looked concerned, but his father looked, almost knowing.

Remus swallowed, wishing he could tell them in person - he and Sirius were visiting next week but Remus needed to tell them in order for it to feel real. He was glad he was sitting on the couch at home, he needed some sense of normality.

“I’ve been asked to join the Lions.”

“I don’t understand. You already work with the Lions?”

“No mom, not as staff. I’ve been asked to join. As a player.”

Julian let out a whoop so loud Remus might have heard it without a phone. “Re, did you say yes? You had to say yes, please tell me you said yes!”

Remus laughed, nodding his head. “Of course I said yes.”

Hope promptly burst into tears and there was a definite pool forming in his dad’s eyes.

“Oh Re,” His mother breathed, “Oh my darling this is so, so wonderful.”

“No one deserves this more than you.” His dad was saying. “I am so proud.”

“Re does that mean I get to come to all of your games! Oh my god, you’ll be famous! I mean, you’re already famous, but you’ll be more famous! Re! You’ll be rich!”

Remus burst out laughing, looking around at the ridiculously large house he was in already, “I don’t think I need the money Jules.” While his mother rolled her eyes.

Julian gasped as another thought flew into his head. “Remus! I need to get your jersey!”

Sirius walked into the room, and perked up, “Oui! We need your jersey Re!”

Remus covered his face with his hands. “I don’t even have a jersey.”

“Yet.” Sirius corrected, curling up next to him and kissing his cheek. “You don’t have a jersey yet.”

Right foot first to step onto the ice.

“Es-tu prêt?” Sirius asked as they stood outside the locker room. Remus took a deep breath in.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The clamour of the locker room was deafening, but Remus wouldn't have it any other way.. He nearly cried laughing when he saw that Nado and Kuny had decorated his new stall with pictures of Sirius, all copied and printed from social media with edits of Sirius shirtless and captions and endless heart-eyed emojis. He hugged Leo who was in the stall next to him and when he sat down to lace up his skates, he relished the feeling that he was part of the team. Because he was part of the team now, really and truly.

He met the new PT - Dorcas, with whom he knew he’d become fast friends. He also set about telling her all the ins and outs of working with the boys, their little superstitions, their tells when they were lying about their injuries. She just smiled and thanked him and told him to kindly fuck off and enjoy his first day, he could tell her all this another time.

The boys made a big show of letting Remus be the first out onto the ice (After you my good man) and while Remus rolled his eyes and smacked the back of a few heads playfully (Finn, Thomas and James), this was the moment he had waited for all of his life.

Right foot first, he stepped onto the ice.

Pasta and marinara before home games,

“Loops, what are you doing? I told you I would cook before your first game!”

Remus smiled and tilted his head up to kiss his boyfriend, placing both hands on his chest. “Baby, I love you, but you can cook precisely three dishes, and this isn’t one of them.”

Sirius pouted. “Your mom is teaching me.”

Remus nodded, “I know, that’s the only reason you can make those three dishes.”

Sirius shook his head smiling but he kissed Remus, nipping his bottom lip playfully.

“Are you nervous?”

“Terrified.”

“You’ll be incredible.”

“And if I’m not.”

Sirius kissed him. “If you’re not well then,” Sirius shrugged with one shoulder, “Then you try again next time. What was it a wise man once said? You always have more than one shot.”

Remus scrunched his nose. “That makes me sound like an old man.”

“A sexy old man.” Sirius commented and Remus just groaned. “Oh my god get out of here.”

Chicken and broccoli before away.

“Ha!” Sirius exclaimed when Remus walked into the kitchen and stopped short at the sight of his boyfriend cooking. “Je prépare le dîner ce soir.”

“... You don’t know how to make this one.”

Sirius put a hand to his chest in a wounded gesture. “You think I would give you food that is not good on a game day? Mon loup, how little faith you have.”

Remus felt a smile playing on his lips. “So you’ve magically learned how to cook?”

Sirius shook his head. “Non, that wouldn’t be magic, that would be a miracle. I have however, been taking lessons from your mother. Secret face-time lessons, when you’re out. I’m getting quite good.”

“You’ve been taking secret fact-time cooking lessons from my mother?”

Sirius nodded and held out a spoon for Remus to try. Remus dodged the spoon and kissed him instead. “I love you.”

Eggs morning of, pancakes after a win

“So,” Remus said, stepping into the locker room. “Who’s up for some pancakes?”

The roaring affirmative made Remus laugh before a warm weight barrelled into him.

“Hi Jules!”

Jules had taken to wearing both Remus and Sirius’ jersey at the same time to games, because he apparently couldn’t choose a favourite. He alternated between which one he wore on the outside. Today, it was Remus’, with LUPIN splashed across the back, the number 6 bold in the centre.

“Can I come get pancakes too?”

Sirius appeared behind Julian and threw him up into the air before setting him back on his feet, Jules giggling the whole time. 

“We could never get pancakes without my favourite Lupin!”

“Hey!” Remus protested, but he looked at Julian’s set of jerseys and smiled. 

“I suppose you can have two favourites.”

Finn, walking by, cupped his hands to his mouth. “Preach!”

Drag the puck around the crease twelve times.

“Hey Loops, are you coming to stretch?”

Remus smiled at James. “I’ll be over in a second Pots, I just have to do something first.”

James nodded and went to skate away before pausing. “Wait!” He looked at Remus sheepishly. “Blue?”

Remus shook his head fondly. “You’re so lucky I knew you’d ask for that.” He said ducking to grab a bottle of blue Gatorade he had taken from the kitchen for exactly this purpose. “Love you Fruit Loop!”

“Not as much as me, I hope.” Sirius commented as he stepped out onto the ice. “You coming?”

Remus shook his head. “Just gotta, you know.”

“Skate around the crease twelve times.” Sirius smirked. “I thought you weren’t superstitious.”

Remus flushed a dark red. “I’m not! But I’m not going to risk it either!” He laughed when he realised Sirius was teasing him and pushed him away lightly.

“Oh shove off, you can’t say anything.”

Sirius just continued to smirk at him as he skated backwards. “Love you too.”

Remus looked around the packed stadium as the anthem played and he pressed his star necklace to his lips. Looks like he had another tradition.

#sweater weather lumosinlove #lumosinlove #coast to coast lumosinlove #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #coops #o'knutzy #wolfstar

[khoicesbyk]

Beloved.

A/N: I'm officially obsessed with Wolf Bride and what does one do when she's obsessed with a certain book? She writes an AU about it! 😁 So, Talley Ho! *in my Sherlock Holmes voice*

Rated: Explicit. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: Roman (LI) and Naia Evans (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 5,063 words. (more or less. I stop counting after editing and re-editing. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

Tag List: @shewillreadyou @therideordiechronicles @storyflirting @nina01040 @twistedjaee @secretaryunpaid @lucy-268 @txemrn @shannonsaid @shannonwrote @bebepac @queenjilian @chemist-ana @sfb123 @bladesismylife @choicesficwriterscreations @pixie88 @aussieez

This series is rated Mature. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

This series may contain spoilers. If you wish not to see spoilers, please do not read any further.

(Also this series is a slight deviation of the original story. In the original story, the werewolf hunter is a woman. But in this series the hunter is a man.)

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

Not even gonna lie. This took me for forever to write. We're talking months. It literally stressed me out to the point I had to put myself on a mini-sabbatical. Because I couldn't focus or concentrate. But this part of it is finished. And it's intense. Skeletons will be revealed. Secrets unearthed. It’s not gonna be pretty. This is part one of probably one of the most angsty pieces I’ve ever written. Buckle up! It's gonna be a roller coaster.

TW: talks of death, mention of violence, trauma rehashing. Reader Discretion is STRONGLY ADVISED! I take no responsibility if you find yourself uncomfortable reading this. You have been warned.

MAJOR THANKS TO @secretaryunpaid! For prereading and helping me figure out how to do and where to go with this chapter. You are my guardian angel when it comes to writing. Whenever I feel stuck on something you are always there to help me out and talk me through whatever is plaguing me. I APPRECIATE you! 😍🥰😘

Chapter 27.) Sins Of The Father.

“thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”-KJVAAE

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,”-ESV

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭5:9‬

After watching Roman have a standoff with her parents, Naia was even more determined to find out what made her mother leave home. And one of the first ways to do that was for her to get her hands on the diary Laurie had. Naia knew she was taking a risk but she had to know the truth.

The next morning while her mother went to visit Joey at home and her dad went to meet with the realtor and contractor, Naia decided that was as good a time as ever to sneak a peek at her mom's old diary. She grabbed the diary from off the dresser and took it back to her room to read it quietly.

Naia steeled herself for whatever ugly secrets about her mother that she was about to uncover. She opened the diary to a random page her mother wrote about her father. This page was about the night they met.

“So there I was, going about my business when he pulled up and smiled at me. His name is Shane. He's cute. I hope I see him again.”

Naia skipped some more to another page. This one was about Xander.

“Xander is my Alpha. But he's also a mentor. I am his apprentice. He expects the best of me. That is what I will give him. I will be better. I will be stronger. I will be faster. I will be more alert. I will be my absolute best.”

The more Naia read the more tame the diary was. Nothing really stood out, until she got to a page that showed when she started Wolfbane.

“Had my first shot today. I still don’t understand why I have to take them but if my Alpha commands it, I will obey.”

As Naia continued to read, she found out when her mother first knew when she fell in love with Xander and eventually her father.

“I know it's stupid. But Xander is amazing. The way he runs The Pack is flawless. And the look he always gives me always gives me butterflies. I know that he would never choose me because he already has a mate. And I've tried to hide it the best way that I could but I can't help it or how I feel. I love him. I'm in love with him.”

“Yikes!” Naia thought to herself as she read that entry.

As she read the chapter her mother wrote about her father Naia felt something that was close to nauseated.

“What can I say about Shane? I love his smile! And when he smiles at me, I want to melt.  And I know I should stay away from him but Shane shows me the type of love that I can't and never will get from Xander. He's sweet. He's patient. He's kind. And when he kisses me I feel like the only girl in the world. I think I love him. I know I'm in love with him. Even though I shouldn't be. Xander would never allow us to be together. But I can't leave him alone.”

“That was gross! Oh My God! So gross! I shouldn't have read ANY of that.” Naia thought to herself.

Just then she heard a car door shut. Her parents were home. And if they found out that she had read her mother's old diary, she'd be in trouble. Naia had just put her mother's old diary back on the dresser and came out of the guest room when her parents came through the door.

“Hi mama! Hi daddy! You’re back already!”

Shane and Laurie looked at each other then looked at her.

“What have you been doing?”

“Nothing.”

Naia answered the question far too quickly for her parents. And she knew it by the way her mother rolled her eyes. And her father groaned.

“When are you going to learn to stop lying to us, girl?”

Naia bit her bottom lip.

“I…wasn’t…lying?”

Laurie cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

“That's a question, not a definitive answer.”

“Naia…”

“I promise daddy, I wasn't doing anything!”

“Then why do you look like Sylvester after he finally ate Tweety?” Laurie asked.

Naia didn't know what to say to that.

“Look baby, whatever it is you were doing I hope you had a good reason for doing it.” Shane said to her.

“Oh I definitely did.”

Meanwhile at the Den, Roman was having his own dilemma. He had been thinking about everything Laurie had said to him and after talking with Trent, he'd even considered that she may have been right. But he wouldn't know for sure until he looked in his parent's room. He hadn't been in the room since his mother passed away. It was too painful for him. But if he was to get to the bottom of Laurie’s claims he knew what he had to do.

He lit the candles on the wall and looked around the room. His father's scent lingered even after his death. As did the scent of his mother. He sat down on the bed they shared and began to miss them both. Especially her. She was everything to him. And to return to the room she shared with his father. It generated feelings in him in ways he never thought possible.

As he looked around the room, he saw the chest that Laurie mentioned. The more he looked at it, the more his curiosity and apprehension warred with each other. He wanted to know but he didn't want to disrespect the memory or the man who was his father. But he couldn't let the nagging feeling of what if go.

He stood up from the bed then walked over to the large chest. He ran a hand over it and could feel his father. After pausing for a moment to take a deep breath, he opened the chest. And Roman could hardly believe what he found. This chest was filled with paperwork, tapes, charts, and other documents that he didn't understand. He couldn't believe his father kept things like this. They were human. They were things Xander had forbidden others from keeping in the den. As he dug deeper in the chest, he came upon an envelope that was addressed to him.

He opened the envelope and read the letter inside.

It was from his mother.

My son.

If you have found this letter then that means Laurie has finally returned. And it is now time for you to know the truth. Call on Noemi and have the tribunal that Laurie was denied. The truth must be told. You must know everything that happened. I can only hope that you don't love me any less for what it is you discover.

I love you.

Mom.

Roman set the letter down on the bed and took a shuddering breath. It had been years since he’d seen his mother's handwriting. But more so, he needed to know what she meant. As he went back through the paperwork he found he kept coming across the words Operation: Wolfbane. That name stuck out to him because of what Laurie and Trent had told him. He knew somehow it all had to be connected but he didn’t know how. But he was determined to find out.

With his mother's letter in hand, he left his parent's room and went to speak with Noemi. He found her meditating in her room. When she opened her eyes to him, he was bowing at her feet.

“Honored Speaker, I must speak with you.”

“Hello, my child. Is there a truth you seek?”

“Yes, honored one. What does this mean?” He asked as he showed her the letter from his mother.

Noemi looked at the letter in his hands and sighed heavily.

“It means that you are ready to learn the truth.”

Roman looked at her quizzically.

“What do you mean?”

Noemi looked at him calmly.

“It is time for you to know the lie your father told us all. Including your mother.”

Roman slowly sat down in front of her.

“Does this have to do with Laurie and her betraying my father?”

“Yes, my child. Because the truth is, she never betrayed him.”

Roman looked at her incredulously.

“What are you talking about?!”

Noemi gave him a rueful look.

“You went into your father's room and opened the chest. That chest holds the proof of all of your father's crimes.”

Roman took a shaky yet defiant breath.

“It can't be true. He would never!”

“I know this is hard and unfortunate but it is also true. Your father became obsessed with the legend of a Wolf Bride. And would stop at nothing to prove that there was one among us.”

Roman’s face fell and could feel his heart breaking.

“No! Mother! There must be a mistake!”

She looked at him sympathetically.

“No, my child. It is true.”

“But what does Naia’s mother have to do with this?”

“She's the one he chose to be a Wolf Bride. And when she fell in love with her mate, your father refused to let her go. It's why her mate shot him. He tried to take Naia away from them.”

Roman couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“But that is not where this all begins.”

“I'm not sure I understand, Honored Speaker.”

“Your mother bore a child before you. And your father had Laurie kill the child. Or so we all thought.”

Roman’s mouth dropped open.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Naia was determined to find out more about what caused her mother to leave. And the only way to do that was to get her hands on her mom's old diary. She crept into her parents room as quietly as she could, and when she looked on the dresser where the diary was, it wasn’t there.

“Can I help you?”

Naia froze before turning around to see her mother standing behind her holding the diary.

“Mom!”

“Looking for something?”

“Ummm…”

Laurie shook her head.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

“Why didn’t I hear you?”

Laurie scoffed.

“I was trained by the greatest predator alive. If I ever dared to give my position away he’d have my head.”

“So it’s instinct?”

“Yes. Now answer my question. What are you looking for? And don’t even bother lying to me.”

“I was looking for your old diary?”

“That’s a question. Not an answer.”

“It’s the truth.”

“You will not let this go will you?”

“I can’t mama.”

“Even if it winds up hurting me or worse getting me killed?”

Naia stared at her mother.

“What are you talking about?”

“Whatever it is you’re looking for isn’t in the diary. The only way you’re gonna know is if I tell you everything.”

Naia swallowed then squared her shoulders.

“Tell me everything mom.”

Laurie took a deep breath.

“Have a seat. There’s no use in me keeping it to myself anymore.”

Naia sat down on the bed and was joined by her mother.

“Mama what could you have done that could possibly get you killed?”

“As I told you, Delia had a child two years before your Alpha was born.”

“You said that Xander wanted you to kill the child but you didn't.”

“I couldn't. But Xander didn't know that. He thought I killed the child. Because that's what I told him.”

“What really happened?”

“When Delia got pregnant with their child, many were overjoyed. No one more than Xander. He would finally have a pup to carry on his legacy of leading the Pack. Like his father did with him.”

“I'm not seeing a reason why he would want you to kill his child.”

“You have to understand werewolf pups and birth. Any pup born wrong as they put it is of no use to the Pack.”

“What do you mean born wrong?”

“If a pup is born on a full moon they're born Primal. They normally don't survive.”

“I don't understand.”

“The night Delia’s son was born there was a full moon in the sky. She started to have complications. She barely made it to the hospital. And when she did, she had to give birth right then and there to save the child’s life. That's when we all found out it was a boy.”

“That's good, right?”

“You would think so. But the problem began when Xander found out she'd given birth. He went to the hospital to see her, and when he saw the baby he instantly rejected him.”

“What?! Why?!”

“Because the baby was born blind.”

“Oh my God!”

“As I said, any child born wrong is of no use according to Pack Law. And there's nothing that a blind werewolf can do for its Pack.”

“That's cruel.”

“Yeah, I know. But Pack Law is the law. When Xander told Delia that the child was to be put to death, she told him no. And that is something you never do.”

“I'm proud of her. She should have told him no.”

“I wish she had said yes. It would have saved me a whole bunch of trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

“When she told him no, he balked at her. They argued from what I was told, but ultimately he told her that she had a week to say goodbye to the baby.”

“How could he be so heartless?”

Laurie shrugged. Clearly uncomfortable.

“How did you wind up with their son?”

Laurie swallowed the lump in her throat.

“All Wolf kin mates usually keep places in town. Delia was no different. She had a small apartment. She had to have one for her job as a teacher. She was coming home from the baby's first doctor's appointment when she ran into Xander, Waylon and Benson.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“From what I was told, it wasn’t. They argued over the child and it got real ugly real fast. According to what I was told since she couldn’t make a decision he would make it for her.”

“What did he do?”

“He took the baby from her and she tried to fight. But, Xander was not only her mate and Alpha but that day he had help. Benny and Waylon held her back as he walked off with the baby. From what I know, she screamed, cried, and begged him to reconsider because that was their child. That baby deserved love and care. But Xander would not hear a word she said. All he told her was that she had better be back at the den when he returned. And if she wasn't there would be consequences.”

Naia sat there in shock. She didn't know what to think.

“My God. How could he?”

Laurie let out a rueful chuckle.

“I think you're underestimating the power of an Alpha.”

“But Roman would never!”

“That's because he doesn't have any pups. And I plan on keeping it that way.”

“Is that why you don't want me anywhere near him?”

“Yes. The Alpha’s job isn't just about protecting and guiding the Pack. It's also about furthering its line. Your Alpha chose you for a reason. The same reason his father chose me.”

Naia took notice of the crack in Laurie’s voice.

“But I don't understand how you got mixed up in all of this.”

Laurie took a shaky breath.

“When Xander took the child he went into the woods. And he was gonna kill the child himself but instead, he decided that it would be my task to kill the baby.”

Naia held her mother's hand.

“I was sitting at home writing in my diary when Xander showed up with the baby in his arms. I didn't know what to do. I asked him why he was here, and that's when he placed the baby in my arms and told me that he was giving me a task. And my task was simple, I was to kill that baby. And then he said that if I wanted to truly have a place in the Pack at his side, I would do as he commanded of me.”

“Mama…why didn't you tell anyone?”

“I did. Once I brought the baby into the house, I laid him down on the couch and I called Joey crying over the phone and begged her to come over because I needed help.”

“What happened?”

“Joey showed up and I explained everything to her. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't keep the baby with me. Xander would've had my head.”

“What did you do?”

“We knew that we couldn't keep the baby in town so we made a plan to get the baby out of town. Joey was going to her aunt's wedding in Morganton and I would go with her and her mom. It was the only way we had to get the baby out without Xander knowing.”

“How old were you?”

“16. Imagine being that young and terrified.”

Naia shook her head sadly.

“I went to the den and told Xander that I was leaving to go to Morganton and that I would be back that Sunday. I even promised to bring him back these triple chocolate cookies that he loved so much. Even though they always made him sick.”

“And he bought it?”

“Yup. But not before asking me if I had completed my task.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I lied and said yes.”

“What else happened?”

“When I got home Z was there and was asking questions about the baby and I told him.”

“What did he say?”

Laurie scoffed.

“He threatened to tell Xander. But I told him that he owed me for always saving his ass and that if I meant anything to him, he'd keep his trap shut.”

Naia nodded slowly.

“I met Joey and her mother at the bus station and we left after that.”

“What did you do with the baby?”

“The whole bus ride there we were scared that he should shift but he didn't. He just fussed in my arms.”

“And what happened when you got to Morganton?”

“When we got there we dropped the baby off in a basket outside of a fire station.”

“And you never saw the baby after that?”

Laurie shook her head no.

“We dropped the baby off and never looked back.”

Naia looked at her mother in a whole new light.

“I can't believe he made you do that.”

Laurie shook her head.

“I could've said no. I should've. But he had this look of menace that terrified me. Besides, disobeying my Alpha could've ended badly for me or worse meant my death.”

“How long have you been carrying this around?”

“37 years. I'm not proud of it. But I did what I had to do to save that baby’s life.”

Naia hugged her mother. She finally understood.

“Did Xander ever find out?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it. Joey, her mother, and Zane all swore to secrecy. For the good of us all, we couldn't let anyone find out. Not even Delia.”

“You didn't tell her?!”

“Not until after Xander was dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“She came to see after he died. She wanted to know what happened to her son. And I told her everything. I told her and Noemi.”

“Do you think Roman knows?”

“No. He couldn't know at least not at that time. Because if I had come forward, he would've never been able to be Alpha. The Elders would've wanted to find his brother and make him Alpha. And that wouldn't have been fair to him. So Delia asked me to stay away. She said that I owed it to her. And when her son was named Alpha she would make sure that he knew the truth and that he would set this right.”

“Then why didn't she do that?”

“She died before she could tell him the truth. Zane called me out of the blue and told me that she had died and wouldn't be safe for me to come home. Because your Alpha wouldn't listen to reason. What his father taught him and especially what he told the Pack was law. And I'd be dead if I ever showed my face here.”

“But Mommy if you just talked to him, I'm sure he'd understand–”

Naia was cut off by a shout from her father coming from outside.

“What was that?”

Laurie had an uneasy look on her face.

“Whatever it is, it can't be good. Stay here!”

Laurie got up and went to investigate. When she got to the patio, she saw Shane with his gun pointed at two werewolves. It was Isobel and Barrett. They were in their Primal forms.

“Stay back!” Shane shouted at the advancing werewolves.

“Shane! Don't shoot!”

“Are you insane?! They just showed up demanding that you go with them!”

“They're not gonna hurt me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Shane asked over his shoulder.

“Their Alpha sent them here.”

“So?”

Laurie looked at the werewolves in amusement.

“Why are you two here?”

Both shifted into human proportions.

“You have been summoned! Come!”

Laurie rolled her eyes.

“You could at least tell me why.”

“A tribunal is being convened.”

“Finally!” Laurie said in relief.

“Let's go!” Barrett commanded.

“Don't get your panties in a bunch I'm going.”

Shane lowered his gun, turned around, then looked at Laurie like she had lost all sense.

“No! You are NOT going anywhere!”

“I have to!”

“No!”

“This is the only way this will end!”

Shane let out an aggravated sigh.

“Fine! Then I'm going with you!”

Laurie turned to face her husband.

“No, you’re not!”

“You are not going by yourself!”

“Shane, listen to me! You go anywhere near the den and they'll kill you before you even have a chance to open your mouth!”

The look in Shane’s eyes broke her heart.

“Laurie, please! You can't go alone! What if they don't believe you?! What if their Alpha decides to…”

Shane's voice hitched as Laurie brought his face close to hers.

“Look at me. It'll take more than a bunch of pups puffing their chests out to kill me.”

Shane shook his head sadly.

“I made a promise to keep you safe.”

“I swear to you. I'll be safe.”

“Laurie I can't lose you! Not now.”

Laurie pulled her husband close as his voice broke.

“You won't lose me. I will always come back to you. I will always come home to you.”

That's when Naia spoke up from the doorway.

“I’ll go with her.”

Shane turned around.

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Daddy, Roman won't hurt me. And as long as I'm there, he won't hurt mom.”

“I don’t care! You aren't going!”

“Shane…she's right.”

Shane didn't want to admit it but they were right. And he knew it when he looked back at his wife.

“If I don't go with you, who's going to protect you and our daughter?”

“I will.”

They all turned to see Zane coming from the front of the house.

“I couldn't find my key so I thought I'd use the spare I had stashed away and I couldn't help but overhear.”

Shane's eyebrow twitched.

“You wouldn't protect your sister from that monster before!”

“I know that. And Shane, you have no idea how much I have regretted not doing so. But I'm hoping that she'll at least let me try to protect her now.”

When Laurie looked at Zane for the first time in years, she saw her brother.

“Please, squirt. That's all I ask.”

“Fine. You can come with us.”

Zane nodded.

“Thank you, Laurie.”

Shane closed his eyes, took a deep breath then let it out slowly. When he opened his eyes, Naia was right beside him. He wrapped his arms around her and Laurie and held them close.

“You two are the most important things in life to me. If I ever lost the two of you…you might as well kill me. Because I would never be able to go on.”

“We know baby.”

“We love you too daddy.”

Shane let them go before taking a menacing step to Zane with a look of fury in his eyes.

“You see them? How they go to that den is how they come back to me. If ANYTHING happens to them…I will kill you myself! Do you understand?!”

Zane nodded.

“Understood.”

“Good.”

Shane looked at Laurie and Naia one last time.

“Go. Before I change my mind.”

Laurie squeezed his hand before kissing him on his cheek.

“We’ll be back in no time.”

Laurie squared her shoulders then turned to the two werewolves.

“Let's go!”

“Follow us!” Isobel commanded.

Laurie rolled her eyes.

“No need! I know where I'm going.”

“How?”

Laurie threw Isobel a look over her shoulder.

“Follow the bond. Find the Alpha.”

Shane watched as she and the others disappeared into the woods. When he couldn't see them anymore, he looked to the setting sky and said a prayer.

“God please…protect my girls.”

Laurie led the group to a ceremonial grounds where Roman stood flanked by both Callum and Jett. With other members of the Pack gathered around.

“Well, well! If it ain't my favorite pup!”

Roman’s eyebrow twitched slightly before he regained his composure.

“Let us proceed.”

Laurie took a deep breath as she entered in between the stones.

“I've been waiting years for this.”

Naia and Zane took their places outside the ring. Through their bond, she could feel Roman’s emotions warring within him. He squared his shoulders and addressed the crowd around him.

“The tribunal for one Laurie Roberts has been convened and will proceed.”

He then turned to Laurie who looked almost bored.

“You are bound by Pack Law and will answer for your transgressions. Do you understand?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I'm here because you all want to know what happened between me and Xander. I got it. Now can we move on?”

“You are accused of betraying your Alpha and the Pack. The penalty of which is death. Do you deny the accusations against you?”

Laurie rolls her eyes.

“I deny that the accusations are accurate, to begin with.”

“What proof do you have that these accusations are false?”

“Your father kept records of every time I was given Wolfbane. Every injection date. Every audio file. Every test report.”

Murmurs and whispers began to rise amongst the crowd, they were quickly silenced when Roman held up a hand.

“Are you accusing your Alpha of wrongdoing?”

“That's exactly what I'm doing.”

Laurie’s tone was both confident and calculated.

“Those are heavy accusations to levy against your Alpha, Laurie. Especially when you have no proof.”

Laurie took a deep breath then rolled up her sleeve to reveal old needle marks on her right forearm.

“They didn't hurt at first. Hell, I barely even registered getting them when they started. It wasn't until the doses of Wolfbane doubled that I started to feel them get worse and that they started leaving marks on my arms.”

“Why were you injected?”

“Wolfbane was a project and partnership between your father and Bernard Sayre. Bernie needed test subjects and Xander needed to know if the legend of the Wolf Bride was true. So they combined their efforts. And chose me as their test subject.”

Hearing her mother's confident tone crack broke Naia’s heart. She could feel how painful it was for her mother to relive it all. She wanted to throw her arms around her mother and hold her close.

“How do any of us know that you aren't lying to save your own skin?!” Jett asked Laurie.

“You forget your place pup. Only the Alpha can question me. And you obviously aren't the Alpha.”

Jett’s eyes narrowed at Laurie.

“She's right, Jett. It is my place to question her. Not yours.” Roman quipped.

“It is a waste of time! We all know the story of her and your father. He rejected her and she betrayed him and our Pack! He showed the wounds to the elders! She is guilty!”

Laurie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

“You see? She has no respect for our ways!”

“You are your father's son. Pig-headed and loud for no reason.”

“You know nothing of my father!”

“Oh please! You're all bark and no bite! That's how I know you’re Benny’s spitting image. Because that's all he was.”

Jett’s face twisted with fury.

“YOU DARE SPEAK OF MY FATHER THAT WAY?!”

“Jett! Restrain yourself!” Roman warned him.

But Jett was far too enraged to hear Roman’s command.

“I WILL END YOU TRAITOR!”

Laurie rolled her eyes.

“No, you won't pup. It's not your place.”

Jett shifted into his Primal form in front of Laurie who looked at him unimpressed.

“You're not going to hurt me.”

“YES…I…WILL!”

“Jett! Stand down!”

“You might want to listen to your Alpha pup.”

“YOU…WILL…PAY…WITH YOUR…LIFE!”

Jett took a menacing step towards Laurie who had her head cocked to the side with a smirk on her lips.

“Yup. You are every bit of Benny’s baby boy. Now, I believe your Alpha gave you a command. I suggest you follow it.”

“DIE…TRAITOR!”

“MOM!”

“Naia don't!”

Zane held Naia back as she tried to intervene. She watched helplessly as Jett reared his massive paw back ready to strike. But before he could strike Laurie a voice rang out.

“ENOUGH!”

Jett stopped mid-strike and looked around.

“WHAT…?!”

“I tried to warn you…” Laurie shrugged.

Just then Jett went flying backward. And when he landed on the ground he was human. When he looked up Laurie was surrounded by a thick fog that was swirling with Primal Magic.

“You really shouldn't have done that. You forget I'm under the Alpha’s protection pup.”

“But Roman does not–”

“Not him.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, the swirling fog behind her began to take the shape of a giant black werewolf.

“It can't be!” Zane said in total shock.

When Naia looked at Roman, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

“Impossible!”

Laurie shrugged.

“Not really.”

Naia turned to her uncle who stood with his jaw dropped.

“Uncle Zane…what Is it? What's going on?”

Zane couldn't believe what he was seeing.

“Naia…that’s–”

Zane never got to finish his sentence. Because Laurie finished it for him.

“Hello, Xander. It's been a long time hasn't it?”

Everyone around was dead silent. For Xander had returned from the grave. The questions now were how and why had he returned?

#choices #khoicesbyk #pixelberry #choices stories you play #choices fanfiction #fanfic #wolf bride #fics of the week #choices fic writers creations

[juliathephantom]

JATP Fanfic Recs: Multichapter Edition

* indicates complete

'Stupid Cupid, Stop Hitting On Me' by Bluefire510

Juke

Luke, a troublemaker cupid, meets Julie, who is also one of Love HQ's toughest cases to crack.

She claims to have no desire to fall in love.

But Luke is always up for a challenge.

Let's see if he could get Julie to fall for her Perfect Match by next Valentine's Day.... and maybe teach her all about love while he's at it.

*Operation Hashtag Rulie by where_you_go

Reggie/Luke/Julie

“Explain yourselves,” Caleb ground out.

“Uh…it’s not what it looks like?” Reggie tried, wincing.

“Oh really, Reginald? Because it looks like two of my most popular band members from a family-friendly band are fornicating in public!”

-

Julie and Reggie get caught up in a PR misunderstanding that leads to them "dating" for a few months. It's not a big deal, or at least it wouldn't be, if Luke would stop acting so weird.

*Unexpected by Phantom_Lover

Luke is determined to breeze through his senior year and onto mega stardom (which means avoiding school, and Principal Lessa, as much as possible). That is until he's forced to work side-by-side with quiet good-girl, Julie Molina, on the big end-of-the-year talent show. The two struggle to see eye to eye, and meeting the all-important deadline seems impossible until something unexpected happens between them.

keys to the cage (and the devil to pay) by HearJessRoar

Juke, Willex

Julie Molina has always thought it would be rather exciting to meet a pirate.

Unfortunately, she's right.

"Julie, Julie Patterson, I'm a maid here in the governor's household," she bluffs. And she wishes that Luke's name hadn't been the first that she'd come up with, because the long-haired pirate's eyebrows raise immediately.

"Luke got married?" he says, sounding oddly betrayed.

His blonde companion looks equally gutted. "He didn't even tell us."

Piss Off Your Parents (Date Me To Scare Them) by TheNameIsBritney

Willex

Alex Mercer doesn't want to go home for Christmas; but if he has to, he's certainly gonna raise a little hell. Enter: Willie, the cute guy in his history of English class who would be the perfect fake boyfriend candidate.

So if you wanna piss off your parents, date me to scare them, show them you're all grown up. If long hair and tattoos are what attract you, baby then you're in luck.

*i'll hold your music (here inside my hands) by musicals_musicals

"Your soulmate must love music just like you do”

Julie is 3 years old, enthusiastically playing a small plastic piano, the first time she sees her string.

It makes sense that music would connect her to her soulmate.

or

How Julie finds her way back to music, joins a band, falls in love, and meets Luke Patterson (not necessarily in that order)

*a masterpiece in motion, more beautiful every day by fairylightsandrainydays

Willex, Juke

Alex Mercer is a merboy with a fascination for the human world. Willie is a prince who he saves from a storm. And Caleb Covington is the sea witch who is going to make Alex's dream come true.

So long as Caleb gets what he wants.

*days go by and seasons change (lets try again next winter) by itsagamefortwo

Juke

julie's ready for a year away from home, studying and trying to re-find the magic in music. luke's about to start on a summer tour around europe opening for a band. they meet one night, sparks fly and emotions run high. now they've just got to try and see if they can maintain a long distance friendship.

Who Could Deny These Butterflies? by xxPrettyLittleTimeBombxx

Juke

“I know this is going to sound kinda crazy…but, could you maybe pretend to be in love with me for a few minutes?”

—

When Julie Molina approaches Luke Patterson at a bar and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend, she never expects to find herself in a position where she and Luke have to keep up the ruse for longer than five minutes. Figures that out of all of the strangers she could have approached that night, she’d gone and picked the one guy who just so happens to be in a rock band that’s on the brink of blowing up.

*relight that spark by @ruzek-halstead

Juke

julie molina has had nothing but a tough life. after losing both her parents early on, she was left in the care of her step-monster karen and her two step-daughters. while working at her late father's diner, completing household duties and being at karen's beck and call at all hours, julie was well on her way to getting accepted into the college of her dreams and having enough money to move out.

and then one day she received a text message from an unknown number. it started out innocent, crossed wires based on a flyer she put up three years ago.

this is the story of julie molina and her prince charming, and everything in between.

i never saw you coming (and i'll never be the same) by ruzekhalstead (@ruzek-halstead)

Juke

julie molina, a new student to uc berkeley, secures a job at a tiny, run-down grocery store, where she meets a group of people who inadvertently become some of the most important people in her life.

there's nothing like suffering in the workplace with your co-workers to solidify a bond.

a look into julie's life in a brand new city, as told by the customer service experience throughout the months.

an oddly specific grocery store au that no one asked for but i'm writing anyway to satisfy my brain

*Love Drunk by captainkippen

Juke

Thirty-two missed calls. Fifty-eight texts waiting. Over one hundred various social media notifications. A deep sense of foreboding took over. Julie swallowed. Slowly, she lifted the phone back to her ear.

"Flynn… what happened last night?"

After a night out in Vegas, Julie and Luke wake up to find themselves married. Hijinks ensue.

*So that's how it happens by echocharm (@echocharm17618)

Juke

But it had to be today. Julie had this crazy feeling in her stomach. Not nervous butterflies. More like fireflies that were trying to zap her (Do fireflies electrocute people? She should google that). It felt like that moment her parents spoke about all the time. The day they met. And when they first spoke to each other. Her mom always says that an intense zap went through her whole body.

Are you new or nervous? Julie has been waiting a (short)lifetime to hear those words be said to her.

She walked down a few more steps in the auditorium and found a spot. It was one of the few seats left in the room that wasn’t all the way up in the back. She sat down and settled into the uncomfortable, hard, plastic chair and took a deep shaky breath. The prof was nowhere to be seen. But there was a cute boy in the seat next to her. He had sort of long brown hair that was covered with a grey toque. And he was wearing a cut off t-shirt and you could see his very nice arms. Julie’s breathing was still shaky, and his attractiveness wasn’t helping the situation.

*we're too young to know things like love by Ephemeral_Joy

(@lydias--stiles)

Juke

The various ways and situations people notice the connection between Julie and Luke, whether that be a close friend or a complete stranger.

(started as a 5+1 fic and then i kind of went rogue. oops.)

*and i know i've kissed you before, but i didn't do it right (can i try again?) by Ephemeral_Joy (@lydias--stiles)

Juke

Some things just can't be fixed with a song.

(Julie and Luke break up.)

*The Infamous Tale of Luke and Julie's Grand Trip Across America by Ephemeral_Joy (@lydias--stiles)

Juke

In any normal situation, Luke wouldn't let this random girl hitchhike with him across America.

Then again, he wasn't normal. And neither was she.

(or: the roadtrip!au no one asked for)

*We Found Wonderland by ICanSpellConfusionWithAK (@pink-flame)

At the end of season one Julie isn’t able to save the boys and they are jolted out of existence. But what if there was another way? Julie finds herself back in 1995 with a chance to stop the boys of Sunset Curve from ever dying at all. But will she be able to find her way home afterwards? Will she want to? Or has Alice really gone down the rabbit hole this time...

A Moment of Quiet Conversation by JackONeillisTheMan

Juke

Julie and Luke talk about how he was the one who introduced her to rock. Then just fluff, more and more fluff.

*Feels like I've opened my eyes again by ICanSpellConfusionWithAK (@pink-flame)

Juke

After the whirlwind her life has been since the boys showed up it’s not that surprising that Julie would be a little tired. But is it normal that she’s more exhausted than she’s ever been? With Nick acting weird, Alex and Reggie both wrapped up in their own problems and her relationship with Luke still a big question mark, she has her work cut out for her if she’s looking to sit back and relax.

Basically my ideas and speculation about what season 2 might hold, or at least some of the things I would like to see.

find the strength, find the melody by sunset_phantom

Juke

An AU in which the boys are alive, Julie has been kicked out of her music program, and she somehow ends up falling in love with Luke in three days while he simultaneously brings her back to her first love of all: music.

after silence, wake me up by Vargynja

Juke

Julie hasn't been able to make music after her mother's death. She lives in New York working as an assistant for Luke, working hard to move forward in her career.

Luke finds out he's about to be deported back to Canada. A panicked lie leads them to fake a relationship to get married so he can stay in the country. Despite working together for two years they aren't close but a trip to Alaska to visit Julie's family might change that

Based on the premise of The Proposal (2009)

#jatp #jatp fanfic #juke #julie molina #willex #luke patterson #netflixwewantjatp2

[mammonshuman92]

- Joy Ride -

(Saeyoung x F!MC)

**TW: cussing, implied seggs, my shitty writing lol

“No, wait! Y/N this wasn’t part of the bet!” Saeyoung exclaimed, following close behind you.

You spun on your heel to face him, “The deal was, that if I got a perfect score on my final exam, I got to do one thing, anything I wanted. That’s what you said, right?”

“Um, w-well yeah, but I thought it’d be like, bedroom stuff or something. Not this.” He sounded so desperate. “Besides, I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

“Saeyoung!” You shouted, playfully slapping his arm and acting as if you were offended.

“Ow! What? I’ve seen your test scores. I thought this was an easy win for me.” He confessed.

“Rude.” You turned away from him and continued walking down the hallway, reaching the door of your destination. You stopped, and faced him again.

“What were you gonna ask for, had you won?” You asked, curiously.

He wiggled his eyebrows at you, “Bedroom stuffs.”

You rolled your eyes and giggled, “Geez, you horn dog!”

You opened the door, and flicked on the light.

“It’s not to late to change your mind, Y/N! I-I’ll get you a puppy! Or we can do those tik tok thirst traps you”re always trying to talk me into. Please, Y/N. Anything but this.”

His last-ditch efforts to persuade you weren’t working. You wouldn’t change your mind.

“No deal.” You said, nonchalantly grabbing a set of keys off their place on the holder on the wall, and jingling them at him.

“Get in. We’re going for a drive.”

“Y/N please, I’m begging you. Not my babies!” He was all but having a nervous breakdown in the passenger seat.

“Calm down, Sae. She will come back in the exact condition she’s in now.” You said, marveling at the jet black interior. The back light behind the dash and all the controls was the same color red as the exterior. You felt like a kid in a candy store.

Saeyoung groaned in the seat next you you. “Why did you have to pick the most expensive one though?”

The car you chose happened to be a limited edition Herrari, highly customized, and extremely pricey. It was definitely his favorite one. 

“Because of why it’s the most expensive.” You said, practically bouncing in your seat. You turned the key, and she roared to life. Adrenaline rushed through you.

Your response slightly confused him. “Because you look cool?”

You scoffed, “That’s just a perk, I guess.” You buckled your seat belt, then turned to look at him. “I’m after that customized, super charged engine.” You confessed, quickly putting it in gear and zooming out of the garage.

You were weaving in and out of traffic with ease, heading for a more secluded area. Saeyoung kept making odd little noises beside you, and you were sure you even heard him silently praying.

You chuckled at him, “Relax, alright? I’m an excellent driver. Probably even better than you.”

Oh, now he’s salty.

“No one knows my babies better than I do.” He said, matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest. You laughed at him.

“There’s things about me that even you don’t know, Mr. Hacker.” Your mysteriousness has intrigued him.

“Do tell.” He prompted you.

“My folks owned a mechanic shop.” You began, “I grew up in that garage, learning to work on all kinds of cars. From oil changes on family minivans, to fully customizing sports cars. Like this one.” You gently patted the steering wheel. “I’ve always been around cars.”

“A basic background check revealed that after you first came to the RFA.”

“Yes, but the most important part is secret. It can’t be found on any files, anywhere.”

Traffic had thinned out a lot, now that the sun was starting to set, leaving the highway wide open. You accelerated, knowing that you would soon reach your destination. He did seem to be relaxing a little.

To say that Saeyoung was curious, was an understatement. He loved unearthing secrets. It’s kinda what he does. 

You exited the highway onto the all too familiar secluded stretch of road you knew so well.

Saeyoung looked out the window and turned to you, his eyes were big and curious. What were you planning? 

“Go on.” He urged.

“Well, when I got old enough, my Dad let me in on the family business that happened after hours: street racing.”

“Street racing? But, why would that be secret?” He asked.

You pulled into what looked like an abandoned lot. The thick cover of trees kept it well hidden while you were on the road. It wasn’t until you pulled further in, that he noticed several sets of lights. He was so confused.

When you got closer, he noticed that the lights were actually headlights, belonging to dozens of drool worthy sports cars.

“Well, you see, it’s kinda... illegal.” You confessed with a sheepish grin.

He looked at you with wide eyes, mouth slightly hanging open. 

“Y/N L/N! You? Illegal?” He put his hand over his heart as if he were shocked. Although, he really was.

“Oh, stop! Like you didn’t use to do all kinds of illegal things before you got out of the agency.”

“Well yeah, but this is you we’re talking about! Sweet, innocent Y/N. Well, you’re not very innocent when we-”

“Sae!” You yelled, causing him to laugh at you.

“For real though. I would’ve never pegged you as someone to be into something like this.” He said, gesturing to all the other cars in front of you.

“You should know better than anyone that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, 707.” He smiled at you.

 Although his time with the agency was agonizing, he didn’t mind the use of his old code name. Especially if it came from you.

You circled around, and parked the car at the very end of the line. You popped the hood and got out of the car. Saeyoung followed suit, and propped the hood open. His car wasn’t the most customized car there, but it was one of the rarest which quickly drew in a flock of enthusiasts.

“Shall we, 606?” Saeyoung was smiling as he extended his hand out to you. You took it, intertwining your fingers in his. 

The two of you walked around, hand-in-hand, looking at all the other cars and talking specs with the owners. Saeyoung was in Heaven. His “precious babies” wish list was getting longer by the minute. You couldn’t help but giggle at him.

“So, what about all of this makes it illegal?” He asked. 

You were now sitting on the little grassy hill behind all the cars, watching as one after the other raced each other. 

The empty lot used to belong to a mall that was demolished long ago, leaving behind the giant lot and the long stretch of road attached to it. It became abandoned after the new highway was built. It was the perfect place for racing though.

“Some of these cars have parts in them that make them illegal.” you explained, “the parts themselves are in fact legal, like the engine and spoilers and stuff. But after they’re customized, they make the car much faster and it’s no longer ‘street legal.’ They’re not as worried about the car parts as much as they are about the racing, though.”

Saeyoung nodded in understanding, turning toward you slightly, “So, how exactly did your parents get into all of this?” He asked, gesturing around you.

You pulled your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around your legs, “My dad’s always been a gear head, so when he overheard a conversation about some underground racing ring, he had to go see it for himself. He ended up meeting my mom at one of those races, too. Our whole family is car crazy.” You said with a laugh.

“Does it bother you? I mean, the legality of it all?” He, more than anyone, knew the toll getting mixed up in illegal activity to take on a person. Granted, his was far worse than some illegal car parts, but still.

“Kinda, but we just wanna race fast cars. We don’t want to hurt anyone, which is why we come all the way out here. There’s far worse criminals than us.” That doesn’t justify it, but whatever.

As you were talking, you noticed some of the people around the two of you started to scramble. You jumped up from where you had been sitting. 

Saeyoung, immediately reverting to fight or flight Agent 707 mode, was on his feet in an instant.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked, voice heavy with concern, scanning your face.

Just then, through the trees right before you turn into the lot, you saw flashing lights. Someone behind you shouted.

“Cops!”

You turned to Saeyoung, “C’mon, we gotta go! Now!”

You ran to the car, pulling Saeyoung by the hand behind you, and got in the driver’s seat. You wasted no time starting the engine, thinking over your escape plan.

Several cop cars were pouring into the lot. You buckled the seat belt and took a deep breath. Saeyoung seemed surprisingly calm, given the situation.

“You’re not nervous?” You asked.

“About the cops? Nah. The driving I’m sure you’re about to do in my most precious baby? Absolutely.”

“You haven’t even seen driving yet.” You said with a devilish grin, prompting him to buckle up.

People all around you jumped in their cars and sped off. You put it in drive and accelerated quickly, going the opposite way as the majority. A few others following suit, seeming to be aware of this most unused exit.

“Isn’t that the only way in here?” Saeyoung asked, referring to the entrance the cops kept flooding in from, you shook your head.

“When the mall was still here, there were several ways in and out. Some of those are impassable now due to the demo of the building, or because nature took over and it’s now overgrown. However, there are still a couple ways out.” You assured him, “And, aren’t you the one who said to always have an exit strategy?” He grinned slightly.

“You’ve learned well, 606.” You smiled at the use of your favorite nickname.

The exit you took was a little different than the highway you took to get here. It was considered a “back way” out. The secluded road was a little curvier, with some small hills thrown in. 

During the daylight, the scenery was beautiful but at night it could be dangerous if you weren’t careful. To make sure you were always prepared, your father made you drive all over the area around the racing lot, until you knew every entrance and exit like the back of your hand.

The speedometer steadily climbed, the car hugging every twist and turn, like it was made specifically for this road. After a couple random turns, you were sure you had long lost any cops that may have followed you. You let up on the gas a little, letting your current speed slowly fall back into the “Saeyoung’s most precious baby” approved range.

“Whoa.” Saeyoung said quietly, he hadn’t said anything since you first got in the car.

“You okay?” You were worried that maybe he was on the verge of losing it. A lot of people can’t handle going such high speeds. They either get really scared, or puke. Or both.

“That was...amazing!!” He yelled, his sudden outburst startling you, before laughing at his reaction.

“Oh, yeah? Does that mean I can drive your cars more often?”

He turned to face you, giving you his sweetest smile.

“Absolutely not.”

“What?! Why?” You protested.

“Y/N, this is a limited edition Herarri.”

“Sae, c’mon. You’ve got to open up the engine every now and the-”

You stopped mid-sentence when you noticed a set of headlights pop up behind you. Saeyoung looked at you curiously, waiting for you to finish. He turned around in his seat to look out the back window when he noticed that you kept looking in the rear view. Then, flashing lights.

“Shit! I was sure I lost them.” You hissed, quickly stepping on the gas. “How did they find us?” 

“Now what?” Saeyoung asked, turning back around in his seat.

“We lose them for real.”

The speedometer slowly kept climbing, reaching the triple digits. You flew down the straight stretch of highway, the flashing lights behind you barely keeping up with your speed.

“Sae?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for what I’m about to do.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Y/N?”

Getting off the road and laying low was your best option right now. Home wasn’t too far from your current location, and in order to make it there with enough time to hide the car in the garage and throw them off the trail, you couldn’t compromise your speed.

You pressed harder on the gas pedal, the arm on the speedometer rising rapidly.

“Y/N?” By his tone, you could tell Saeyoung was getting nervous, but you didn’t let up.

“Remember the turns up here? Y/N?”

The lights behind you were getting further and further away. You were losing them. You were going to make it.

You were quickly approaching the turns he had mentioned, the ones right before the house. Almost there.

“Hang on!” You instructed right before the first turn.

“Y/N! No, no, no, no!”

The car beautifully drifted around the turn, losing the cops that more much, and Saeyoung losing his mind.

You went around the second turn with ease as well, the back tires losing traction, spinning freely. It was all so smooth, even at these high speeds.

You straightened out after coming out of the last turn, cops unable to catch up. The house was only about a few blocks away, as fast as you were going, you’d be there in no time.

Using his phone once you got in range, Saeyoung had the garage door open, awaiting your arrival. 

You checked the rear view one last time, making sure they still hadn’t caught up. You were in the clear.

You screeched to a stop in the garage, quickly parking and bailing from the car. Saeyoung quickly slapped the button on the wall to shut the garage door while you turned off the lights.

The two of you quickly went inside, going right to Saeyoung’s computer. He pulled up the live security feed all around the perimeter. You watched the cops drive past the front of the house on the monitor. After a few minutes of no activity, Saeyoung decided the coast was clear. You let out a heavy sigh.

“Y/N..” Saeyoung said, voice quiet. His back was to you, still facing the monitors.

“Y-yeah?” You replied sheepishly.

You were in trouble. Big trouble.

“What you did... that was..”

“I’m sorry! I swear I won’t ev-” You started to apologize profusely before he cut you off.

“Awesome!!” He yelled, turning to face you, eyes wide with excitement.

“I’m sorry, what?” Surely you hadn’t heard him right. 

“It was like we were in an action movie! It was incredible!”

“You do realize that your last job was as a secret agent, right? But, you think my driving was like an action movie?” You were so confused.

“Oh yeah! I mean, I can drive too, don’t get me wrong. I just never expected something like that from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest.

“It means that my amazing, talented, beautiful girlfriend kept a truly awesome secret from me! Not fair, by the way.” He dramatically pooched out his bottom lip.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Sae, it’s just that my family could get in trouble..” 

“It’s okay, I understand. But..” He trailed off.

“But?”

“Well, after taking my most cherished and most expensive baby out drifting, she’s going to need some pampering.” He sounded serious, but the face he was making didn’t match. He was up to something for sure.

“Okay..? No problem. I am a mechanic, after all.”

“Then it’s a deal.” He said with a smirk. He promptly scooped you up and threw you over his shoulder.

“Ah! Saeyoung, what the hell?” You screeched, making him laugh.

“What? I’m paying up front. And I must say, I’m looking forward to doing business with you.” He said with a smirk, carting you off to to the bedroom, both of you giggling the whole way.

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger fluff #saeyoung fluff #saeyoung choi #saeyoung x reader #saeyoung x mc

[the28thofseptemberr]

helloooo!! i didn't do a fic rec last month because i was so busy with my exams and barely had time to read, so this month's post is going to comprise of mostly fics i've read in june but also some i've read in may.

thank you to all of the incredible writers, please go support them!! and remember to read all of the tags and possible warnings before reading the fic! here is the list of fics (mostly below the cut):

read

•° — led by your beating heart by @missandrogyny 29.4k | E | famous harry/non-famous louis

Nick leans over. "Oh," he says, his voice smug. "Who is that?"

Harry just blinks at his phone. "Um," he manages to stammer out.

"Who's that, Harry?" Nick asks again, but this time he raises his eyebrows and smirks. Harry knows Nick is just teasing, and that he's not really looking for new Harry Styles gossip, but, um. He might have found something. Accidentally.

Harry opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is another 'um'. He really needs to work on translating his thoughts into words. But then it probably wouldn't be any help right now, would it? His mind is as blank as a newly erased etch-a-sketch.

"Oh," Nick says again, this time gleefully, seemingly having picked up on Harry's distress. "Looks like we've got a story here! Are you going to call or delete her number?"

Her number. So Nick thinks it's a girl. Well, Harry can't blame him: 'Lou' is kind of an androgynous nickname. His stylist's name is Lou.

But this Lou, well, Louis, he's kind of, really, really not a girl. He's really pretty though, which, is something.

(Or: AU where Harry's in One Direction, Louis isn't, and they reconnect over a game of 'Call or Delete'.)

note: this was so funny and cute and well written, and everyone was characterized so perfectly!! i adored the chemistry between louis and harry, this fic kept me smiling for the whole time while i was reading <3

•° — sounds like love to me by @neondiamond 14.6k | G | kid fic

“Do you want to hear the heartbeat?”

Louis watches as Harry’s face falls with the realization that this is one of those things he won’t be able to experience. For a second, Louis considers saying no, to show Harry they’re truly on the same boat through all of this. But he nods in the end, reaching over for Harry’s hand as the doctor flips a switch. Noise fills the room then, and it takes a few seconds for the sound to become clear enough for Louis to make out the baby’s fast heartbeat.

“It’s really fast,” he voices his thoughts out loud as he uses his thumb to tap against the back of Harry’s hand, replicating the rapid rhythm of the baby’s heartbeat. It takes the younger man a little while to figure out what Louis’ doing, but a huge grin breaks out on his face as soon as he does.

“Is that them?” He signs with the other hand, his own eyes starting to tear up when Louis nods.

OR: Harry is deaf, Louis is pregnant. They figure it out.

note: i'm not a fan of mpreg or kid fics in general, but i stumbled across the fic post for this on my dash and the summary sounded really intriguing to me, so i had a go at reading and it did not disappoint!! it was really sweet and fluffy but also so touching and heartbreaking in some parts. plus, i really enjoyed how harry and louis worked together and supported each other.

•° — this restless dream by @afirethatcannotdie 5.6k | NR | first meetings

“Hiii, I called earlier about the dogs?” he asks, taking a few steps closer to the desk where Louis is standing. He’s taller than Louis, with a dimple when he smiles and bright green eyes. There's a cute eagerness about his whole presence. “Do you have any puppies?” He’s a bit like a puppy himself, actually.

AU. Louis works at an animal shelter and Harry wants a puppy. Things don't go quite according to plan.

note: this was so so adorable and soft, especially since i have a soft spot for h&l with pets. i also have a soft spot for h&l being oblivious lovesick idiots and this was perfect!!

•° — all i see is you, lately by @runaway-train-works 2k | G | first meetings

Harry noticed him for the first time three months ago. He couldn’t not, really, what with the man being so pretty and all, and Harry remembers it well because it was three days before his birthday and he had joked to himself that seeing someone so gorgeous for three days on the trot must be an early present from the Gods.

Or

The one where Harry has a crush on a fellow commuter.

note: this one was quite short but so sweet and perfect and lovely!!

•° — the things i'd do to wake up next to you by orphan_account 36.1k | M | amnesia fic

AU. Harry wakes up to a pregnant Louis Tomlinson and a wedding band on his finger.

note: this fic was incredible, i'm always up for an amnesia fic and this one was heart-breaking and realistic but also sweet and fluffy as well :)

•° — this glorious mess by theweightofmywords 14.2k | M | post-breakup

His head lolls to the side, and his eyes float open to focus on what used to be his bedside table.

It’s empty now, devoid of the framed photo of the two of them. And Louis knows that he has no right to feel hurt, but somehow, this only confirms what this really is.

“This is the last time,” he cries, his voice breaking both from pleasure and pain.

“I know, baby,” Harry breathes, burying his face in Louis neck.

note: this is the third mpreg-centric fic i've read this month and... i don't even like mpreg?? but god the premise of this fic intrigued me so much, and it was lovely and emotional and beautifully written.

•° — BLAH BLAH BLAH there's a moment you know (you're f*cked) by @mercurial-madhouse 3.2k | M | spy au

Anyone impulsive enough to betray their country is either foolish or overly-confident. Louis’s too cunning for the former. So his inflated ego tips precariously close to the edge between pride and hubris. In sum: He may be an expert, (as proven by the .32-cal Beretta Alleycat Harry found strapped to his back) but ex-agent Louis Tomlinson will explode like a busted bullet misfiring in a broken gunbarrel if Harry can find his trigger.

___

Or, the spy AU in which Harry thinks he's prepared to meet Louis only to find he's not.

note: the banter and tension in this fic was so good and so fun!! i need moreee

•° — every lonely place by @ham-palpert 38k | E | time travel/alternate lives fic

Facing the fact that he’s been prioritizing his career over his relationship, Harry proposes to his longtime boyfriend Louis on a whim. But when yet another work emergency takes precedence over their plans, Louis decides he’s had enough. Harry goes to bed drunk and alone, and when he wakes, he finds himself in an entirely different world. Over and over again, Harry visits a lifetime he’s once lived, across time and dimensions. And wherever there’s a Harry Styles, there’s a Louis Tomlinson.

note: this was such a unique fic! and such an emotional one too, love the message it sends and the character arc and development was so good

•° — tick-tock by bubblegumclouds 6k | G | soulmate au

When Louis was born to Jay Tomlinson with a tiny 2 years on his clock, it starts the most beautiful love story. Even if things are missed, fate finds a way to make it work.

note: this was just so, so cute and fluffy and sweet! i loved it

•° — baby baby, you're a caramel macchiato by @missandrogyny 3.2k | T | coffee shop au

So, yeah, Harry doesn't think it's that far of a stretch to call himself a good barista. There are some particularly bad ones, and some particularly good ones, and, with his work ethic, his skill, and his charm, he'd probably be lumped in with the latter group.

note: this was so lovely, and i especially really loved the little section talking about louis' name and how it suits him!

re-read

•° — one shines brighter by @afirethatcannotdie 11.8k | T | wedding fic

“Hi, baby. You doing anything fun today?” Harry shrugs. “Dunno. Thought I’d see how I was feeling before making any plans.” “You wanna get married?” Louis asks. Harry’s face breaks into a smile, and he nods. Louis’ lips are just brushing Harry’s when Gemma appears in the hallway. “You two are in so much trouble.” Harry's wedding was never supposed to be the happiest day of his life. No, that was going to be the day after, when he finally got to start his marriage. Unfortunately his family (and Louis) have other ideas.

Featuring a pair of moms who only want the best for their kids, meddling sisters with too much time on their hands, and a groom who gets caught up in the fairytale.

note: i adore this fic!! it's so so so adorable and so soft and well written, and you can feel how in love h&l are with each other. so so good!

my own fics

•° — under your bed in new york 33.4k | T | exes to lovers

"We know you're still in love with Harry."

Louis' nostrils flared up. "I'm not—"

"Louis."

"I'm not!"

there are many things louis likes to tell himself. we broke up for a reason. it's been so many years. and of course, the classic: i’ve definitely moved on from him. but when he suddenly finds harry back in his life after three years, louis realizes he might be a little less moved on than he thought.

au; spilling coffee onto an ex, being set up on dates, and having a nosy puppy might be all louis needs to find love again

note: i didn't actually write or publish this one this month, but i did edit, revamp and make a fic post for it this month so i thought i'd put it in here anyway. reblog the fic post here!

#28th appreciation #tracksintheam #trackinghome #hl source #1d source #fic rec #my fic rec #2021 recs #fic list #june rec #june 2021 rec #* #sched

[anon-rebel-writes]

Late Night Talks

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day!

So this is a new story (yay!), and I wrote this for my girlfriend! She asked me not to tag her for privacy reasons, but I hope she loves this because this is actually based on a real event!

A quick background, we confessed through the phone and this story is heavily based on that. A lot of the feelings Luka feels are things that I actually felt! The dialogue is pretty similar too (obviously some things are cut out or edited to fit Luka and Mari lol)

My “just-a-friend” got me into MLB and we both love Lukanette, so I thought it’d be fitting to write her a story about Lukanette, based on us, for one of her gifts! Happy birthday, my love! I hope you (and everyone else reading this XD) enjoy it!

The story begins under the cut! <3 Ao3 Link

Soft light from his phone covered his face, forcing his eyes to squint in order to see clearly. His thumb unconsciously moved across the screen, opening up random apps before quickly closing them just to open them again.

The boat was fairly quiet. During the day, he could hear the different movements and various noises from his mother and sister, but this late at night merely left the sounds of waves from the Seine below him. The natural creaking of the boat usually left him relaxed and helped him fall asleep.

Although lately his nights had been occupied by other things, especially one girl.

Luka shifted in his bed, trying to engulf himself in more warmth from his blankets. Did his mattress always feel this stiff and uncomfortable? He never paid it much attention before, it never mattered before. Maybe it was just his mind trying to find something to think about.

He glanced at the time near the top of his screen and saw it was ten after midnight. Well at least it’s not too late yet, or maybe it wasn’t too early yet? She never texted him extremely late (or extremely early). Was it late? When did he care about time so much?

The only reason he thought about the time lately was because of her.

Luka shifted again, pulling up the blanket to cover the blush creeping up his cheeks. He continued to open apps just to close them again. He sighed and turned off the phone, letting the room dim and his eyes rest. Why did this feel so desperate? He used to see himself as a ‘go with the flow’ guy, but she had found a way into his heart and made him question his entire life.

When had he ever checked his phone this much? If she decided to text him tonight (as she had been doing for the past couple of nights), would immediately replying make him seem obsessed? He didn’t want to come off as overbearing. Didn't girls like when guys text fast? She hasn’t seemed to mind it so far. Then again, his only source of reference was his sister, and getting her to reply to him took years off his life.

His phone beeped and the screen lit up, showing a new text message. Luka quickly sat up and hurried to read the message.

‘SOS Can’t sleep again :( Think I might need a ~Luka~ to help (^-^)’

He covered his mouth with his palm, trying to hide the smile consuming his face. When did his nights become like this? Maybe it was desperate to wait for a text, but when the text came from Marinette, he couldn’t find a reason to be upset.

This girl seemed to bring him a whole new type of happiness, even if he was too nervous to text her first. He wanted to give her space and be comfortable around him, so waiting until midnight for a text never bothered him.

While seeing her throughout the day was always amazing, there was a different feeling that came with their late night talks. The fact that she needed to sleep and came to him for help gave him a warmth in his chest he never knew before. Although sometimes it made him feel selfish, seeing as she tended to talk to him when she was tired.

‘Luckily this Luka is always able to help :)’

And he really was always able to help, at least he tried to be. Luka helped everyone. Whether it was his family, friends, strangers, co-workers, he always lended a hand. But when it came to Marinette, he’d drop everything to run to her.

‘Yesss! Call me! Mama needs some Luka time!’

He tried to stifle a laugh and rolled his eyes at his phone. His body was hunched over the edge of the bed, watching his phone with intense eyes, as if the messages would disappear if he looked away.

In the mornings, he always found himself worried about that, as if the night before only existed in his mind. He’d hurry back to his phone to re-read the messages, making sure that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl who chased off his nightmares and reinvented his dreams, really spent her night with him. Even if it was through a screen, even if it was for an hour, the messages were there to remind him that for a moment, she was his and he was hers. He was always hers, if she wanted him to be.

Luka slowly leaned back onto his bed, trying to get into a comfortable position. He put one hand behind his head and took a deep breath. His calm personality wasn’t an act, Luka was definitely a level-headed person, but he was still human. And as a human, a pretty girl talking to him late at night gave him lots of nerves.

He quickly shook off any tension he felt and pressed the call button. The phone only rang once before the sweetest voice he’d ever heard took over. “Hi Luka! Sorry, I know it’s late and everything, but I couldn’t sleep and… Oh wait, you told me I shouldn’t apologize, sorry! Or- wait, I just said sorry. Wow, I’m sorry- Shoot! I said it again-”

She was rambling, rotating between apologizing to him and trying to explain why she called him. As much as he loved (was that too serious of a word?) her, he also knew that if he didn’t reel her in, she’d spiral out of control.

“Don’t worry, Mari, you’re fine. But I gotta be honest, I didn’t expect this. I mean, calling a boy so late at night… not once, but multiple times in a row? How scandalous of you, Mel’.”

He heard a scoff through the phone and a lot of rustling. “Oh Luka, you should know I am the most scandalous of girls. In case you haven’t heard, I call lots of boys and girls at night.” Her voice took on a fake sounding ‘tough guy’ accent. He rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle. “Wow boys andgirls? I didn’t know I was talking to a criminal.”

Honestly at this point he wouldn’t put it past her to be a criminal, she seemed to have a habit of stealing people’s hearts. He’d never tell her that though. One, she seemed to have a strange distaste for bad jokes, two, that meant he’d have to admit that he liked her (but the word ‘like’ didn’t seem strong enough).

“What?! I wouldn’t take it that far! I’m a total supporter of the law!”

Luka moved the phone from his ear to his chest. His face pinched tightly, trying to hold back any laughter that formed. His body tensed up from holding it in, as much as Juleka definitely deserved some payback for the loud laughing she tended to do so late at night, he really didn’t want to deal with a cranky sister. He quickly moved the phone back to his ear and took a deep breath.

“Yeah, that’s true. It’s kinda funny how different we are, not that I don’t support the law. It’s just when you have a mom like mine, it’s kinda hard to keep it in mind.” Marinette laughed through the phone and his chest felt like it was on fire.

Everything about her was so sweet, her laugh, her personality, she was amazing. Even when the mornings came and his head throbbed from the lack of sleep, he would never change these moments with her for anything in the world.

Sounds of fabric and movement came through the speaker along with a small hum of agreement. “Yeah I am pretty amazing at following the law. It’s kinda like a job at this point… Not that I have a job with the law! I don’t do that. That would be weird. Uh- anyways! Your job! Wait, that's not exciting. Oh man I’m so nervous tonight, I’m sorry.”

“Melody, it’s fine. My job isn’t very exciting, but I’m sure your day was, right? Mind telling me about it? You know I love listening to you.”

A gasp came through the other end of the phone and then a very thorough retelling of the events from the day. He slowly closed his eyes and imagined everything she told him. She left the bakery this morning to hang out with Alya, she probably wore that new beret she made, along with some cute, pink shoes to match.

He imagined her sitting under a tree at the park to draw, it was sunny and hot today, so she probably took her jacket off to get comfortable. She told him how she went out to get orange juice with Kagami, he could practically hear her smile through the phone as she told him about it.

Everything with Marinette was simple, by no means easy, but simple. He knew her well enough to understand how she felt, and she was the same way with him. They just got each other. She didn’t need to tell him the details because she knew he would already know. When he tried to explain a decision he made in a new song, she didn’t have to know what he was saying to understand him. Luka found it easy to just ignore the details, because Marinette was talented enough to fill them in herself.

Luka stayed quiet as he processed her words, filling in the details himself. He loved spending his nights like this, he didn’t mind messing with his sleeping schedule (or lack thereof). He loved to replay every moment of sincerity and kindness she showed throughout her day. He loved to hear about new projects she worked on, because her talent went beyond anything he’d ever seen.

She was miraculous.

“-But yeah, I guess that was my day! Not super exciting, but I think it was okay? I hope it was, at least.” Exciting? That was just one of the many adjectives he could use to describe her. Talented, exciting, clumsy, but so intelligent. Even on her dull days, he got excited just hearing her about random thoughts she had throughout the day. “Marinette… you’re extraordinary, honestly. Your day sounds wonderful. You’re wonderful. I don't know- You make me feel wonderful.”

Was he oversharing? Probably. He was definitely bad with words, but he wasn’t lying. His hands fisted his shirt as he waited for a response. The other end of the phone call went strangely silent. He could faintly hear the hum of the phone and the waves of the water outside his window. Why did the phone get quiet?

The last thing he’d ever want to do was make her uncomfortable, maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. What if he told her too much? A soft squeal pulled him out of his thoughts and he focused back on the phone. “Um-! That’s...really sweet, Luka! You’re wonderful too… Or- Extraordinary I mean! You make me feel extraordinary, all the time. So- I don’t know, thank you?” His chest tightened. How much longer could he keep up with this act?

Pretending to be ‘just a friend’ might be easier for some people, but it was torture for him. Did she have these late night talks with other people? Did she ever hold anyone else’s hands when hers feels cold? Did she ever kiss them on the cheek to say goodbye? Luka was never one to push his luck, despite protests from his sister and mom, but nights like tonight made it hard.

“Don’t thank me, it’s just the truth, Mari. I should be thanking you, for making my nights a lot better, y’know?”

It was the truth. But there was so much more he could say. All of her quirks and amazing qualities always left his head feeling dizzy. He could write symphonies merely based on the person she was, let alone his feelings for her.

Yet he always kept those melodies to himself, even if he wanted to share them with the world, or share them with her. Nights like these make him feel like he could take on anything life throws at him. For Marinette, he probably could.

Another squeal came through the phone and a loud thud. He quickly sat up in a panic and pressed the phone even closer to his ear. “Marinette? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” Loud thumping came through the receiver and more panicked sounds.

“S-sorry! That was just- I just- Ugh… I dropped my phone, sorry. You just- you should know that… This is gonna sound lame, but you make my nights better too… Heck, I even listen to your cover songs throughout the day, so I guess you make my days better too? Wait, that sounds weird, sorry! I don’t mean to say it in a weird way...”

Luka’s eyes widened and his heart felt as if it was trying to beat out of his chest. His hand unconsciously moved to his chest and grabbed tightly onto his shirt. The breath leaving him was shaky and weak. It felt like the world stopped spinning for a moment.

All at once, the feelings he tried to hide came boiling over and any sensible thought that told him to conceal his affections raced out of his mind. Before he could stop himself, Luka’s mouth moved on its own.

“Can we facetime? Or anything similar to that, please?”

Without getting an answer, his phone started ringing. He turned the phone to his face and saw himself staring back. As soon as Luka answered the call his eyes wandered across his screen, taking in Marinette’s face.

Her hair was still in pigtails, but different strands stuck out in an adorable way. The camera showed her snuggled into her bed as she laid on her side, with her pink comforter pulled over her lower face, covering her cheeks and nose. A large cat pillow rested just behind her head, unnervingly staring at him. Because most of her face was hidden, Luka noticed her eyes, and suddenly he felt very self aware of his position.

Quickly laying back down on his bed, Luka awkwardly raised one arm to lay behind his head, trying to feign an relaxed appearance. He tried to give her the closest thing to an easygoing smile as he could manage at the moment, which definitely felt a little forced seeing as how he was now (sort of) face to face with Marinette. Trying to hide any tension he was feeling, he cleared his throat, inwardly hoping she couldn’t read how nervous he was.

“Uh- Hey, Mar- Melody. Love the cat pillow. Totally don’t feel like it’s about to jump into your phone and attack me.”

She raised a hand to her mouth, attempting to cover her laughter. Her eyes scrunched, smile widened, and Luka’s heart soared. Marinette managed to roll onto her back letting the beautiful sound ring throughout the room. The blanket dropped and uncovered the entirety of her face.

After a moment of joy, she tried to quickly recollect herself. She turned her head back to the phone and stuck out her tongue. “Silly. Just so you know I’m banning you from making me laugh this late again. You’re gonna make my stomach hurt!”

Luka started laughing too, loosely covering his mouth, not caring about waking anyone up anymore. “That’s gonna be a problem, you should know that I’m kinda hilarious, so you should fully expect me to break that rule. Very quickly.”

They both joined in quiet giggling before Marinette covered her mouth with her hand again and gasped. “I just told you that you’re banned from making me laugh!”

“Hey, I warned you! You can’t be mad when I literally just warned you!”

The two teens burst into laughter once more. Luka calmed down quicker than Marinette did, so he saw her laughing face a second time. She was beautiful. Every time he saw her, he swore she wasn’t real. No real person could be as stunning as she was.

Whenever she worked on a new project and her hair flopped over her face, she was gorgeous. The times when she helps their friends out, her eyes are always so gentle, she’s divine. Even when she’s stressed out, the moments when she feels at her lowest, Luka can’t help but notice how angelic she looks.

She’s breathtaking without even trying.

Once Marinette collected herself, her eyes turned soft and precious as she looked back at the phone. Even through a screen, her stare set his soul on fire. His mind went blank for a second before he lost all sense of reason.

“Did you really mean it when you said I make your days and nights better?”

Her eyes widened slightly at his question, and he finally realized what just came out of his mouth. ‘Great job, Couffaine. You just made it weird!’Luka shook his head and moved the camera slightly away from his face, moving his gaze from the phone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up again-”

“I mean it.”

His eyes shot back to her and saw how she snuggled back into her bed again. Her eyes were looking away, but the redness in her face showed him exactly where her mind was. “I meant what I said… Did- Well, did you mean it too? When you said I made your nights better?”

There it was again. The shaky breath, the longing look in his eyes, the fuzziness in his chest. With a simple answer, she turned him into putty and without even realizing it.

Luka moved his arm to rest on his eyes, attempting to hide any sign that would show how he felt, just in case she didn’t mean her words the way he wanted her to mean them. He’d never blame her for not being too clear, even if it hurt him. Any affection, whether friendly or romantic, should’ve been fine with him.

“This is gonna sound bad, but my phone is full of screenshots from our FaceTime calls.” Luka lifted his arm up slightly to gauge a reaction from her. But her eyes were glued on him, he couldn’t pick up on a clear response, so he covered his eyes again and continued.

“I… this is so creepy- sometimes I look at pictures of you and… it makes my day better too? That sounds so weird. It sounded a lot cuter in my head-” A loud cackle interrupted him and his arm shot away from his eyes. He saw Marinette digging herself even deeper into her massive blanket (and creepy cat pillow), trying to hide her laughter.

She must’ve noticed his silence because her eyes popped out of the blanket to look back at her screen. “Sorry, that’s just… that’s so cute! You take screenshots from our facetime calls?”

Her lopsided smile made his cheeks burn. He tried to gain back his level-headedness by rolling his eyes at her. He brought the phone closer to stick his tongue out at her. “I wouldn’t call me ‘cute’ if you don’t want me to call you ‘adorable’ for listening to those covers.”

Marinette stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation and hid her face back into the blanket. He took a quick, deep breath, silently thanking himself for being able to play his awkwardness off.

“I can’t believe I actually admitted that to you- That’s cold-blooded, Luka! Teasing a girl’s love is mean!”

They both paused for a second, taking in her words. The cabin suddenly felt a lot smaller than it was. His blood felt boiling hot yet icy cold all at once. His face slacked and yet tensed in different places. Looking at her and seeing her eyes expand let him know she was probably feeling the same way.

“Love?”

It sounded so easy. When she said it, it felt right. Full of affection without being overbearing. But then Marinette’s gaze moved off screen. She sunk into herself, yet not playfully like before. The energy of the call changed into something else, something new. “I… shouldn’t say anymore. I’m… sorry, Luka. I’m so sorry; I feel so selfish. I call you so late just to ruin your night by making things weird, and I’m so sorry.”

He watched as she shifted in her bed; he saw the edge of her thumb on the screen, hovering over it, as if she was about to end the call. “That’s not-! Marinette, that’s not true. If you’re selfish… If you’re selfish, then I must be the most greedy guy in the world.”

Marinette swiftly stared at the screen, her mouth opened as if she was going to rebuttal his statement. Before she could, he spoke first.

“I’ve been staying up every night, hoping and begging that you’d text me, or call me, or give me any attention at all. And I do it, knowing that you message me when you’re tired and need to rest. I know that spending time with me only takes away time you need to sleep. So yes, I’m selfish, and I’m greedy,”

Luka slowly sat up as he stared into the screen, clutching it as if it was the most important thing in the world, and at this moment, it was. Marinette moved the blanket off her face slightly and he saw her face flush with color. His voice felt raw as his throat tightened and his face burned. He couldn’t even register the tear that raced down his cheek. When did he get so emotional?

“But Melody, Mari, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I want your attention so bad. I want your affection and anything else you give me. I’ve been trying so hard to bite my tongue around you, to pretend like I think of you as my friend. But I love…”

He shut his mouth fast. What was he doing? He was destroying everything for these feelings. Why would she like him? She gives everyone affection. Marinette loved everyone, it was just who she was. What was he doing? He looked around his room and realized the situation he put himself in. He quickly put his phone on the bed next to him and pulled his knees to his chest.

Did he ruin their relationship? Would she stop having these late night talks with him? Would she still hold his hands when hers felt cold? Would she ever kiss his cheek to say goodbye again? What was he doing?

This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. It all happened so fast. He reached for his phone to apologize and to hopefully scavenge whatever was left of their friendship.

“I love you too, Luka.”

His hand stopped just above his phone and he waited. He listened to the small buzzing sound from his phone, the waves moving against the boat, gentle breathing coming from Marinette.

“I love you… and I wanna be selfish. I wanna be greedy and I wanna be with you.”

Luka found the courage to lift the phone to his face and stare back at her. Marinette now sat up, her face was bright red with tear stains down her cheeks. Her eyes were slightly puffy and he was sure his were too. The only light on her face was her phone and even with everything, she looked beautiful.

“I wanna be with you too, Marinette. Always, for as long as you’ll have me. Wake me up at three A.M. everynight for the rest of my life, I don’t care. I just wanna be with you too. I love you.”

It felt so right. It wasn’t too much when he said it. He meant it to be heavy and weighted. But it didn’t feel forced or extreme. It was just right. They stared at each other for a moment more. His eyes raced across every centimeter of the screen, taking in every aspect of her, her eyes doing the same. Smiles spread across her face as they both chuckled, their laughter laced with happy tears.

Luka wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself down (despite his teenage hormones telling him that he should continue to cry and sob from the utter euphoria he was feeling). Marinette tugged at her pigtails with one hand, seeking to find comfort.

“This wasn’t the way I thought we’d confess, y’know. I always thought you’d write me a song, or I’d make you a new jacket. Some big gesture instead of us sobbing,” she chuckled.

He stopped wiping his eyes to laugh again. His smile grew, even as he tasted his tears. “Yeah, sorry about that. I promise I have plenty of songs for you, and about you and everything. I can grab my guitar if you want, but you might hear Juleka complaining in the background.”

They shared one final laugh before the exhaustion of crying kicked in and they both laid back down. Marinette wrapped herself in blankets one final time, holding the dubious cat pillow tight against her. Luka found himself in a similar position, he laid on his side, his face squished against his pillow and the blanket pulled under his chin.

They stared at each other, making small conversation about their feelings. Luka could hardly remember all that happened after that, he felt such relief and happiness from everything that the rest of the night felt fuzzy.

He glanced at the time at the top of his screen and noticed it was now closer to three-thirty. Luka took a deep breath before sighing. He saw Marinette’s eyes getting smaller and smaller with each second.

He knew that they should hang up soon, but he really wanted to be selfish and keep her on the phone. “Luka…”

Marinette slowly opened an eye to look back at him. Their smiles grew once again. “Are you gonna take another screenshot of me?” Her smile turned sly and he rolled his eyes.

“That’s cold-blooded, Mel’. Teasing a guy’s love is mean,” he stuck out his tongue, just for good measure. But then he sneakily took one screenshot, to remind himself that tonight was real and not just a dream. Tonight, Marinette was his and he was hers, and hopefully it’ll stay like that for a long time.

Her eyes drifted back closed, but her smile never left. “...Love you… Luka….”

Warmth engulfed his chest, leaving him feeling light and airy. The mattress underneath him felt soft and perfect. The dryness on his cheeks from earlier tears didn’t bother him at all. He was content and full of love.

While the confession was unexpected, he wouldn’t change it for the world. As much as he loved her clothing and as many songs as he had for her, he knew nothing would’ve compared to tonight. As he looked back at her sleeping face, he had a feeling she felt the same.

“I love you too, Marinette.”

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