#basically jesse figured out that alex was not only magical but also gay

[justlightlysedated]

hope is the greatest of the gifts we'll receive

day one of thirteen: a sort of beauty and the beast, enchanted christmas au,  dedicated to every single person who has ever read or liked or reblogged or rec'ed any of my fics, i love you all more than you will ever know, and i hope that you enjoy this gift from the bottom of my heart

*

The Story So Far:

Alex Manes, son of Duke Jesse Manes, who hasn’t been seen or heard about since he was ten years old, is trapped in the old and abandoned family castle. An enchantment that his dad told him was for his own protection keeps him from crossing the castle gates. 

For ten years, Alex has been on his own, with only the enchanted items inside of the castle and the sporadic visits made by Maria and Liz (who had seeked shelter within the castle walls when they were seventeen and had gotten lost in the woods during one of the coldest nights of the year) to keep him company.

Sporadic because the enchanted castle has a mind of its own and keeps running people off. This leads to rumors that the castle is haunted and that Alex is actually the ghost of someone who died within its walls.

And it’s not exactly like Alex tries really hard to tell people he’s not a ghost. 

He likes the solitude and he has his books and he has the entire castle to keep him company. He wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

That of course, all changes one late November night during the tenth year with the arrival of Michael Guerin.

Michael had heard about the haunted but most importantly abandoned castle from stories Maria told from behind the bar, but he had figured that they were embellished, at least a little bit.

Michael believed in magic, but he in no way believed in ghosts.

The first night almost makes a believer out of him, but being saved from almost getting mauled to death by the very territorial wolf living in the stables by a very real, very alive, very hot Alex Manes changes his mind entirely.

He makes it his mission to find out exactly what’s going on, which becomes a real easy job once he has the enchanted castle on his side.

With Christmas around the corner, things seem to be going on the right track.

*

Alex doesn’t think that he’s a bad person. 

He doesn’t deserve the reputation that living in a mostly abandoned castle gives him. He tries to do good things despite the fact that everyone thinks that he’s a ghost haunting the castle, not that he’s dissuaded anyone of that notion.

The only person who knows better is also the person who Alex is pretty sure was sent to torment him.

Michael is singing off key, to a Christmas carol while he decorates the hall outside of the library after Alex told him that he doesn’t do Christmas.

It’s Christmas Eve and they are the only two people living in the castle, not to mention the wolf named Buffy that has taken over the stable and the fact that the castle is enchanted and everything within it seems to have made it its goal to make Alex happy, and have decided that Michael is the key to that happiness, since Michael has been able to actually stay for an extended period of time, whereas whenever Maria and Liz come to visit the castle does everything it can to make sure their visits are short.

Alex had thought that that meant it just didn’t like anyone who wasn’t a Manes, but apparently, it just didn’t like Maria and Liz.

It loves Michael however given that Alex can see Michael being followed by a trolley full of Christmas decorations that is swaying in time to Michael’s horrible singing.

Almost like it can hear his thoughts, the trolley stops and turns to him, giving him what Alex thinks is a judgmental look.

Alex closes the door before Michael can turn and see him and leans his forehead against the door, exhaling deeply.

He waits until he hears them move down the hall, before he moves, pushing away from the door and walking back towards his chair and the book he’d been trying to read.

He knows the moment that Michael leaves the first floor to decorate the floor below it because it feels like the entire floor sighs, despondent at his absence.

Alex hunches down in his seat and tries not to sigh in unison. He can feel the chandelier watching him judgmentally but he refuses to accept responsibility for the fact that the castle is enamoured with Michael.

It’s only been a few days since he had stopped Buffy from showing Michael his insides after Alex had inadvertently scared him into running into the stables, but it feels like it’s been an entire lifetime.

Michael has gotten it into his head that Alex stays locked inside of the castle because he’s extremely shy, and Alex doesn’t know how to dissuade him of that notion.

He picks his book up and tries to lose himself in the story, and he almost manages before he smells like something is burning.

He looks up from his book and notices the vent that connects to the kitchen is open, and there is very light smoke coming out of it.

Alex is moving before he can stop himself, since it’s not like the castle will let itself burn just for the sake of matchmaking drama, but before he can tell himself that, he’s ducking into the secret passageway in the library that leads right into the kitchen.

He gets there in time to see Michael closing the oven with his foot as he carries a smoking loaf tin to the sink and then turns on the water.

The air is filled with steam, and Michael sighs, pulling off the oven mitts.

“Alright,” he says turning around to counter where Alex can see the cookbook making an attempt to hide back inside of the cabinet, like it’s attempting to escape Alex’s wrath. “Let’s not tell- Alex!”

He almost shouts his name, and Alex turns to him, raising an eyebrow. 

Michael looks around, a blush working itself across his cheeks, “Sorry, didn’t mean to utterly fail at making a fruitcake and alarm you.”

Alex looks at him thoughtfully for a second, “Why are you trying to make a fruitcake?”

Michael darts a painfully shy look at him, before looking away.

“It’s a Christmas tradition,” he says. “My mom and I used to make one every Christmas Eve, and I just wanted to share it with you.”

Alex feels the entire kitchen cooing at how sweet Michael is being, Alex tries not to follow suit, biting down on his lip to stop the smile from spreading across his face.

Michael’s cheeks go even more red and Alex reaches out to get his attention, fingers brushing against Michael’s arm.

Michael jumps a little and turns to Alex, giving him a sheepish grin.

“First of all,” Alex says and casts a look at the oven out of the corner of his eye. “The stove will never let anything actually burn.”

Michael furrows his brow, “Then why-”

“Second of all,” Alex says talking over him. “Since you and your mom used to make the fruitcake together, wouldn’t it be better if we worked on it together?”

A sweet smile spreads across Michael’s face, and it leaves Alex feeling a little stupefied.

“I would love that,” he says smile widening.

Alex turns away from him and heads to the fridge to take out whatever it is they would need from in there to make a fruitcake.

The fridge opens helpfully, kind of smug, and Alex just glares at it.

Michael lists off everything that they would need from the fridge while he goes into the pantry.

They work in almost complete silence for a few minutes, Michael only speaking to tell Alex what he needed to do.

It’s only when Alex moves the fruit boiling away with some gin and spices for taste from the flame and turns to him to see what else to do, that he sees that Michael has finished mixing the batter, and is just waiting on Alex.

“We have to let them cool down a bit,” Michael says, and Alex nods his head, carefully leaning back against the counter beside the stove.

Michael smiles sweetly at him, and Alex looks away, blinking rapidly, ignoring the way both the stove and the fridge sigh, enamoured.

“What kind of traditions did you have, before all of this?” Michael asks, leaning on the island.

Alex purses his mouth, “I don’t remember much before all of this,” he says with some gentle mocking, that makes Michael rolls his eyes.

“But one thing I do remember is going ice skating with my mom,” he says, and looks around the room, ignoring the sympathy he can feel from every section of the castle.

“Right when the ice was strong enough to hold our weight, she would drag me out of bed at some ungodly hour in the morning, and strap skates on my feet and take me out into the ice.”

He exhales and looks back to Michael who is leaning his head in his hands, just staring at Alex.

Alex swallows hard. “It was the most that I would see her smile during the holidays,” he finishes, and Michael’s stare turns a touch sad, a touch pitiful, and Alex looks away immediately, turning back to the fruits and moving it around with the wooden spoon.

“I think it’s cool enough,” Michael says from right next to him, and Alex jumps a little not expecting him to be so close.

Alex lets Michael mix the fruit into the cake batter and stares at him as he puts the cake into the oven.

Michael closes the oven and turns to Alex.

He bites his lip and grabs Alex’s hand. “Come on.”

Alex lets Michael tug him out of the kitchen and through the hall, and into the front room, pass the staircase, across the downstairs living room, through the music room and out into the back garden, bundling Alex and then himself into their coats.

Alex stops them before Michael can drag them much further, feeling the terror of being so close to the barrier, but exhales carefully, when Michael lets him go and doesn’t do much but smile expectantly at him.

Alex makes a face and casts a look around the back garden.

It looks like a winter wonderland, covered in freshly fallen snow, and even the pond is frozen over.

Alex turns back to Michael.

“I figured,” Michael says, walking over to the small wooden shed where Alex knows he has at least one pair of ice skates. “That as long as we were doing my tradition, we may as well do yours.”

He pulls out the ice skates and Alex looks at the pond carefully and then looks back at Michael who is looking at the skates with trepidation.

“Do you even know how to skate?” He asks, and Michael just rolls his eyes and walks towards the small bench right by the pond.

Alex follows after him.

“What about the cake?” He asks, as Michael sits down and begins to take his boots off.

“It’ll take an hour and a half to bake through,” Michael says, looking up at Alex through the curls that are falling in front of his face. “I set a timer.”

Alex nods his head slowly, and just stares as Michael slowly gets to his feet and moves to the middle of the pond.

He turns in a careful circle and wobbles a little before he spreads his arms out and smiles invitingly at Alex, right before he slips, tries to catch himself and falls back on his butt.

Alex bites down on the laugh that wants to pop out, but Michael starts laughing immediately, giggling as he tries to get back up and fails.

Alex sits on the bench and puts his own skates on, they pinch his toes a little bit, but he manages to get to his feet easily, skating out into the middle of the pond, to help Michael get to his feet.

Michael holds on to him tightly, fingers wrapped in the open collar of Alex’s coat.

Alex catches him by the waist and tries to keep him steady.

“You’ve never done this before, have you?” Alex asks.

Michael gives him a mock glare, “What gave it away?”

Alex laughs, and lifts his hands to Michael’s on his coat and gently pries him away.

Michael makes a low protesting sound, but Alex just smiles at him, and moves back a little, keeping a hold of his hands.

“Come on,” he says, tugging on Michael’s hands and making him slide forward a little. “Just follow me.”

Alex leads Michael around the pond, and once he’s positive that Michael’s got it he lets him go and Michael takes a few steps on his own before he falls again, and the look on his face is so betrayed that Alex can’t help but giggle.

Michael starts laughing as soon as Alex does, and Alex helps him back to his feet.

Alex loses track of time as they continue to skate around the pond, until Michael is able to let go of Alex’s hands and skate by himself.

Alex stops on one side, and watches Michael circle the pond by himself, whooping and putting his hands in the air as he passes by Alex.

Alex wants to tell him that he’s going too fast, but instead just continues to watch Michael with a soft smile on his face, ignoring the way that he can feel the entire castle watching their interaction.

Michael takes a corner too fast, and before Alex can brace himself, Michael is barrelling into him and they both slip and fall back in the snow bank.

Alex lands on his back, and Michael lands on top of him.

They lay there for a single solitary moment before Alex bursts out laughing, Michael following after a few seconds.

Michael laughs into the crook of Alex’s neck, and Alex feels his entire nervous system jumpstart, making him giggle a little helplessly.

The laughter dies out and Alex sees the moment that Michael realizes how close they are pressed together.

Alex watches as the smile and bright eyes are replaced by parted lips and an intent look.

Michael moves in a little bit closer and their noses brush as he tips his head down a little, and Alex gasps, inhaling shakily.

Michael’s eyes dart up to his and Alex doesn’t know exactly how he’s staring at him only that, only that it lights something up in Michael’s eyes and he leans in even closer, eyes falling shut, and Alex can’t look away from him.

Michael moves even closer, and Alex can feel his hot breath on his mouth.

And then the timer goes off, startling the entire kitchen and making Alex jump and knock his forehead into Michael’s hard.

Michael pushes away from him, landing on his back in the snow, groaning as he presses a hand to his forehead, and Alex bites down on his lip.

“Sorry,” he says, and Michael opens his eyes and his cheeks are flushed with embarrassment. “The timer went off in the kitchen, and it kind of startled me.”

Michael looks at him speculatively at that, but doesn’t really say much as they get the skates off and head back to the kitchen.

Alex follows behind Michael at a more sedate space, so that by the time he makes it into the kitchen, Michael already has the cake out and is stirring something in another saucepan on top of the stove.

The entire kitchen smells like Christmas and feels warm, and for the first time in a long time, Alex is looking forward to the new year.

The door to the kitchen closes, pushing him forward a little, and Alex glares at it behind himself before he walks further into the kitchen.

Alex leans against the island in the middle of the kitchen and watches as Michael serves them slices of crumbling slices of hot cake and two mugs of what looks like hot chocolate, humming Christmas carols underneath his breath.

Alex hopes that he doesn’t ruin the image by singing, and the pots in the pot rack above him clang menacingly.

Alex rolls his eyes, and Michael turns to him with a smile.

He sets the cake slices and the mugs of steaming hot chocolate down in front of Alex, and leans on the opposite side of the island.

“It’s still hot,” he says as he pinches a bit of the cake between his fingers and blows on it before putting it into his mouth. “But it’s tradition.”

Alex just shakes his head a little, biting down on a smile as he starts to eat the cake as well.

“Okay,” Michael says once they’re halfway done, and Alex has drunk half of his spiked hot chocolate. “I think, in honor of adding new Christmas traditions to the roster, that we should have a Christmas ball.”

Alex gives Michael a look.

Michael just smiles back winningly.

“Hear me out,” he says, and then launches into a passionate spiel about how celebrations boost morale and how he has the space anyway, “And it’s not like we would have to invite people. We can just celebrate, the two of us, and the entire castle.”

Alex stares at him, at the way he talks with his hands when he gets really excited about something and has the faint thought that he would do anything to make sure that Michael is always happy and excited and never upset.

His eyes widen a little, and Michael stops talking and looks at Alex. “So what do you say?”

Alex is about to tell him that he doesn’t know, but just to tease him a little, when he goes cold all over.

He closes his eyes and concentrates and he can feel someone trying to get in through the gates.

The fact that they use a key to unlock the padlock tells Alex that it could only be one of four people, and not one of them can know about Michael.

“I don’t think so,” Alex says a little harshly, eyes flying open.

He regrets the tone and the way that Michael seems to curl in on himself, eyes going wide and hurt.

“I just wanted-” he starts and Alex cuts him off, grabbing him around the arm and leading him towards the secret passage that leads straight up to his room.

“I think you should retire to your rooms,” he says and pushes him into the passage. 

Michael makes an aggrieved noise in protest, saying Alex’s name, but Alex closes the door in his face, locking it and then willing the entire castle to make sure that he stays in his room.

He feels the castle acquiesce to his request and lets out a relieved breath before he turns around and begins to hide all of the evidence he can find that two people are living in there, before he walks fast to the front hall, and sits down in the chair in the sitting room and book within easy distance.

He takes a deep breath and prepares himself to deal with whoever it is walking towards the castle.

*

Michael doesn’t angrily slide the door close, but he does stomp his feet all the way to his bed.

He drops himself down and lets his face fall into his hands.

He doesn’t know what went wrong exactly. Everything seemed to be going fine, better than fine really, and then out of nowhere, Alex just snapped out of it, like he had been under a spell, and Michael had said something that triggered him to wake up.

Michael exhales roughly and throws himself back on top of his bed.

It’s hard to believe that not even half an hour ago, he almost kissed Alex.

It all felt like it was a dream and Michael had been rudely woken up.

He presses his fingers to his mouth. He can almost feel the press of Alex’s nose, and his breath against his mouth.

Michael makes a low mournful and turns to his side.

He opens his eyes when he gets the overwhelming feeling like someone is watching him, and right there on the side of his bed, is a small black box with a blue bow on top.

He sits up and reaches over and picks the box up.

It feels a little bit heavy, and whatever is inside moves when Michael shakes the box slightly.

He opens the box and finds a note resting on top of a pocket watch.

He picks the note out and sets the box aside, unfolding it carefully.

this pocket watch is enchanted to show you whatever you wish for, just close your eyes and wish with all of your might and then open the watch

There is no name on it, but he knows that it’s from Alex.

He picks the pocket watch out of the box, and looks at the silver surface. It’s inscribed with a rose pattern, and Michael passes his thumb over the imprint before he inhales deeply, closing his eyes and thinking about what it is that he wants to see.

He feels the watch heat up a little in his hands, and then he exhales and looks down, opening the watch.

The clock surface is visible for a second, before it clouds over, and an image becomes clear.

Michael feels his breath catch in his throat as he makes out Max and Isobel looking like they were in the middle of a discussion, and feels a pang of longing in the pit of his stomach.

He hasn’t seen them in just a little over a month, and while it’s not like he doesn’t miss them daily, it’s worse, to see them like this.

He inhales shakily and closes the watch.

He jumps when he hears a door slamming open and he pushes himself off his bed, deciding in that moment to leave. If he hurries, he’ll make it to Max and Isobel before Christmas Eve is even over.

And they at least wouldn’t suddenly go through a mood change, fast enough to give him whiplash.

Michael grabs his bag and goes to the door.

He twists the knob and pulls and the door stays shut tightly.

“Fuck,” he says and pulls harder, but nothing.

“Come on,” he says. “You cannot keep me in here.”

He gets the overwhelming feeling that the door is telling him that of course they can keep him in there.

Michael huffs out a frustrated breath, but he knows that if he doesn’t leave right now, he won’t.

If he talks to Alex just one time, the will to leave the castle will just abandon him.

He doesn’t know what it is about Alex that has him so captivated, but he’s not going to stick around if Alex is going to be like this the entire time.

He turns and walks towards the window to see if he can open it without having to beg.

He’s trying to prop the window opens when he notices the two figures in the dying sunlight.

He quickly recognizes Alex as the one who is struggling, being dragged by the collar of his jacket like a bad puppy. Michael doesn’t recognize the other guy, and they’re too far away for him to make out any features, but Michael realizes immediately why Alex never wants to go outside.

They barely make it pass the hedge walls of the back garden before Alex starts yelling and struggling even more to get away from whoever.

The person lets Alex go, and Alex crawls back immediately to the safety of the hedges, and collapses on his back.

The person walks back towards Alex slowly, and they have the same shade of dark hair that Alex does, and Michael remembers vaguel the portrait of the four brothers that he had found in the basement along with other portraits of the members of the Manes family.

Michael is sure that they say something, but he can’t hear anything.

He knows Alex’s body language well enough by now to realize that he’s being antagonistic, and he’s proved right when Alex spits at the person.

They grab him around the collar of his coat and drag him back over the hedge, and Alex starts to yell again, loud enough that Michael can hear it clearly.

Michael is moving before he realizes, dropping his bag on the floor and running for the door.

The door opens easily, and he doesn’t think about the why as he rushes through the castle halls, wishing for once that Alex didn’t live in an abandoned castle so that he wouldn’t have to be running for a full five minutes before he even makes it out of the back doors.

Michael skids to a stop as Alex’s yells hit him full force and he finally hears the other person talking, asking him questions that Alex couldn’t possibly answer.

Michael reaches the hedge, and searches for something to use to help Alex escape his attacker, but in that moment he hears a loud howl, and then there is Buffy, wrapping her huge jaw full of pointy teeth around the attacker’s arm and pulling him away from Alex.

Alex drops to his knees, and whimpers low in his throat.

Michael goes to him, wrapping fingers in his jacket, and ignoring the way he weakly protests and pulls him closer to the castle.

Alex sighs in relief, and slumps on top of Michael, making them both fall to the snow.

Michael holds on to Alex as tightly as he can, and stares as Buffy chases off the attacker, snapping at his shins as he runs away, leaving behind a trail of blood pouring from the wound on his arm.

Michael doesn’t fully relax at all, trying to get Alex to move and realizes that he’s passed out.

He’s still breathing, and while that’s all well and good, Michael cannot carry his dead weight all by himself.

He’s startled out of his contemplation of what he’s going to do, by Buffy, who huffs, and while Michael freezes, remembering intently the way that she attacked him several days earlier, she just gently bites Alex’s arm, and somehow manages to get him thrown across her back.

She carries Alex inside, and Michael stands up and follows after them, looking back towards where he’d last seen the attacker, but he doesn’t see anything.

Buffy sets Alex down in front of the fireplace, and then whines until Michael is making a fire.

Buffy lies down right in front of it, curving her huge body around Alex, and Michael sits back in one of the armchairs to stare at them.

He wants to do something, but there isn’t anything that he can do.

It doesn’t seem like Alex is hurt. He isn’t bleeding anywhere. And he’s not pale.

It doesn’t take too long for Alex to start waking up. 

Michael stares at him as he buries his face in Buffy’s fur, before blinking his eyes open and staring straight at Michael.

He doesn’t seem surprised to see him there.

“You have to go,” he says in a voice so low that Michael is sure that he misheard him at first.

But Alex just continues to look at him seriously, and Michael starts shaking his head immediately.

“What? No,” he says protesting immediately and Alex pushes himself up to his feet, only stumbling lightly, but catching himself.

He stands tall in front of Michael, illuminated by the fire.

“My family aren’t nice people,” he says, swallowing hard. “And I can take whatever they do to me, but they’ll kill you if they find you here. You have to go.”

Michael blinks rapidly at him, and he wants to protest, but Alex is looking at him desperately, eyes wide and pleading, and Michael really doesn’t want to go.

He inhales carefully, and looks at Alex seriously. “Okay,” he says, and Alex deflates immediately, “But I have one condition.”

Alex looks at him with a furrowed brow.

“I’ll leave after we have the Christmas Ball.”

Alex stares at him, looking slightly stupefied, and then his face twitches into a fond smile that makes Michael’s chest ache.

“Okay,” he says. “We can have your celebration, but you have to go right after.”

Michael nods his head, and he would celebrate the win, if it didn’t feel so hollow.

*

The piano plays a gentle Christmas tune, and Michael drags Alex to the middle of the ballroom, letting Alex take the lead after he almost makes them both trip and fall to the floor.

Alex holds him close, clasping Michael’s left hand with his right, and pressing his left hand low on Michael’s back, while Michael settles his right hand on Alex’s shoulder.

Alex moves them in circles, taking them on a waltz and overcompensating when Michael manages to almost trip them up.

Michael isn’t a dancer by any means of the imagination, but Alex has obviously had training at some point. 

“You’re good at this,” Michael says, when he trips and Alex catches him and turns them expertly.

Alex just hums, and Michael bites down on his lip.

The dinner had been fine, but silent. Even when Michael had thanked him for his gift, Alex had just smiled, that soft smile, the one that told Michael exactly how fond Alex was of him, but he hadn’t said much.

Michael felt anxious, a squirmy feeling in the pit of his stomach, like he was running out of time, but he didn’t know exactly what he needed to do.

Alex spins them around and the song changes to something more soft and less Christmassy.

“I don’t want to go,” Michael blurts out, unable to help himself.

Alex slows their movements to a stop, right in the middle of the room and the piano stops playing, hitting a discordant note.

Alex sighs, “Michael,” he says in a hushed voice.

“I know,” Michael says sighing and pressing in close, dropping his forehead to Alex’s. “I know.”

“You won’t be safe if you stay,” Alex reminds him, voice barely trembling.

And Michael knows, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

“What about you?” He asks, letting go of Alex’s hand to wrap his arms around Alex’s shoulders, holding him close.

Alex slides his arms around Michael immediately, “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Michael doesn’t really believe him, but he doesn’t have much of a choice.

“I’ll come back,” Michael promises as the piano begins to play again and Alex sways them from side to side, his eyes falling shut.

“I know,” Alex whispers, and Michael vows to return back to him, no matter what.

[hilunawrites]

Meet the Writer III, IV, V, and VI

Thanks so much for the tags @whataremetaphor​, @allisonaldridge​, @killer-badass​, and @swaynewrites​! 

Rules: Answer the 10 questions, write 10 questions, then tag 10 people. ** From @whataremetaphor​: 1.)    Who are some of your favorite authors?  JK Rowling, Perry Moore, Audrey Niffenegger, Alex Sanchez, Julie Anne Peters, Nancy Garden, John Green…  2.)    Pen and paper or typing?  Honestly typing. My handwriting is illegible and I type really fast.  3.)    What’s your character development process?  I mostly have an idea for a character already in mind and I let them loose into the story. They usually figure themselves out on the way, but if I feel they need a little boost or more details to make them seem more rounded, I’ll fill out little character development questionnaires or free-write about them for a while. 4.)    Favorite words?  English: silly, serendipitous, onomatopoeia, plethora…(mostly coz they feel nice in the mouth to say. There’s probably way more).   German: gumpendorfer, ausgezeichnet, Eichhörnchen, frühstücken  5.)    Do you have a “type” for characters (either ones you write or ones you like? If so, what is it?   Hmm… I guess I tend to write characters that are slowly figuring out who they are and how the world works. So characters who are coming-of-age.  6.)    Music or no music while writing? If so, what kinds?  Sometimes, sometimes not. If I do listen, it’s whatever YouTube spits out at me.  7.)    What first got you into writing?  Kindergarten. My teacher said my story of the day was good enough to “publish.” We wrapped a piece of colored construction paper around it, stapled the sides and I made a cover for it. I was ecstatic XD  For those interested, my story way: “Today I walked up the driveway to the mailbox and got the mail.” A literary genius at five years old hahahaha.  8.)    Vampires of werewolves? (or magical creature of your choice?)  Vampires  9.)    Where did you get the inspiration for your current WIP?  Augh, don’t hate me. I originally started my WIP as a gay Twilight Fanfiction…  10.)  Most difficult part of writing?   Keeping up motivation and self-confidence.

** From @allisonaldridge​: 1.)    What is your favorite writing snack? I don’t eat a lot when I’m writing. If I do, it’s junk food. Pringles (sour cream and onion) Oreos or other cookies.  2.)    Would you want to visit the place or world you created for your WIP?  The world is basically ours with a little fantasy twist. So yeah, totally.  3.)    If you were stuck in a room with one of your OCs, who would you choose?  Hmm..tricky…Probably Teresa because we have the most in common.  4.)    What movie would you relate closest to your WIP?  Twilight, Love Simon.  5.)    Do you watch any Authortubers on Youtube? I watch a bit of John Green, does that count? I gotta check out more of these Authortuber people apparently..  6.)    Traditional publishing or independent?  Hopefully traditional. I might publish some things independently though.  7.)    What is your main OC’s fashion sense? Basic hahaha. Jeans and a shirt.  8.)    Where do you keep all your story ideas stored?  In my head or on a file on the computer.  9.)    Are you working on more than one WIP right now?  Not currently. I want to get the first draft of this one finally finished (been working on it for years) before I write anything new.   10.)   Coffee or Tea? It is very important. I have to say both, I love them both. ** From @killer-badass​: 1.)    What is the cutest couple in your current WIP?  The only couple in my WIP: Daniel/Vaughn. This WIP has been dubbed my Daniel/Vaughn story since 2007 :P They are beautiful.   2.)    Would you rather have your WIP made into a movie or a TV show?  Hmm…probably a movie at this point.  3.)    Who would you want to direct said movie or TV show?  God, I dunno…I would like it to feel like Love, Simon so maybe Greg Berlanti? And also Chris Columbus or David Yates for the fantasy parts. 4.)    What TV show character would your protagonist of your current WIP be?  These questions are hard for me, I don’t know why! Maybe…Marco from Degrassi.  5.)    What is your favorite song to write to?  Don’t really have one…I usually put on something like “Castle on a Hill” first and just let the YouTube algorithm do its thing.  6.)    What is your protagonist’s theme song?  Oh jeez, I haven’t thought about any of this. Perhaps “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. 

7.)    What marvel character is our protagonist like the most?  Spiderman 8.)    Your favorite movie?  The Princess Bride  9.)    Your favorite TV Show?  So many. Right now, Brooklyn 99.  10.)   What genre is your current WIP?  Realistic fiction mixed with fantasy. ** From @swaynewrites​: 1.)    What is your favorite book, and your favorite author?  Harry Potter, JK Rowling. This series has affected me so much, how can I not still answer this question like this?   2.)    What’s the longest time you’ve spent working on a WIP?  hahahaha, current WIP I’ve been working on since 2007.  3.)    What’s your favorite character that you have ever created?  Hmm I actually have a lot of feels about Ariel from my short story “My Life with Ariel.” Strange I didn’t choose someone from my main WIP, but there you go. 4.)    Have you ever based a character on someone you know? (family, friend, coworker, etc.)  I always take bits and pieces of personality from people I know and add them to my characters.  5.)    What is your favorite WIP you’ve written?  Completed WIP that would be “My Life with Ariel.” We’ll see if I make it into a novel or try to publish as is.  6.)    What’s the best response you’ve had to one of your WIPs?  One person told me they literally stopped breathing during one scene they were so enraptured by what was going on. This compliment felt so good, because it’s always what I’m going for! 7.)    What’s the best film/television show you’ve seen based on a book?  The first two Harry Potter movies. Hmm.. Though some things were changed from Love, Simon I felt the atmosphere of the book was captured so well.  8.)    Have you ever written something as a joint project with a friend or a fellow writeblr? If you haven’t, would you want to?  I don’t think so…but I would absolutely love to! HIT ME UP PEOPLE, LET’S DO THIS!  9.)    If you could change something about a popular book series, what series would you change and what would the change be?  Twilight. I would eliminate all the abuse in her relationships with Edward and Jacob.  10.)   For the Harry Potter fans out there, what is your favorite character/spell/scene? (If you haven’t read or seen Harry Potter, I’d recommend it. LUNAWRITES NOTE: I don’t just recommend it, I demand it hahahaha) Favorite character(s): Draco, Luna Favorite spell: Accio, Not a spell but also Apparition Scene: The chapter in book 6 where Harry confronts Draco in the bathroom and then later has his first kiss with Ginny in the common room. ** My questions for YOU: 1.)    Who are three writeblrs you love? 2.)    What book has made you cry? 3.)    What’s the first book you remember being read as a child? 4.)    Where do you read fiction the most? (magazines, journals, books, tumblr, archive of our own) 5.)    How do you feel about new novels that remind readers of other popular books? 6.)    What are three things you look for in a good novel? 7.)    How much of your week do you spend writing? 8.)    If you’re imagining publishing your current WIP, being accepted by a publisher, what does that feel like? 9.)    What are your three greatest fears about writing? 10.)  How can you fight those fears?  Tagging: @theouterdark, @damnwrites, @crucioandcoffee , @jess---writes @theaberrantwritergirl, @somnambulant-directives @wondersofwriting00, @smile-everything-is-alright, @greenandwords @rainbowsaw