#i think the stuff i wrote on Lu is some of my best writing.....but it was really a struggle to get others to engage with it

[trippygalaxy]

UHM! HI this is just gonna be me rambling about some of my mutuals cause I cherish them all and everything they've done for me

no i will not be tagging them, the tumblr gods will decide if they find this or not

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Cal, gods I have so much to say about them but they could honestly be their own post by themselves /pos. I -genuinely- wouldn't be here today if it wasnt for them, so many times have they unknowingly helped me out of horrible places in my life, and I could never put my love for them into words no matter how many poems i write in their honour. They are one of the best friends ive ever had in my life, they are the most genuine, selfless, precious people ive had the pleasure of knowing.

Maj- oh i miss talking to him so much you dont understand!!! I love love loved sending them silly stories in her askbox, their way of thinking and breaking down stories were the most delicious things! Not only that but the art??? Their ocs always enticed me and i would willing sit down and listen to them talk about them for hours if i could. They are FUCKING HALRIOUS TOO!!! They've -without even trying- have given me so many belly laughs when i needed that the most.

But i seem them in their new fandom with other moots and im so happy shes having fun /gen

GASP! MY SPOUSE!!! Fir! UGH i love them so much /p They are so encouraging, and they help me so much when it comes to stories and figuring stuff out- and they WROTE SO MUCH FOR ME???? IM SO GREATFUL FOR EVERYTHING THEY'VE MADE AND DONE FOR ME AND I WISH I COULD REPAY IT BACK 10 FOLDS! I feel so free when speaking with them, like im able to be a part of me where i cant with others and its- its so relieving.

Vaati- a genuine inspiration. I was a HUGE fan of his shifting sands series when I found it on instagram and when i say HE MOVED TO TUMBLR?! I WAS FUCKING ESTATIC!!!! Also very worried that his art got stolen but it was clear it wasnt- ANYWAYS! When I first found him, i was so ready to just give up on art -before my digital art era- because when i stared at my art all i saw was bland strokes of a pencil that could never be compared to what others had made, but when I found his comic that was FULLY TRADTIONAL I was stunned. I showed it to everyone I knew, whether they knew loz/lu or not, i needed them to see the talent and beauty I found. And he was the beginning of me starting to relearn to love traditional art again, and how much more beautiful it was to me compared to any digital piece

ARIA!!! I was in awe of her cute style- and i saw her make art for Sacred realm and i was HOOKED! Genuinely, I was like 'oop- have to be friends with her now' and though we dont talk that much, im constantly impressed with her growth even when she thinks its trash. That girl has SO much potential, and im estatic to see what she does with it. OH AND THE ART SHES MADE FOR FAROLA?! **MWAH!!!** Honestly she made me love Farola again-

Major, an unrated GEM, one of the most encouraging, heartfelt and creative person ive met on this site. She is, and will always be, someone I look to when I need a push or when im unsure about doing something (like this!) cause I know that she will never cease her amazing ability to encourage and inspire those around her.

Finky and Isa- some of the most iconic styles ive seen, its amazing to see them grow and keep their styles while still improving. AND THE AMOUNT OF ART AND IDEAS THEY MAKE??? Im stunned by how quick they are able to make their art and STILL HAVE IT BE AMAZING QUAILTY?! Witch craft I tell you!

Shade and Mossy, two people I sadly dont talk to much anymore, but were apart of one of the most important parts of my life so far. Both were such positive lights that kept pushing even when they got pulled back by others. Idk if its their stubbornness or determination that keeps them going, but whatever they have, I want it!

[carladuquette]

I was tagged by @dragonsoftheeast to write about my writing - thank you!!! If you know me, you know I love to go on about this, so be prepared, this is a long one.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

15

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

312,657

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Elite Elite Elite, baby. I have one Money Heist fic (Nairobi, la puta madre para siempre 🔥) and one Class fic, but that's an Elite remake, sooo… I'm pretty much a one-trick pony haha.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Close your eyes, count to ten (duh); The ties were black, the lies were white (next chapter coming soon!); Midnights in October; Summer state of mind; It's the most wonderful time of the year

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I'm so grateful for comments and love chatting with people about their thoughts, the characters, my interpretation of them, etc.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, I don't know that I really do angsty endings. Lots of angsty stories and chapter endings, for sure. But the ending-ending is usually at least hopeful, or perhaps melancholy. Maybe Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Fics like Midnights in October or Best Friends Forever are sad, but I wouldn't say the ending is angsty.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Close your eyes, count to ten! No way was I going to give Lu anything but the happiest ending after everything I put her through ❤️

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No! Honestly surprising considering I write so much VaLu and they're a little controversial, but I guess I got into Elite fic when the fandom was already pretty small, so not that many people were around to care anymore, haha.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Only very brief scenes.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Midnights in October is a ghost story (that's really a story about friendship) inspired by The Haunting of Bly Manor. And, uh, 12 points go to… is kind of a crossover with the Eurovision Song Contest? But my only real crossover is I put a spell on you, Hocus Pocus with the Elite characters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not yet.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Lu and Valerio will always have my heart.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have a laaarge number of story ideas that only exist in my head, but I don't have any unfinished WIPs right now. I'd like to think I'll end whatever it is I started, even if it may take me forever 🙃

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm good with plotting- I have good ideas that I can turn into fairly good stories, I'd like to think. I give different characters room to grow, or at least give them little moments to shine, too, not just my favorites/ main characters. With characters I know well, I can make them "make sense"- dig into their motivations, their character traits, how they've been treated and have it be clear (maybe not for the characters around them, but for the reader) why they act the way they do and why they make certain decisions, even when they're bad decisions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

There are some physical reactions people have that I repeat too often. I love angsty drama and in longer stories, I put in so much sometimes that it loses its effect a little, I think. I'd like to be able to write more lyrically, but I can't, so most of my stuff is pretty straight-forward. And I can't write good smut to save my life.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I personally don't believe in it. The occasional pet name or whatever thrown in is fine, but apart from that it a) doesn't make much sense to me; whatever language you write it, to me it's implied that this is the characters' mother tongue- like, I write in English, but the Elite characters live in Madrid, so the assumption is that they all speak Spanish, which would make switching to actual Spanish weird. And b) it's more work for readers then having to use online translators to figure out what people are saying.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I started to put down a Grey's Anatomy fic about Izzie and Denny yeeears ago that didn't go anywhere.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Obviously Close your eyes, count to ten will always be my baby. I spent close to three years with the characters and I'm proud of the story. But depending on the day and my mood I have other favorite fics, too.

I tag @dhyanshiva and @cangse-sanren, two incredibly talented Class fic writers. I can't think of any other mutuals who write, but if you do and that has escaped me (apologies), PLEASE DO THIS TOO! I'm serious- all fic writers, feel tagged!

[keikakudori]

lu!!! although we haven't written yet, i feel like one of your biggest strengths as a roleplayer is your descriptions- i feel like metaphors or similes can sometimes get heavy-handed or too floaty and detract from the emotions or sensation being portrayed, but you wrote in a recent reply "rattle-bone sharpness" and i haven't stopped thinking about it, like i could perfectly envision that feeling as if it were my own, and it serves as a perfect example of the skill you wield when it comes to descriptors!!

[ what do you think is my greatest strength as a roleplayer? ] / accepting!

SENA PLEASE I DO MY VERY BEST. sometimes i just come up with wild lines that feel so right for aizen and i just slap the metaphors and similes that pop into my brain down so hard. BUT SERIOUSLY sometimes i just come up with descriptions and lines that make me go "oooo that'll be good this is a good one" and i am so glad to know that words i write are stuck in your brain. i love getting into that kind of thing with my writing and sometimes i just black out and stuff like that is in my writing.

but seriously, i'm so flattered to know something like that can catch someone's eyes because i just try to convey things in a very visceral fashion and i absolutely love knowing that things in my replies can just go and sit in someone's brain like that. it makes me feel like i'm doing something RIGHT. aizen's just an excellent vehicle for me to whip out lines like that every so often. THANK YOU FOR THIS. ;w; i appreciate it. we have to write at some point too! let me just shake aizen at you like a bag of cat treats as i go pspspsps.

[timeturner-jay]

For the ask thingy: 2, 13 and 18! 💛💫

2 - Where do you get your fic ideas?

Usually when I analyse canon and do a deep dive into the lore (or sometimes just when I'm rotating a blorbo in my brain at high speeds). Which probably isn't surprising, since my fics tend to mostly be explorations of canon-divergence and/or worldbuilding!

13 - Do you listen to music while you write?  If yes, what have you been listening to recently?

Yes! It helps me stay focused and on track. Usually, it ends up being some sort of game soundtrack (anything with lyrics would be too distracting), or a compilation of Ghibli music. Sometimes though, I just put on one of those "ten hours of cozy jazz" videos, or something like that. Whatever fits the tone of the scene I'm writing! It helps me immerse myself.

For the most recent Quantum Certainty chapter, I listened to this Guardians of the Galaxy lofi remix. It has a nice, chill vibe, which really helped me get the atmosphere right!

18 - Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

I do, when the things I need to know aren't too difficult to find online! But if it's hyper-specific things from a different country, it can get frustrating, because you really won't get far without speaking the local language.

Case in point, the fic I did the most research for was probably (definitely) The Guardian Deity of Karasuno; I really wanted to do Japan justice, so I did SO much research about all kinds of things every time I wrote a new chapter. Terms for architecture and specific furniture items, specific alcoholic beverages, foods, yokai mythology and history, local plants and their seasonal cycles, school uniforms, school traditions, first errands, and the list goes on. xD It was just non-stop research.

I gave up when I tried to research if there's official volleyball tournaments for Japanese primary schools. I know middle schools and high schools have them, but without speaking Japanese, I couldn't find anything conclusive about how seriously primary schools take this sort of stuff there. xD

49 - What fic of yours would you say is the best introduction to you as a writer?

Hmmm... An introduction shouldn't be too long, so that probably excludes my multi-chapter fics. In that case, I think I'll go with New Hands on Ancient Hilts. I still really like the atmosphere and prose I built in that one, even if it's a few years old now. And I think it's much better than my other LU fic.

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

Okay so this might not be the best explanation cause I have no proof nor did I ever speak to Maddie or mycoven. I was just hanging out at the og blog but mycovenofchaos and Maddie had VERY different ways of writing.

Maddie was prone to long walls of text and mycoven wrote short messages. Maddie never used emojis but mycoven did.

mycoven’s English was pretty good despite some mistakes.

But Maddie’s English was off. She claimed to be from Alabama ? Indiana ? but it seemed like a French person speaking English. I speak French and her grammar mistakes, syntax and expressions seemed like how a French speaking person would speak English; like direct translation or something. Def not a native speaker, what I’m trying to say. You say she might be Brazilian but I don’t speak Brazilian Portuguese so if anyone does, maybe they can drop in their two cents on that?

OG admin had said she did not believe in soulmates so Maddie was the one leading the conversations on the soulmate. Followers were asking a thousand questions on the soulmate, even insinuating that OG admin or Maddie were the soulmate. Or that they were witches casting spells on Evan to manifest him. That’s when OG admin stopped publishing asks on that subject. It was also getting tiring for us followers to see repeated questions and answers lol.

mycoven tried to be the voice of reason a couple of times when things got unhinged. Maddie would drop a bomb and then act innocent.

So all of this to say that I don’t think mycoven and Maddie are the same person. I don’t even think mycoven caused any trouble to you, honestly. I think she got caught in the trap of Maddie. OG admin was just smart to bounce. But Maddie definitely insisted on the existence of a soulmate.

The whole experience was WILD, girl. Like I understand why og admin vanished off the face of the earth.

first off - biiig thank you for weighing in. appreciate your perspective. there's a few things you shared that are food for thought.. hmm. mycovenofchaos and i's interaction in DMs the last night before she deactivated - the way she was typing was just very... off? i guess you can say unlike her, it was just a different vibe. but it was more clear then that she is ESL, and maddie was too, in my opinion. as you said, it can be pretty easy to pick up on whether or not someone is a native speaker.

if i go back into my screenshot folder i'm sure i can find some asks that i, at the time, had a sense were from ''maddie''. once i became aware i kept a closer eye on things on the OG blog because it was starting to trickle into my ask box. the puzzle pieces are kinda fitting together - the soulmate readings pretty early on were indicative of his lover being from another country, if i recall correctly, and i think those were courtesy of maddie. yet when describing "herself", she claimed to be american and that her fashion sense was very bohemian chic, that sort of vibe. she sent a pinterest board style image describing herself physically. it seems like her primary goal was to self-insert her maddie persona as an obvious choice for the ''soulmate'' position that she was pressing. with ''maddie'' being in the states and the actual user being elsewhere, they may have thought they were keeping it from being ''obvious'' or any accusations that they were just cooking up a story where they could be soulmates with evan. now, someone is sending one of the tarot readers message after message trying to ''sell'' the idea that maddie is evan's soulmate. this is all so fucking WILD, but it's actually getting interesting lmfao if everyone sticks around, i have a feeling i'll get to the bottom of it one day. i am a sneaky little bastard when i want to be.

all to say, you very well may be right, and some may remember that i used to actually complain about a particular french visitor who would routinely send me messages about haley lu, soulmate business and whatnot. same type of stuff happening now.

mycovenofchaos is brazilian, FYI. we've spoken before. it was all positive and love until evan got with natalie and i posted about it. which is actually sad. meh.

[oleasters]

@savageorchids​: the way you write unapologetically toxic women makes my heart so, so happy and i hope you know that.

idk if i would say “unapologetically” because self-hatred is still a big theme on Oleana’s blog and my Lusamine blog was characterized mostly by these probably repetitive and embarrassingly long, angsty soliloquies about the nature of abuse and grief and longing and regret......they do kinda feel bad about it even though they continue to act this way...? my...apologetically toxic women?? 😔

but i thank you for your ongoing support. you love to see a true feminist

[emmyhem]

good stupid (l.r.h)

a/n: hi again! this is a short and sweet luke x student fem!reader imagine, and my first time posting smut,, i’m planning on posting some angsty stuff pretty soon sooo i wanted to have something pretty fluffy up but as i wrote it became clear to me that smut would fit well. so with all that being said, i hope you enjoy - emmy <33 (p.s, requests are still open but i am working on quite a few already and they take me slightly longer to write than my own pieces because i want to be sure i’m doing them justice. but all requests are extremely appreciated as well as any feedback on my writing. and i’m always up to chat, if you ever have something on your mind, no matter how random :)) 

pairing: luke hemmings x student fem!reader 

summary: an innocent but important secret sparks a competitiveness between you and your boyfriend, but it may end in both of your favor. 

warnings: smut, oral sex (female receiving), cursing, but mainly just fluffy romantic sex 

word count: 2.2k

Luke’s head was in your lap as you read from your textbook intently. Your eyebrows were tugged together and your lips pouted in concentration. 

“You’re pretty.” he hummed, a sweet grin on his face. 

You glanced down, scrunching your nose in fondness. 

“You too.” you responded, poking his cheek.

“Stop, I’m blushing.” he joked, hiding his face behind his hands.

You laughed before turning your attention back to your studies, but Luke’s eyes remained glued to you only breaking contact occasionally to blink. You could feel his eyes on you, making it extremely hard to focus.

“Luke.” you scolded. 

“What?” he whined. 

“You gotta stop staring. I'm trying to study bub.”

“No can do, lovie. M’studying too.” he protested. 

“And what are you studying?” you questioned. 

“You.” he said matter of factly. “Happens to be my favorite subject.” 

You pressed your lips together tightly to avoid smiling like an idiot. The two months you’d spent with Luke had been the best of your life, for the first time you felt like things were just right. It was as if you had been made for him and you kept finding yourself having to actively avoid blurting out the big L word. It was like it was always at the tip of your tongue threatening release, any time he would compliment you, or hug you tighter than normal, and it was especially hard when he kept looking at you like you hung the stars in the sky. 

So caught up in your lovestruck haze, you hadn’t noticed that you had sat your book down next to you on the couch and were staring off into space.

Luke sat up and pulled you to his chest.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” he poked, pressing a swift kiss to the top of your hairline. 

“Just thinking.” you mumbled into his shoulder. 

“Bout what? You gotta tell me I’m trying for an A in y/n studies.” 

You laughed while shaking your head. 

“I’m thinking about saying something stupid.” you said timidly, pulling out of Luke’s embrace to look him in the eyes. 

“Good stupid or bad stupid?” 

“M’not quite sure.” you answered, moving back into Luke’s arms. 

His eyes flashed with mischief as he leaned away from you.

“I’ll give you a kiss if ya tell me.” 

“I can get one of those whenever I want.” you replied, chasing his lips with your own. 

“Nah, I think I’ll hold out for a while, can’t have you keeping secrets.” 

You laughed, knowing how needy your boyfriend could get, “We’ll see how long that lasts.” 

“Heyyy,” he drawled out. “No laughing, baby I’m serious. You won’t be getting any action till you spill.” 

You just pretended to zip your lips shut and throw away the key in response before continuing your work.  He would give in within the hour, you were sure of it. 

This has been the longest 3 days of your life. You had no idea when kissing Luke had become such a big part of your everyday routine but it was becoming abundantly clear to you that it was. 

Like this morning, when your alarm woke you up for class and you rolled over to kiss him without even thinking about it. You were centimeters away from making contact before a smile broke on Luke’s face and he rolled over to mumble, 

“No kisses for you.” before closing his eyes once again. 

Or when you dropped off lunch for the guys at the studio, you had been expecting at least a peck to express his gratitude for your favor, but all you got was a quick kiss on the back of your hand and a sly, 

“Thank you, baby.” 

Tonight you were determined, and  there was no way in hell you would be the one to give in. You were cooking when he got home, freshly showered and wearing only one of  his favorite shirts. Luke heard you before he saw you, humming to ABBA from the kitchen, he chuckled to himself  before turning the corner. 

“Hi baby.” you greeted, spinning on your heel while you sucked a bit of pasta sauce off your finger. 

Luke groaned at the sight of you before sauntering over and wrapping his arms around your waist as you stirred your cooking pasta. 

“You are making this extremely hard for me.” he hissed in your ear. Emphasis on the hard as he pressed himself against your back. 

You squeezed your thighs together at the feeling but held your composure as you spun to face him. 

“I dunno what you're talking about, Lu.” 

“Tell me your secret and we can go upstairs.” he whined, tugging you away from the stove.

“And let my dinner get cold?” you teased, waving a disapproving  finger. 

As you finished cooking Luke sat at the table, his eyes following your every move. 

“Food’s ready.” you announced as you pulled two plates from the cabinet. 

When no response came you looked in his direction. He nodded and beckoned you forward with the curl of two fingers. You took a seat on his lap and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“What’s a matter, baby? Aren’t you hungry?” you cooed in his ear. 

Luke clenched his jaw and ran a finger along your thigh, “I’m begging you to fess up. You’re looking way too pretty not to kiss and I don’t like to give in.” 

“Me neither” you countered, your forehead pressed against his. 

“Baby,” he whined. 

“You really wanna know?” you said, your feet carrying you back to the counter as you got an unexpected surge of confidence. 

“You have no idea.” he sighed from behind you. “Please put us both out of our misery, hm?” 

“I love you.” you admitted, holding your breath as you stared at the marble countertop in front of you. 

You could hear Luke stand up and felt his breath on the back of your neck within a second. 

“That’s my secret.” you continued.

His hands ran down your sides before settling firmly on your hips, which he used as leverage to spin you in his direction. You kept your eyes to the floor once facing him but he was quick to change that, using his thumb and pointer to tilt your chin up. You looked up through your lashes to meet his eyes. 

“And I love you more.” he returned. And there he went again with that look, as if you were his favorite thing in the entire universe. 

You let out a sigh of relief, one that was cut short by Luke’s lips moving urgently against your own. You both seemed to melt into each other as his tongue worked its way into your mouth. He was quick to pick you up and set you on the counter, this way he wouldn’t strain his neck to kiss you. The kiss was breathy, needy, and exactly what your body had been craving for the past three torturous days. 

“We are never ever doing that again.” he spoke into your mouth between kisses. 

“Mhm.” you agreed as his hands groped at your thighs, pushing his shirt that you had on up in the process. 

“Wrap your legs around me.” he instructed as you pulled away to breath. 

“Lu, dinner.” you protested. 

“I know, lovie. Later, I promise but right now m’hungry for something else and I can’t wait any longer.” 

“Okay,” you agreed breathlessly, wrapping your legs around him tightly as he carried you into the bedroom. 

Once in the bedroom he laid you out on the bed muttering out broken praises as he kissed down your neck. 

“Hardest three days of my life.” he admitted as his hands slid under your shirt. 

His palms were warm and rough on your skin and the only response you could muster was a soft whimper.  

Once he found his way to your nipples you were a moaning mess beneath him. 

“Off” you sighed, sitting up a bit so he could remove the shirt, leaving you completely bare. 

He ran a finger down your stomach as he spoke, “So pretty for me, angel.” 

You shuddered at his words feeling more needy by the second. 

“Lu, please.” 

“Feeling eager, baby? Me too. But I just wanna enjoy the girl I love for a bit.” he continued, as he settled between your legs. 

Your heart skipped a beat at the word love, and you couldn’t help the dopey smile that appeared on your face. 

He began peppering light kisses on your thighs each one slightly closer to where you needed him most. You started to squirm impatiently causing him to pull away and hover over your face, 

“I love you.” he declared. 

“I love you too.” you affirmed, straining your neck leaning to kiss him. Once you pulled away he grinned before returning to his previous position. 

He wasted no more time before attaching his lips to your clit, working it furiously under his tongue. 

Your head immediately threw back in pleasure, and if it weren’t for Luke’s hands holding you down you were sure your hips would’ve bucked up. 

You were whimpering relentlessly as he hummed in content against you. 

“Taste’s so good, baby. Missed this so much.” 

You only mewled in response, feeling your first orgasm begin to creep up on you already. 

“Lu,” you moaned, your hands finding his hair and tugging lightly causing him to grunt. “M’close.” 

“Yea? Doing so good, wanna come for me, love?” he questioned, adding a finger as he continued the assault on your clit. 

“Y-yes” you stuttered out, your breath catching in your throat as you reached your climax. You shook under Luke’s hold as he worked you through your orgasm. 

As you recovered he nipped at your neck and left a trail of kisses up your jaw before finally reaching your lips. You kissed him sloppily still feeling hazy from the pleasure. 

“Gonna let me take you?” he cooed, continuing to pepper kisses all over your face. 

“Please.” you nodded. 

“Okay, baby. Lemme grab something.” he said before carrying himself over to his nightstand to retrieve a condom. 

Once he rolled the condom on and made his way back to you he rubbed his thumb on your hip as he lined himself up with your entrance. 

“Ready?” 

“Yea, Lu. Need you” you mewled. 

He began to press into you slowly, letting your body adjust to the stretch as he inched in. Once he was completely in, you clenched in pleasure at the sensation of being so completely full. This caused Luke to grunt loudly, 

“Fuck, so good for me, angel” he praised. “Lemme know when I can move. Okay, baby?”

You nodded quickly as you took your bottom lip in between your teeth. 

“Move, please.” you begged, desperate for friction. 

He started with slow thrusts, they were passionate and so filling you felt like you might actually burst. His thumb found your clit and began rubbing slow circles as he continued. 

“F-faster,” you stumbled over your words, the pleasure overwhelming you. “I need faster.” 

Luke was happy to comply, picking up the pace with each thrust. As he pounded into you harder he pressed further, his head nudging at your g-spot causing you to squeal, your fingers gripping at the sheets. 

“Is that the spot?” he questioned hitting it repeatedly, causing your brain to essentially go numb. The only active thought being, Luke. 

You physically couldn’t gather the strength or power to speak so instead you just nodded, your entire body falling slack as your second orgasm approached. 

“Gonna come for me again, baby? Show me how good I’m making you feel?” 

As if you weren’t already feeling enough, Luke chose this moment to attach his lips to your neck again sucking harshly at the spot he knew made you weak. 

“Fuck, baby.” he groaned, breaking away. “Can feel you clenching around me. Cum for me y/n, I know you can do it. C’mon gimme one more, wanna come with you.” 

You came undone around him as he hit your most sensitive spot over and over again. He followed immediately after, your name falling from his lips repeatedly during his release. 

So completely fucked out, you didn’t even notice when he pulled out, and tied off the condom before throwing it away and flopping down next to you on the bed. 

“How are you doing, my love.” he asked sweetly while pulling you to his chest.

You nodded into him and mumbled, “m’good, really good.” 

“I love you so much.” he spoke into your forehead before pressing a wet kiss on it. “How ‘bout I get ya all cleaned up and then warm us up some dinner to eat in bed?” he questioned, eyes studying your face. 

“Will you shower with me?” you asked timidly. 

“Well, I wasn’t planning on doing it alone.” he teased, lifting you up. 

As he sat on the edge of the tub, you on his lap, letting the shower run over his hand to ensure the water temperature was just right for you, you buried your face into his neck. 

“M’so glad I told you my secret.” 

“Me too.” he laughed. “Though, that whole no kissing thing was stupid.” 

“Good stupid.” you countered.

[pearlescent-soda]

✨️//A Third Helping of My Headcanons on the Dragon Daddies (Magic Crafters Edition):

Eldrid:

A well intentioned elder who won't let boundaries such as, morals, laws, or any other silly social constructs stop him from pursuing his goals. This man has broken many laws in his potion making career, if that seems a bit too implausible than ask his cellmate Boldar. Although, unlike his lifelong friend, he knows how to take precautions before working with magic.

The texture of his potions can best be described as 'gello-like' as a lot of his products are salves meant for external use only. The number of customers sending complaints for stomach pains after ingestion has been steadily decreasing as the years go by. 'One gent came in with a purple tongue, and, ancestors forgive me, I laughed in his face'. The instructions are on the back, but, hey, the customers always right, except when they're wrong, then they come back and complain.

Spyro can hardly keep his eyes open during Eldrid's 'enthralling' lectures. He holds out for his favorite part of the visit, the 'taste test', Eldrid dips his spoon in the cauldron and hands it to Spyro. If he guesses the right flavor, he gets to take a prize from his 'prize box', which is basically a box of junk he hasn't thrown out yet, but if the boy wants necklace carved from a unicorn horn, he can take it.

He's got severe back pain, if his horrible posture didn't give it away, and it's been getting worse year after year. He'll wear a back brace every now and then, when he feels like it, but most the time he'll take medicine for the pain and move on with his day. He'll make one of the boys put some homemade numbing ointment on his back and that stuff smells like stale mint and rotten eggs.

Him and Boldar go way back, he's got both of their mugshots hanging in his shop from the 'good the good ol' days'. That can't be good for business, but look at how happy they look, aw. He made copies for Boldar to carry with him during his travels and he wrote on them, 'To my dearest, and most wondrous, friend, Boulder'. That's no error, that's legitimately how he believes his lifelong friend's name is spelled.

Only twenty-five percent of his scribbles are illegible, the rest are complex recipes for whatever experiment he's working on. His terrible penmanship is a result of Eldrid trying to write with his tail, behind his back where he can't see, instead of just using his hands. 'It makes perfect sense to me. Hmm, maybe you need bifocals, young one'.

The horns are his head are actually sprinklers connected to his goggles. There's a fire in his laboratory daily, so to combat such a regular occurrence Lucas gifted the geezer a pair of safety goggles. 'Ah, Lu-Lu was always the generous type'. Yes, bottles still explode, except, this time, the kitchen is still functional afterward. Soggy, but functional.

Kelvin:

A know-it-all drama queen who thinks he's got the answers to all of life's mysteries. While his temperament is nowhere near as bad as Cosmos', he can be just as haughty and standoffish. Surprisingly, he's much easier to befriend than his leader. His insults are unintentional, he hates to sugarcoat his words, so when he gives advice, wanted or otherwise, it's blunt and to the point. Never EVER argue with him on anything, it doesn't matter who's right, he'll drag it out till he feels like the conversation is over.

He's NOT the 'Master of Wind', that is a title he despises with a passion. 'I'm the 'Master of Air', Lord Kelvin. The 'Master of Wind' was my father, and he was a dirty, treacherous, THIEF!!!' Never mention this to him, but he possesses the exact same abilities as his father such as creating sizeable storms, whirlwinds, and increasing windspeeds, something he very much likes to do to dispose of Thieves.

Spyro nearly died on his way to the library, and it wasn't due to the windspeeds, but a famished Beast who blocked his path. That was an interesting day to say the least, he met a Peace Keeper he'd never seen before, and Kelvin was actually nice to him for once. Spyro and Sparx took note of the usual Magic Crafter dislike for the Peace Keepers, but the way that Kelvin spoke to the dragon was as if his very presence was a bad omen.

His 'Vortex of Doom' surrounding the Alpine Ridge library was implemented after an incident regarding a Druid break-in. That's why Magic Crafters use alternate routes and 'short cuts' to reach the building, because the windspeeds near the eye are well over one hundred miles per hour, and no, he can't control it anymore. 'It's out of my hands now. My advice to you is never cast an angry spell, they're impossible to reason with'.

The key hanging off his neck is for 'travel'. To where? 'Wherever I please, so stop pestering me'. A key for every door? Sounds kind of intrusive, but he's not the type to pry into other people's lives. It's just one of the many, many, many ways that Magic Crafters are able to travel around the world. Don't be surprised if there's a keyhole in the wall, all that means is that Kelvin has arrived... So, bring earplugs.

The orb often pondered about by passersby is the remedy to a nasty cursed inflicted by a Cat Witch rumored to have been a 'close friend' of his prior to their falling out. 'Samantha was a heartless wench, if you ever plan on settling dow- I mean acquiring a roommate, make sure they're truly loyal to you.' What happens when the orb is removed, er... It's too embarrassing to share. Just know that it includes endless singing and lots of feathers.

He's read every book in Magic Crafters and Artisans, right now he's focusing his energy on getting Dream Weaver literature, which was easy... At first. Dream Weavers don't exactly share information through the written word, and any literary works found don't go over two thousand words. 'Ugh, it's all bedtime stories, lullabies, and dream journals. It's so juvenile, I swear, I'm never getting those precious hours back!!-' He continues on like that for a while before finally giving in to attend to his duties or whenever his listener decides they've had enough and bails.

Zander:

Within the Alpine Ridge quartet, he could be identified as a stand in for the 'straight man'. For starters, he's the most 'normal' one there, he's polite and open, but he's not above cutting corners to get the desired results. He's definitely business oriented, anytime he senses a potential sale, he starts pushing his wares like his life depends in it.

Enchanted items, enchanted items galore! He's the 'Master of Transmogrification and Magic Infusion' for good reason. Peace Keepers wanting enhanced weapons, Beast Makers wanting a perfectly balanced pot, or even Artisans needing a permanently sharpened pencil are all welcome in his shop.

He shows the boys secret tunnels and passages used by the Magic Crafters. There was one tunnel that wasn't in the Dragon Realms, it was chilly there, the leaves were a stunning red orange, but the portals lead to unfamiliar realms. Zander was oddly nervous at his little 'slip up' and quickly tried to usher them back home. Anytime Spyro tried to inquire about what they'd just seen; Zander would change the subject and try to distract him with something else. 'I don't want dumb book, uncle!! I want to know what Zephyr'

He had normal wings in his youth, when asked why or how they became crystalline, he'll reply with 'I wouldn't try anything on a customer if I didn't try it on myself'. It's true, he is more than capable of altering physical appearances, but he likes to avoid talking about his own appearance, especially if too many people are present.

The late Peace Keeper General would frequent his store for upgrades to his axe, increased durability, a lightweight grip, and his personal favorite, a blade sharp enough to cut through stone. 'He was gallant knight and a lovely friend. His passing was a great loss for us all'.

He was going to be a travelling merchant, but he wasn't able to tame a Beast and get it to pull his wagon. 'The domestic life suits me better anyway. But, if you want to look at some of my wares, I'd be more than happy to share'. He figured that the business would be good for Alpine Ridge as a whole if he stayed, so now all the wagon does is collect dust in the backroom.

'Dark Gems?... Aw, yes... Did I ever tell you about the time I was evil for a day?' He got an order from a robed figure long ago to make a staff adorned with Dark Gems, but when the staff was completed, the figure turned his own creation against him and embedded a shard into his chest. Zander became a malevolent creature with grotesque features, but as previously stated, the 'day' he's referring to was actually a month because the Magic Crafters had to wait for Cosmos to arrive back from Peace Keepers. Upon his arrival, he was greeted with frantic pleas for him to go to Alpine Ridge and save Zander from himself. Their leader was able to remove a majority of the shards, but some fused with Zander, and that's how he obtained his crystalline appearance.

Zane:

The worrywart bookworm, he's very shy around those he doesn't know, and he won't talk to people he's unfamiliar with. He prefers to watch someone from afar for weeks prior to actually speaking with them, and, no, it's not a healthy thing to do, but he can't help it. Speaking with strangers takes a lot of energy and leaves him utterly defeated if he feels he's done it wrong the 'wrong' way. It doesn't help that his speaking voice is low with a noticeable stutter, so it's no surprise that he prefers not to speak at all. 

His ability, aptly named 'mimic', allows him to learn spells and magics through 'absorption' which means all he requires is one demonstration and he quietly conjures up a page for it. He's learned so many spells that he needs a one hundred- and fifteen-pound book to hold them all. He's become a powerful mage thanks to this ability with the only limitations being that the book must be close to him, and he has to open it to cast his spells.

He admires Spyro's unbreakable spirit and doesn't mind at all when he tags along with him during errands. But he has a terrible habit of spoiling Spyro and Sparx with whatever they want. 'I-I can't deny them anything, look at t-them, they're adorable, Kelvin. Aw, I'm going to give them one more piece of candy, I'll be right b-back.' He lets them read the table of contents of his spell book; he may let them cast a few before bed if no one's around.

The spell book was originally his journal, his name is engraved on the cover in swirling gold. There's one actual entry followed by a million different spells, hexes and incantations; jarring would be putting it lightly.  'You want t-to read it? It's very boring, I wrote about the weather, m-mind you this was before my ability manifested'. Wow, it's his first entry... And it's about a... Heavy snowstorm.  He was right, that was kind of boring.

The first time he had to interact with anyone outside his realm, he froze up, which still haunts him to this day. He was a teenager then, so it's not hard to see why he cringes at the memory, oh, and this interaction just had to occur with Jarvis and Lucas, the liveliest dragons in the known realms. Lucas is polite enough to not bring it up, but it's the first topic Jarvis brings up when he sees Zane.

Indecisive when making decisions for himself, but if it's to aid others, he'll jump right in to help. 'Jumping right in', means maybe casting a spell from afar or doing most, if not all, the work in their place. Yes, he's an ABSOLUTE pushover and a people pleaser, he doesn't want to upset anyone, but he isn't completely spineless either. He won't give up the hood and he won't, will not, under any circumstances, lend the book to anyone without his guidance.

He can't fly due to an injury sustained during his adolescent, one reason he wears the hood is to cover a star-shaped scar on his head. He got caught spying on a coven of Armored Druids while casting 'mimic', and he's been unable to raise or lower his wings properly ever since. Kelvin was kind enough to share 'levitation' with him, and now it's hard to keep his feet planted on the ground for more than a millisecond.

[marvel-ousnesss]

Unrequited (Valerio x reader)

Warnings: angst, use of drugs, alcohol, cursing, cheating, breakup, mentions of Valerio x Lucrecia 

Word count: 2000-ish

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I hadn't been motivated to write anything until recently. As always, I love to hear comments, thoughts and feedback. Also, thank you so much for supporting my work, hope you enjoy 💜

Masterlist

Request

“Stop it, Valerio.” You abruptly close the book you're holding, eyeing the teacher as you place it on the desk. “They won't even let me get out of the house.”

He had been nagging you all week long about some party he was dying to go to, and you wanted to, really. The only problem was that, a few days ago, the two of you had dragged Guzman on a nightly adventure to the beach, which seemed right at the moment, since he had spent the whole summer sulking. Your dad practically had to drag you home by an ear, and, to say the least, your family didn’t wanna hear a beat about parties or your friends any time soon.

He scoffs, “seriously? Your parents are like the chillest people ever, they weren’t even that mad.”

Incredulous, you look at him up and down, betrayed by the amused grin that flicks on the corner of your lips. “Just checking, were you there on Thursday? One step out of line, and I'll be walking around with an ankle monitor.”

“Y/N, Valerio, is my class, perchance, interrupting your conversation? Should I take it elsewhere?”

With a quick apology and a glare at your boyfriend, cutting the conversation was cut short. However, it was naive to think he'd just settle for the answer you had given him.

“Whatever, Y/N," he grumbles. "I’m sure They'll let you if I,” he frames his face and smiles coyly, “am the one who asks.”

"Geez, why didn't I think of that!". Turning the page of your textbook, you deadpan. "Oh, right, dick-in-a-sock incident.”

Valerio lowers himself on his seat as his face embraces a new tone of crimson. After a second, he recovers. “Can't believe you brought up that teeny-tiny mistake of mine. Low, Y/L/N, even for you.”

You open your mouth to respond, but the bell rings.

When it stops, you continue, “Seriously, V, they've been all over me these last few days, it's a long shot.”

Both of you get out of the classroom and begin to make your way to the lockers. “Just tell them Polo’s gonna be there, don’t they love Polo?”

You sigh, checking the time on your phone. You only have fifteen minutes before your next class began, and, honestly, lack the energy to spend them trying to knock some sense into your mule of a boyfriend.

“Fine,” you settle. “I’ll call them in a minute. But, don’t get your hopes up.”

“Too late.” With a captivating smile, he leans in and pecks your cheek.

After you agreed to at least call your parents, Valerio's mood improved considerably the rest of the day. The rest of the classes went by uneventfully; before you knew it, you found yourself in the car, duffle in hand, on your way to the Montesinos'.

You arrive at their house and let yourself inside, leaving your stuff at the door and heading straight to the kitchen, looking for something to drink. When you turn around to face the stairs, Lu’s making her way down.

"So, how did you manage to dodge your sentence this time?"

"Haggled my freedom, sort of." You place a glass on the table and open the fridge to fetch a bottle of sparkling water.

She rolls her eyes and sighs, exasperated. "A call from my dad would’ve done it".

"Thanks, but it wasn’t that bad, really, " you assure, pouring some water into the glass then cutting a lemon in half. "Just have to take my brother to some birthday party next week and, in exchange, they gave me their blessing for Valerio's thing, and let me stay at yours after."

"God, Y/N, you complain about my brother 24/7 and, in the end, the two of you are just as stubborn."She grabs an apple and takes a bite. "You could've saved yourself the trouble completely."

"Oh, well."You take a seat by the kitchen bar. "Guess it takes one to know one."

"Anyway, what are you wearing tonight?"

You unlock your phone and browse through the gallery. When you find the picture, you stop and point a finger at her. "You're gonna hate me. " You show her the screen smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, my fucking god, Y/N! How- I- is that the Valentino you were drooling over the other day?"

You just grin.

"You, bitch, how did you get your hands on that?"

"Aunt Millicent."

"Of course," she huffs.

"Turns out that there were a few perks of her going off to Milan." You shrug. "But that's not important right now, what are you gonna wear?"

With that. she drags you up the stairs and into her room. You spend the rest of the afternoon immersed in makeup experiments and debates about fashion until Valerio and Guzman shout your names to start pregaming.

You enter the party together and go straight to the most vacant area of the VIP zone. After grabbing the first round, you join the others at the table and sit down with Polo and Carla for a few drinks. The group remains wrapped in conversation until Ander walks up to his friends and drags them to the bar, probably to tell them about his most recent disagreement with Omar. Soon after, Lucrecia makes eye contact with Nadia, muttering something about her daring to come, and standing up with a huff. Knowing she's physically incapable of keeping herself out of trouble, Carla stands up with a roll of her eyes and follows her.

Valerio lets his arm fall around you and chuckles, taking a sip of his drink. "And then, there were two."

“Wanna get high?" You don't wait for him to answer verbally. Instead, you grab his hands and pull the two of you to stand up.

He laughs, grabbing a bottle of whatever was on the table beside yours.

The two of you sprinted to the nearest restroom in a fit of giggles and lock the door behind you. He puts the bottle on the counter and reaches his pockets, freezing as soon as he lifts his gaze. You dig into your clutch and shake a small bag in his face.

"My treat," you grin, resembling a kid in a candy store.

"Oh, my, little miss Y/LN!" he gasps in fake horror. "What happened to the ankle monitor you were telling me about."

"I won’t tell if you won’t."You smirk, carefully arranging the lines.

The party comes to an end a few minutes before sunrise. You reunite with Lucrecia and Guzman by the entrance of the club and the four of you get in the Montesinos' car. Your head rests on Valerio's chest and he traces lazy patterns on the skin of your arm and shoulder.

When you make it to the house, Lucrecia doesn't waste a minute to drag a tipsy Guzman upstairs, waving a quick goodbye on her way. You giggle, well aware of your friends' plans for the night. Then, you head to the kitchen for a snack.

"Confess it." Your boyfriend stares at you from the stairs, arms crossed over his chest. "The only reason you ever visit is that we have a better pantry."

"To be honest, I thought you already knew that." You grab a pack of chips and walk toward his bedroom, passing by him and kissing his nose softly.

You don't fall asleep that night, writhing in Valerio's arms and debating whether or not to go find something for the hangover that was already beginning to haunt you. When you open your eyes, the first rays of sunlight are already peeking through the window. You decide to get out of bed. You throw the blanket off you and turn, expecting to see your boyfriend, but only find a mess of his blankets instead. You check the time on your cell phone: 8:22 a.m.

Seeing no point in continuing your attempts to get some sleep, you put on the shirt that was laying on Valerio's desk chair and leave the room. As you're crossing the hall to the pool, you hear noises coming through Lucrecia's door. For a moment, you think it may be her and Guzman, but remember hearing him say that he had to go home at dawn to get to a swimming competition.

You try to ignore the noise and convince yourself it's none of your business; but, when you continue to walk away, your ears are invaded by a voice you knew quite well. "It couldn't, they can't-, they're...", a million thoughts invade you. You take a deep breath and to open the door.

There are no words to describe the feeling of your heart being ripped in the blink of an eye. Your legs threaten to collapse and blood rushes to your head, making you dizzy for a brief moment. Not only do you find your boyfriend in the bed, with an unreadable expression coating his face, but you find your best friend redhanded, looking right at you like a deer in headlights.

You don't even try to digest the scene; instead, you run out of the house, suddenly not caring about your current apparel. Part of you wanted to shout what you had seen, to ruin them, but they meant too most to you. You couldn't do it, no matter how much you wanted to get it off your chest.

Luckily, your house was empty. You went straight upstairs and locked yourself in your room for the rest of the morning. You did whatever you could to take your head off what you had seen, but nothing worked. In the end, you wrote it down, desperate to get it out somehow. You hadn't opened your diary since you were twelve, but it was relieving; a weight was lifted off your shoulders.

You spend the remaining of the day so deep in thought, that you didn't even notice your family arriving from the park. You drifted off to sleep after working on some homework, only to be woken up by our brother's voice.

"Y/N, your boyfriend's here!" Hearing the word sends a jab of pain through your body. However, you reply, "I'll be down in a second."

You put on a hoodie, some shoes and leave the fort that was your room. Your parents are focused on a movie, so you take the opportunity to step into the backyard with Valerio.

You face him, trying to appear emotionless, even if your bloodshot eyes give you away.The childish gleam in his face is nowhere to be found, his shoulders are more drooping than normal, and his eyes are almost as red as yours. You wonder if it's because of the crying or the cocaine.

“How long?”

“Before I went abroad.”

You attempt to walk back into the house, but he grabs and pulls your arm, begging you to stay and listen.

You sigh. “I won't say anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He stays silent for a few seconds, bringing himself to believe that your thoughts on him were actually that low. Then he mumbles, “I don’t care about that, I know it’s unorthodox, and that you’re probably gonna stop talking to us now, and-“

You didn’t have the energy to hear him ramble. “Look, yes, I’m really shaken, to say the least, it's the first time I’ve seen something like that.” You grimaced. “But, the point is you betrayed my trust, V! Completely!” Your voice shakes, you try to clear your throat but it comes out as a sob. “I- even if it hadn’t been her, you hurt me. You promised you’d never do it, but you did!

He takes your hands, and, even if you don’t resist, feels how tense that makes you. Hours prior, it would’ve been comforting. “And I’m sorry, really. I did it without thinking, Y/N/N, it won’t happen again.”

You pull your hands out of his. “Please, V, it’s been happening for more than a year, half of the time we’ve been dating.”

He stays quiet.

You quietly question, “do you still love me?”

This time, his bottom lip quivers and his voice cracks when he answers. “I care about you, a lot, you know that.”

That’s the last you bear to hear. You avert your eyes from him. “I forgive you. You can go now.”

“Y/N/N…” He moves closer to you, but you shake your head, stopping him.

“Please,” you croak.

[anon-rebel-writes]

Something Simple

Hi! Hey! How’s it going? Good? That’s so good!

So I’ve been gone...Ha ha. I feel like I should have an excuse ready, and an apology, and a promise to do better in the future. But honestly, I don’t have...any of those.

Well I do have an apology, I’m sorry that I’ve been gone and kinda just left the internet. I don’t really look at social media as much as I used to (which honestly is super good for mental health, but kinda sucky if you do stuff on social media :P)

I haven’t had a ton of ideas lately, and when I do, I get frustrated with myself because it’s not the most amazing piece that I’ve ever worked on. I had a serious talk with my girlfriend (she’s seriously the majority of my inspiration for most of my works) and she said something that gave me an epiphany.

Sometimes you just have to make some sucky tea until you make the best tea of your life :) (I swear that makes more sense if you read the story lol)

I like domestic fluff. I like short and simple stories. So that’s what this is! I don’t wanna waste my time waiting fro inspiration to strike when I can make something to get me through writer’s block! So if you don’t mind my wacky schedule, I hope you enjoy this simple piece :)

It begins under the cut! <3 Ao3 Link

This should be easy.

It used to be easy for him when he was younger. When he was five, Luka would listen to the waves on the boat and hear a unique tune out of it. At eleven, his mom told him about an old tale she heard and he wrote lyrics based on it. Sixteen, Juleka would idly pluck her bass and he’d come up with three different songs just from the sound. Music was natural to him.

Now it was hard. Nothing inspired him. He was supposed to be a musical guy. How could this tear him down so easily! Maybe his life was too good now. No problems to sing about, no unrequited love songs, no daddy issues. His life was great! What happened to him?

After his dad came back into his life, he appreciated their little relationship. They would jam out and have fun, although it was still awkward to call him ‘dad’, it still seemed fine. He found out a lot of weird stuff with magic and identities when he was younger, but it led to Marinette confessing a huge secret to him. Misunderstandings got cleared up and they ended up reigniting their romantic relationship. After proposing to her last year, they got an apartment that was perfect for them.

Everything was perfect, really. Maybe that was the problem, everything was perfect. Juleka did tease him lately about “losing his edge”. Was his edge gone? His blue dyed hair was barely visible nowadays, any tattoos he got during university were usually covered up by his vast collection of MDC sweaters, even his ear piercings were replaced with whatever colored ones matched his outfit that day!

Maybe he was getting old. He was getting engaged to one of the sweetest people in the world, maybe her sugar-like sweetness rubbed off on him.

Was his music destined to be lost to the winds forever? Did all the talent leave his blood the moment he started settling into a domestic life? Juleka seemed to keep her musical charm, she still did small gigs with Rose in coffee shops every now and then. Ivan even toured around with his new band after university.

All Luka did now was make instruments. Was that even close to musical? His dad supported his career decision, despite intense protests. His in-laws helped him open a little shop. Everything was so easy and simple.

Even now, he waited for Marinette to come home so they could finish watching 'Halloween Wars'. He spends his nights watching reality television. Who has he become?!

It clearly led him here, on his couch, guitar in hand, with no progress being made. He wanted to make something fantastic. Something that Marinette would hear and be reminded of the songs he used to write for her. Luka would sing to her and he would tell himself how he “still has it”.

But nothing came out. No tune, no music, no notes, no lyrics, nothing. Luka sighed and put his guitar on the side of the couch and decided to take his mind off of music, at least for now. A little break should be good! Looking across the living room, he realized the utter mess he made.

Music sheets were scattered across the coffee table, pencils somehow found their way to the floor. Maybe he should clean up, just to have a clean environment to work in.

…

Or maybe he should make himself some tea. Tea always gets creative juices flowing! Not cleaning up, nope. That’s what people do when they’re avoiding stuff and Luka Couffaine does not avoid stuff! Especially not cleaning messes that look like a natural disaster hit his living room. Nope, not avoiding.

So that’s where Marinette found the love of her life two hours later after work. In the kitchen, making tea, warzone in the living room and his heart clearly broken. Opening the apartment door and seeing the utter chaos made her remember just who she was about to marry, but going into the kitchen and seeing the look of despair on his face when he realized they had no honey for his tea was just plain sad.

She took off her shoes and coat and walked over to where he stood, hunched over the counter, staring deeply into his bitter tea. Her arms wrapped around his middle and she let her head rest between his shoulder blades. “Lu? You okay?”

Instead of answering, Luka gently stirred the tea with a spoon and shook his head. “...we forgot to buy honey.”

“And…that’s the only reason you seem upset?”

One quick glance over to the living room definitely made her question if honey was truly the culprit. Then again this wouldn’t be the first time a Couffaine had caused trouble for something small. She’d never forget the shape of the boat after the Captain had lost her favorite headband.

“I… can’t make music anymore.”

Marinette slowly let go of his midsection and turned him to face her. She squinted at his face, trying to see if this was an elaborate joke. “Uh- No offense, but that doesn’t seem possible. I mean… music is second nature to you.”

“You don’t get it. I lost my edge! I’m not cool anymore. I don’t have daddy issues, or love issues, or school issues, or work issues, or-”

“Yeah yeah, you were an angsty boy. But music didn’t come from you because you were edgy. Music is just a part of who you are. Whether you have issues or not. And believe me, the songs you used to write for me were anything but edgy.”

Luka sighed and grabbed his cup of bitter tea. He looked in it and gave it to Marinette. “This tea sucks. It’s like my music. It doesn’t have that ‘umph’ that it needs to be good.” She looked into the cup and decided to take a sip. She let the flavor sit on her tongue for a bit and stared back into the cup, thinking to herself for a second.

“The tea isn’t great, I’ll give you that. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just… simple. Nothing too extraordinary, nothing too disgusting. It just tastes like tea. And maybe you just need to make simple tea every once in a while before you can go back to making your delicious Luka juice.”

He chuckled at her analogy and took the tea cup back to give it one last sip. Honestly Marinette was right, although she always tended to be right about these things, the tea wasn’t awful. It wasn’t his favorite, but not every song is his favorite either.

She gave him a kiss on his cheek before heading over to their bedroom.

Luka decided to move back over to the living room to clean the area up a little bit. He put away the massive amount of paper and took most of the pencils from the area, leaving only one sheet of music, his guitar, and a single pencil.

He let out a deep sigh and sat back down on the couch, grabbing his guitar. He sat back and stared down at the music sheet on the table. “Something simple, huh?”

[chrwrites]

Bad Ideas - Chapter 1: “I'm his girlfriend”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I wrote this for @astronavigatrix for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Secret Admirer Exchange! The prompt was Fake Dating and I decided to write '5 Times Luka and Marinette pretended to be dating and one time they didn't need to'. I had a lot of ideas for this and I ended up splitting it in chapters. I hope you like it! 💖

read on ao3

Marinette's mouth twisted at the scene in front of her, an unpleasant feeling making her stomach twist.

Luka was standing in front of his locker, nodding at a girl Marinette had never seen, a polite smile on his face as she got way too close. She was tilting her head, one finger twirling around a strand of platinum blonde hair as she raised her free hand to his arm. Her long fake nails danced slowly up and down his bicep. 

His expression twisted in annoyance and he tried to shrug her off and put some distance between them, but yet again she leaned in and all Luka could do was roll his eyes at whatever she was saying. 

Marinette grit her teeth. Didn't that girl notice how uncomfortable she was making him? Or how he wasn’t really enjoying her presence at all? Damn, Luka wasn’t even the type of person to show his annoyance like that. He was usually calm and collected. What had she done to make him act like that?

Marinette couldn’t just stand there and watch without doing anything. She had to do something before that girl, whoever she was, made Luka feel more and more uneasy. She watched him look down, his fingers twisting the spinner ring on his thumb, before deciding to take action.

“Lu!” she called, sliding her arm into his as soon as she was close and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as a greeting. She felt Luka stiffen before he relaxed into her, his eyes wide in surprise at her unexpected display of affection. “Marinette?”

The girl in front of them finally took a step back, a startled expression forming on her face while she studied them. She blinked before speaking. “And you are..?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she focused on Marinette. 

Marinette frowned, but her mouth twisted in a sweet smile as soon as she looked back at Luka, “I'm his girlfriend,” she chirped.

Fortunately, her voice didn't betray her. She slid her hand to hold Luka's and squeezed tight, looking up at him.

His eyes were wide, and a strangled sound escaped his lips before he shut it close. Marinette giggled and gave him a confident smile in the hopes that it would  reassure him. She leaned her head to his shoulder and Luka didn't flinch away, but all he managed to let out as his thumb brushed the back of her hand and tried to keep himself grounded was a choked out “Yeah…” that got him to clear his throat.

“You have a girlfriend? Since when?” the girl asked, feigning innocence in a way that sounded so familiar that made Marinette's blood boil.

Luka opened his mouth to speak, but Marinette cut him off, “That's none of your business,” she snarled. The girl huffed in annoyance, and Marinette glared at her. Luka next to her straightened up and took a deep breath, and Marinette gave a comforting squeeze to his hand.

She then  turned her attention back at the girl, who had crossed her arms as her eyes went up and down to study her.

Marinette held her gaze and didn't flinch at the disgusted expression forming in front of her. If she was going to come up with a hurtful comment, Marinette was ready to snap back. It’s not like she hadn’t dealt with disrespectful brats over time, and she wasn’t letting some cheap dollar store Barbie imitation — okay no, actually, she was pretty, but that couldn’t make up for her personality — put her down or harass her best friend. She was Marinette, she was strong and—

“But aren't you a seconde ? Such a shame Luka here's into little girls… you could do so much better,” the girl said in a saccharine voice while fluttering her fake lashes at Luka.

Marinette felt Luka's hold on her hand tightening. She raised her free hand to his chest and gave him a reassuring look, trying to wordlessly tell him that she could handle it, but his jaw was still clenched when she spoke. 

“Yeah, I know, a 16-year-old dating a 17-year-old. Shocking,” Marinette gritted through her teeth and pulled Luka towards her, making the girl scoff and check her nails. Good, now they could leave.

“Come on, I don't want us to be late for class,” Marinette said, holding Luka’s hand tighter and walking past the girl. She didn’t miss the chilling glare Luka sent her way. 

When they were far enough from Luka’s locker, Marinette started walking faster, as Luka didn't have trouble following her nervous pace with his long legs. The closed doors of the classrooms and the colorful posters on the walls passed through her eyes in a blur even as she tried to focus on them instead of the anger that was building inside her. Marinette didn't want to let some stupid Barbie wannabe ruin her day, but all she could think about were the girl’s words. The deprecative tone in her voice when she called her a seconde and told Luka that he could do much better. She didn’t know what she was talking about.

That was stupid, Luka never failed to remind her how extraordinary she was. Even now as she led him through the school and he followed her quietly, he took the first chance he had to shake her from her thoughts.“Marinette, that's not where your class is…”

“I don't care,” she said, looking for an empty classroom she could calm down in. Luka squeezed her hand reassuringly, and his thumb slowly brushed the back of her hand. Marinette took a deep breath, but his action didn't help her forget about long nails moving on his arm and the words still ringing in her head. It actually made her think about it more. 

Who the hell did she think she was?

She had no right to belittle her, to imply that she wasn't worth enough for Luka to spend time with. It didn't matter if it was only because she was trying to hit on him and Marinette was rightfully putting herself between them. She was being disrespectful towards him, invading his personal space, and Marinette couldn't just stand there and watch, right?

No, Luka was her friend and she had every right to rescue him from unwanted attention. It's not like anyone cared about who they were da—

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she realized what she had done, and how Luka had just silently rolled with it and was still holding her hand. Why would she even say something like that?

She picked a turn, opting for the art classroom that was always empty in the early hours of the morning and, when she finally found it, she slammed the door closed behind them.

“Marinette, what the fuck ?” Luka said. His bewildered expression made Marinette’s stomach twist unpleasantly.

She groaned, letting his hand go to hide her face and lean to an empty desk. “I’m so, so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have said it, but she was making you uncomfortable and I wanted to help you get rid of her.”

Luka let out a breathless laugh. “By saying that you’re my girlfriend?”

“I couldn’t come up with anything better, I’m sorry! And if you think she’ll spread the rumor, we can just say that we broke up or something. We’re not even together in the first place and I know I was stupid and I understand if you’re mad at me, but I did it because—”

“Marinette,” Luka interrupted her, his hands reaching for her wrists to gently pull her hands down and reveal her face. As he looked her in the eyes, he held a soft expression that made her feel incredibly better. “I don’t care about the rumors. Honestly, I should thank you for stepping in. I’ve been trying to let her down gently, but it didn’t work. I’m sorry you had to deal with her, too,” he said, his voice tense.

She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently before speaking. “It’s alright, Lu. I’ve learned to deal with that,” she said. 

“I know, but you shouldn’t have bothered...” he sighed.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I’m your friend Luka, and friends help each other out,”  she said. Luka nodded, but something about him seemed off. She knew Luka was the type of person to handle things by himself, but he never rejected Marinette’s help when she offered it. 

“Are you sure you’re not mad at me for saying that I’m your girlfriend?” she asked hesitantly.

Luka looked up at her and gave her a small smile. “I’m not mad at you, Mari,” he reassured. “You’re fine. Just… don’t catch me off guard with stuff like that.”

Marinette nodded and leaned to wrap her arms around him. She felt his chuckle rumble through his chest as he held her, and when she pulled away, she could finally see the easygoing smile she liked so much. 

“Who was she, by the way?” Marinette asked.

“Just some girl from Terminale D. We met at a party last weekend and she got a bit clingy,” Luka said sheepishly, one hand going up to rub his neck.

“That's putting it nicely,” Marinette chuckled.

“Well,” Luka sighed, “I did tell her I wasn't interested in her, so having her still trying to catch my attention was kinda frustrating.”

“Just a little bit,” Marinette teased, pinching her thumb and index together. 

Luka chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Thank you for coming at the right time.”

Marinette giggled, and the uneasiness she felt from making up a lie to rescue him from someone's hold disappeared. “I'll be your fake girlfriend whenever you need.”

You could be my real one.

Luka shook the thought out of his mind. Sometimes the feelings he hid deep down in his stomach made their way back up to his heart, and all he could do was push them down again. They'd already been through this, and Luka was happy with being close with Marinette without wanting more. It was only in times like this, when she was careless and maybe made some stupid choices to help him out (like, for example, saying that she was his girlfriend) that they would resurface.

But he learned how to deal with that. A few deep breaths, thinking about the smell of the Seine, and he would be fine. No more thoughts about being more than friends with Marinette.

They had known each other for years and, now that they went to school together and grew closer, he was happy that Marinette had found he was someone to count on. It was the same for him, even if sometimes it meant that he had to control the impulse to kiss her on the spot or scold himself for staring at her for too long.

The sound of the first bell rang, making Luka wince and Marinette giggle in response. He shook his head, taking a moment to recollect himself and clear his throat before speaking. “Can I walk you to class?”

“Don’t you always do that?” Marinette teased before walking to the door. 

There was only easy chatter after that, and Luka took a breath of relief as he realized he was listening to Marinette without focusing on the way her lips moved or the feeling of her shoulder brushing against his. She was complaining about some group project she had to work on in the afternoon when they reached the door of her class.

“Well, let me know if you need to be rescued again from some overly-clingy girl,” Marinette said.

Luka shook his head, letting out a small laugh. “Of course, I will.”

Marinette smiled at him but, before she could reply, the second bell rang.

Luka's hand ruffled the hair on top of her head, making Marinette wince, and his mouth moved before he could even realize what he was saying.

“See you at lunch, girlfriend.”

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

...I Need Help With My Math Test

Master List 

Little seven year old Luka was stressed beyond belief. He only had forty minutes left before he had to turn in his math test and he wasn’t even done with the first page. He knew his test anxiety was bad but he didn’t think it was this bad. It seemed he wasn’t quiet enough with his panicking because his soulmate heard him. 

‘Couffaine, I can’t concentrate with you being a nervous wreck. What has got you so wound up?’ His soulmate asked. 

‘It’s my math test Damian. I can’t remember anything.’ He mentally answered. 

‘Why is that?’ 

‘My test anxiety!’

Damian filed that bit of information away for later, ‘What is your math test about?’

‘Multiplication.’ 

‘Tell me a question.’ 

‘Uhhh, five times five.’ 

‘Twenty-five.’

‘Wait you can’t give me the answers Dami!’

‘Why not?’ 

‘That’s cheating! And cheating is bad!’

‘Do you want to fail?’ 

‘...no.’ 

‘Then write down twenty-five.’

Luka mentally grumbled about it, but still wrote down the answer. 

‘Now what are the other questions?’ Damian demanded. 

‘Okay what is nine times eight?’ Luka responded. 

‘Seventy-two, next question.’ 

And that was how the two of them spent the rest of those forty minutes. Bickering about math questions until Luka had finally finished the test with five minutes to spare. 

He flipped his test so that his answers were faced down while the blank side of the packet was faced up. He spared a glance around and saw that the rest of his classmates were either reading a book, doodling on the blank side of their math test, or had their face down on their desk and were using their arms as pillows. 

He decided to put his head down since he didn’t want to doodle or read. That would take too much concentration and he wanted to talk to Damian. Damian beat him to it.

‘I don’t understand why they put such absurd questions on that test. Johnny has 3 apples, his mother gave him 5 times that amount, how many apples does he have now? What kind of question is that?’ Damian ranted. 

‘Those are test questions. They’re always weird.’ 

‘Tt, I apologize that you must deal with that stupidity for the rest of your life.’ 

‘Not the rest of my life. Just the rest of the time I’m in school.’

‘That is what I meant. What are you doing now?’ 

‘Talking to you.’ 

Luka didn’t have to see it to know Damian was rolling his eyes. He could feel the eye roll despite him being many miles away. 

‘Besides that Couffaine, you know exactly what I meant.’ 

‘Just waiting for the bell to ring so I can go home. It should be ringing any second now.’ As he said those words to Damian the bell rang and he got up to go home. 

‘Do you not see what you got on your test yet?’ Damian questioned as Luka would usually tell him what grades he got as soon as he received them. 

Luka continued to talk to Damian as he walked to his sister's school. 'She hasn't graded them yet, I should be able to see what I got tomorrow.'

Both soulmates stayed silent for a moment. Luka because he was making sure he had the correct destination and Damian because he was thinking. Finally Damian spoke up.

'Didn't I review the multiplication with you two days ago, or yesterday?'

‘Yeah, yesterday.’ 

‘Then why were you so nervous that you forgot everything? And what does this test anxiety have to do with it.’ 

‘You don’t know what test anxiety is?’ 

‘No, now what is it?’

‘Test anxiety.’ Luka paused for a moment to think about how to explain it to him, ‘It’s where you get super nervous, anxious when taking a test. People have different types of test anxiety, mine is that I forget everything.’ 

Damian nodded to himself as Luka waved down his sister. The Couffaine siblings started walking home together when Damian started talking again. 

‘Well that doesn’t sound very pleasant.’

‘It’s not.’ 

‘Does this happen often?’

‘Often enough that I’m surprised if it doesn’t happen.’ 

‘If that happens again ask me to help you.’ He stated it more than asked if he was allowed to help.

‘Wait really?’ 

‘Yes. It is quite distracting to not only hear but feel your nervousness and if I can prevent that then I will.’ 

‘Oh, thanks Dami.’

‘Tt, there is no need to thank me. I am simply doing what is best for me which, in turn, is helping you.’ 

Luka knew that Damian was just trying to keep a little bit of his pride in not admitting that he was helping him, so he let him be. He had learned the hard way that when Damian got moody like this it was best not to tease him. 

‘Okay, well I’m almost home and I’ll have to work on homework. So talk to you when I’m done?’ 

‘Of course, I’ll be here.’ 

Luka helped his little sister walk the plank onto their houseboat and yelled to wherever their mom was that school was over and they were home. 

“LU!” The usually quiet voice of Juleka shouted at him once they got to their shared room. She took the short time where he was about to answer to jump onto her bed.

“Yes Jules?” He responded as he put his backpack down and started pulling his homework out.

“How’d the test go?” Her head was hanging upside down and all her hair almost touched the floor. He could clearly see the blood rushing to her head and he went over to get her to stop. Once she was upright he answered. 

“The test went fine.” 

“What grade did you get?” 

“Not sure yet.” 

“You think you did well?” 

A small smile, could be called a smirk, accidentally made its way onto his face. “I think I did pretty well.” 

“Really? You didn’t forget everything?”

“I mean I forgot some stuff but then I remembered.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yep.” 

Juleka was quiet for a moment as she studied him, her brown eyes staring into his soul. 

“You’re hiding something.” She finally stated. 

“What! Why would you think that?”

“Your way calmer than you usually are after a test. You didn’t say anything on the walk home and you seemed really startled when I said you’re hiding something.” Juleka listed off, brown eyes narrowed at him, “So tell me dear brother what are you hiding?”

"Nothing Juleka." Before Juleka could protest he continued, "Now if I remember correctly you have math homework you need to finish right?" 

"...right."

"Better get on that then." 

"Hmph. We're finishing this conversation later!" 

"Math homework!" 

Juleka pouted at him before grabbing her work from out of her backpack. She opened her math book and started to get to work. Luka started reading over the questions on his homework. It was silent as the two siblings worked.

That all but lasted two minutes before the siblings went back to their bickering. Damian listened from afar, feeling everything his soulmate felt and basically hearing his side of the playful argument. Luka, no matter how hard he tried, could not stop his talking from reaching his thoughts, which in turn reached Damian. 

And if during that day’s training he smiled a little too much it never left that room. And if he helped his soulmate’s argument with his sister, no one was the wiser. The only thing the people around them knew was that Luka miraculously did good on his latest math test and Damian spent a little longer training than usual. And that was how everyone’s memory of that day would stay. Some secrets don’t need to be shared, just yet.

[gemma-lemma]

Flaming Hearts - A Nalu Fanfiction

Chapter One

“Yes, yes, exactly like that, Miss Lucy. Perfect!” The photographer cheered, changing his own position with every picture he took. Lucy was currently in a studio, white linen behind her and giant lights in front of her to cast the perfect scenery for the beautiful dress she was displaying: a dark red one, that was bound in a chokehold around her neck and had a high slit on each thigh. She wore high heels in the exact same shade of red and translucent white gloves that reached up to her upper arms, but no jewellery. The photographer had decided that Lucy’s own beauty was already splendid enough. She had just giggled and told him to stop making her blush.

“And now put a hand on your hip! Pout! Smile! Squat down! Perfect, Miss Lucy. You are fantastic!”

She might have looked good, but Lucy still felt like she was a mannequin in a showcase. She didn’t really like the photo shootings for all the magazines, though she enjoyed wearing the new dresses. She would much rather have met her friends for a cup of tea or simply read a book today, since it was Sunday, but her father had insisted on her to go. He said it was good for publicity, and Lucy knew that every time he spoke of publicity any fight from her side was useless.

Jude Heartfilia was a businessman, after all. As the head of the great Heartfilia Konzern, a company that produced and distributed all kinds of chemical products, from medicine over skin care to make up, he had little time for his family, which in this place consisted of just Lucy. Her mother had died years before, and Lucy just couldn’t shake the feeling that her death was part of the reason why her father avoided her company so much and would rather work every waking minute. After all, she looked exactly like her mother Layla. Same big brown eyes, glowing blonde hair, curvy figure. It was genetics, really, though Lucy made sure to support those lucky genes with a healthy diet and lots of exercise.

»One last dress, Miss Lucy. We’re almost done.” The photographer announced and she went back to her room to get changed. That was part of the deal they had made. Lucy stood model for the dresses, but she would still get her privacy while getting changed. She had never liked to get changed in front of others, not even the maids who would help her into the complicated dresses for her father’s parties, so it was a relief that she could do it by herself here.

The new dress was of a light rosé colour, with a heart shaped décolleté and reaching down to her shins. The bodice was tight around her chest until her waist, and changed then to a flowing skirt embroidered with beautiful flowers and butterflies. It was more comfortable than the red one, though the high heeled sandals that came with it were anything but that.

“I’m ready.” She called, and a girl entered to change her make up from the darker tones for the red dress to lighter ones that suited the light one. She also changed her hair into a half-up-half-down style and curled the flowing locks with a curling iron.

“Here you go, beautiful as always.” The girl smiled, and Lucy smiled back. The last dress took the longest to photograph, probably because it suited her the best, much to her dismay. She had been sick of modelling already when they were only at the second dress.

When the shooting was finally over, and Lucy had changed back into her own black shirt and red skirt, combined with a pair of black over knees and a red purse, the photographer held her up one last time, shaking her hand enthusiastically.

“Thank you so much for coming today, Miss Lucy. I’m really looking forward to the article The Sorcerer Weekly will write. Hopefully, we will have once again the pleasure of working together!” He chattered cheerfully, but even though Lucy gave him a nod and a polite smile, she couldn’t share his enthusiasm. The Sorcerer Weekly might have been a big number regarding celebrities and business people, but when it came to women their portraits were rather sexist. They wrote about their skin care routines or what their secrets for their perfect bodies were, which wasn’t a wrong thing to do, but still quite annoying when it was the only thing they wrote about women when at the same time they asked men about the secrets to their success or what they would recommend young businesspeople to boost their own businesses.

Photoshoots like that always drained her and she couldn’t quite comprehend what could be so interesting about her showing off dresses she would never wear again. She had a great body, so what? So had countless other women. It wasn’t even an achievement, just lucky genetics. That was what she disliked the most, wasn’t it? Everyone cared for her beauty and her seemingly perfect body, but nobody really acknowledged her brains. Lucy was smart. She loved to read, and she studied astronomy for fun alongside physics and chemistry, which she needed to take over the company one day. Many of her teachers had said that her intelligence was way above the average, and she quite prided herself in that. It bothered her that all those magazines and talk shows only cared about her looks and whether she had already found a husband or not. She wasn’t even looking for a husband, and would much rather spend another few years realizing herself, but she was well aware of her role as an idol. And she didn’t like the fact that all those young girls only ever got to see her beauty, but never once heard a word of her intelligence. She would love to show them how important it was to cultivate one’s intellect or to care about one’s grades rather than their looks.

“Miss Lucy, are you ready to leave?” The driver asked politely, shaking Lucy out of her thoughts. She hadn’t even realized that she was already standing by the edge of the street, in front of the car door he held open for her. She nodded and gave him a small smile, before she entered.

Once the car started, she decided to check her phone, feeling a little lighter at the sight of the messages her friends had sent during her shooting in their group chat Fairy Tail. She didn’t even remember how they had found such a strange name, but she didn’t really mind. It sounded funny, and thoughtless, and so unlike everything else in her life.

 Levy: sent a picture

Levy: Hey Ladies, what do you think of that? It’s a party thrown by Sting Eucliffe, this super-hot singer I was telling you about. It’s this weekend, and the perfect opportunity for a girl’s night out.

 Upon further inspection the picture Levy had sent was, in fact, a flyer, held in silver, blue and purple tones and with a picture of Sting Eucliffe himself up front, showing a wide smile and finger guns. On it there were written his name, the date, and the location.

 Juvia: Yes! I’d love to come! I even heard he’s single!

Erza: Isn’t that that blonde twink who only recently left Sabertooth to become a solo artist? What a snob.

Levy: Yes, exactly. Except, he’s not a twink, Erza! He sings really good, and not even you can deny that he’s good-looking.

Juvia: He has a voice like an angel, you uncultured strawberry!

 Lucy let out a chuckle before replying. The bickering of her friends always eased her tight nerves a bit.

 Lucy: I’d love to come, but I’m afraid my father won’t let me… He doesn’t like such events.

Erza: Then we’ll sneak you out, like we did before.

Levy: Of course! We can’t go without you, Lu!

Juvia: And we’ll dress you up again, so that nobody recognizes you. You still got the wig, don’t you?

Lucy: Of course I still got the wig, you guys gifted it to me. I would never throw that away!

Levy: Naww, you’re so cute!

Lucy: But do you think that will be enough to hide me from the paparazzi?

Erza: Of course, and if anything happens, we will cover for you to run away.

Juvia: Yes!

Lucy: Thanks, guys! This means the world to me!

 Smiling, she put her phone away. They were already driving up the lane that led to her estate.

When the car halted, a maid was already there to open the car door for Lucy, and she gave her a gratuitous smile, before climbing up the steps to where another maid, Leto, was waiting.

“Welcome home, Miss Lucy. How was your photoshoot?” She smiled politely and made a small bow.

“I’m glad to see you too, Leto. The photoshoot was alright, I guess. The photographer was very enthusiastic.” Lucy answered with just the same polite smile, though it seemed a little tired.

“Aren’t they always?” Leto said warmly, and Lucy nodded in agreement. They were, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of her name or if they acted like this around any kind of celebrity.

“Seems so.”

“Mr Heartfilia is in his study. He wanted you to join him there as soon as you came back from your photoshoot.”

“Did he say why?” Lucy sighed, mentally already preparing for the uncomfortable encounter. It was almost noon, and all she wanted was to get back to her studies and maybe eat a bite. She had a big project coming up and didn’t want to waste any more time by doing pointless stuff like being photographed and complimented.

“I am afraid not, Miss Lucy, but he does have guests.” Leto answered as she led her up the stairs, feeling sorry for the girl. She knew her all too well, knowing how busy her life was and how little room she had for herself.

“Guests? Anyone I know?” This caught Lucy’s attention. Guests at the estate were rather unusual, and when there were any, she never got to meet them on purpose. She had once accidentally encountered a business partner of her father, who was storming off due to some deal that hadn’t worked out the way he had wanted to. After his temper tantrum Jude decided to hold meetings of that kind in the company rather than at his own home.

“I don’t think so, Miss. They arrived right after you left, and have been exploring the house since, but I don’t recall having seen them around here before.” Leto explained and made a small bow when they arrived at the doors to Jude Heartfilia’s study. Lucy took a deep breath and knocked, wondering about why her father’s guests would roam around the house. Did he hire a new team of bodyguards?

“Yes?” Jude’s voice sounded, and she entered.

The study was big, with high ceilings and made of dark wood. It was full of bookshelves and diplomas hanging on the walls. In the middle, right in front of a giant window, was Jude Heartfilia’s heavy wooden desk, and behind it, in a big leather chair, sat the man himself. He wore a dark brown suit, his blond hair, that was just a little darker than Lucy’s, combed back meticulously, and his piercing gaze directed right at her. It made her feel immediately uncomfortable, since usually he barely looked up from his work when he requested to talk to her. But today everything seemed to be different.

“Ah, Lucy. You’re back.” He stated and Lucy nodded, averting her eyes.

“Yes, father.”

Only then did she see the woman sitting in one of the heavy chairs across from Jude. She had big blue eyes and gorgeous white locks, which she had bound up in a high ponytail. They must be dyed, Lucy thought to herself, because the woman could only be a few years older than her. She gave Lucy a welcoming smile as she took in her black turtleneck and suit. As far as Lucy could see, she wore a skirt that fitted the blazer rather than pants.

A little farther, half hidden in the shadows of the bookshelves, Lucy spotted a man, wearing a black long-sleeved sweater and dark grey cargo pants. He had his arms crossed behind his back, and apart from his salmon-coloured hair Lucy couldn’t recognise anything about his face.

“This is Miss Mirajane Strauss, head of Strauss and Co.” Jude introduced the white-haired woman who in turn stood up and held her hand out for Lucy to shake. Frowning, she took it and realized that the woman would be visibly higher than her even without her heels.

“Strauss and Co. as in the security agency?”

“Exactly. I feel flattered that you have heard of us already.”

“Only bits. I have heard you’re supposed to be the best.” Lucy smiled, meaning her words as a challenge. When she could get rid of those who claimed to be the best, her father would be out of options.

Mirajane returned a smile so sickly sweet that Lucy knew she had understood the meaning of her words exactly but didn’t take it as an insult. That was interesting. “That is what people say, though I would not be so audacious as to say so myself. I like to let my records speak and my clients decide.”

“I have hired Miss Strauss and her people because of certain threats I have been receiving lately, and since I will be gone more often for business trips in the near future.” Jude explained and watched Mirajane stand by the side of his desk.

“Death threats?” Lucy questioned, not quite comprehending the reason for the sudden situation just yet. But death threats were nothing unusual among their circles, so what could have been so bad that he hired someone like Mirajane Strauss?

“Among other things, yes. In order to not restrict your freedom, they will accompany you every time you leave the estate and will guard the estate itself at all times, too.” In order not to restrict your freedom, Lucy could have barked out a laugh. Jude did not care for her freedom, he cared for her publicity meetings, for photoshoots and interviews. If it was just about her freedom or even her studies, he would gladly keep her at home with the best teachers he could find.

“I understand.” Lucy nodded, and so did Jude. She was dismissed and went to her own study in order to begin with her studies, and to start making plans on how to get rid of her new babysitters once again.

  Lucy: Guess who just got a new set of bodyguards.

 +++

 Natsu knew the girl was special the moment she entered her father’s study. The way she carried herself, the way she smiled and talked. She hated the idea of bodyguards, and if it hadn’t been obvious from how stiff she had become the moment she realized who Mirajane was, he would have known at least by her files. Or the deadly smile she had sent her boss. A challenge, no doubt.

Lucy Heartfilia had a track record of getting rid of both bodyguards and suitors within only a few weeks. It seemed that her game had even levelled up over time. Be it her scaring them away by being bratty and insufferable, or simply by proving them not fit for the job of protecting her by sneaking out in the middle of the night and getting photographed by some paparazzi, she had gotten rid of them all. That’s why Jude Heartfilia had contacted Mirajane, whose agency was said to be the best. Especially after the death threats and the failed attempt to break into the estate, which he probably hadn’t told his daughter about, he just needed to be sure that the heir to his company was in safe hands.

“My daughter is to be guarded at all times, do you understand, Miss Strauss?” His deep voice cut the silence, and Natsu turned his gaze from the door to the man. Mirajane nodded, gifting him her sweetest smile. It was part of her work concept, to be sweet and seem innocent. In reality she was the most dangerous person Natsu had ever encountered, and they both had been high tiers in the military before taking on their job as bodyguards. She believed that potential threats would underestimate her for her good looks and sugary words and make the mistake of coming forward, which gave her the opportunity to not only keep them far from her protégés, but also eliminate the threat emanating from them one way or another, constantly. And so far, her tactic had always worked, without exception. Dangerous men seemed to just love to underestimate kind women.

“Do not worry, Mr Heartfilia. You made the right choice to entrust Miss Lucy to us.”

“Well, well. I guess time will tell if your words are as honourable as they sound. You can go catch up with the rest of your team now.” He dismissed them and Mirajane stood up, made a polite bow, and motioned for Natsu to follow her. While Lucy’s words had been a challenge, his were a warning. If they couldn’t deliver the way he wished, he would get rid of them immediately.

Once the door fell shut behind them, the white-haired woman let out a sigh. “So, what’s your impression?” She asked, and Natsu started walking down the hallway. While Mirajane had been signing legal documents alongside Mr Heartfilia, he had taken a quick look around the house, so that he would be able to know his way around once the job actually started. He knew exactly where Mirajane wanted to go to next.

“Of the girl or her father?” He asked.

“Tell me both.”

“He seems to care for her safety, obviously, but not the way a loving father would. He cares the way an owner of some precious artifact would, and she knows. Their relationship is awful, to say the least, and believing the research I did it’s not even surprising. She hates how planned out her life is, and even more than that she hates bodyguards.” He stated and watched as Mirajane chuckled softly.

“Oh, that seems about accurate. You remember what we talked about the other day?”

“About how I’m to act around her?”

“Yeah. Be careful. I have a feeling that she will make it harder on you than the others.”

Now it was Natsu’s turn to sigh. Yes, she probably would. But he wasn’t Natsu if he would let that get in his way.

Stopping in front of the girl’s study, he raised his hand to knock, waiting for her soft voice to call them in.

Lucy Heartfilia’s study was very different from her father’s. It was packed with books, too, but where his seemed to be a bunch of classics that were bought solely for the purpose of making him look wealthy and intelligent, hers seemed to be personal. There were novels, and books about all kinds of scientific ranges or biographies about scientists and activists, and a whole shelf was packed with just what must be her old schoolbooks. Her desk was of lighter wood and an almost white colour, but even larger in space than his, and there were pens and markers of all colours neatly organized on it, right next to a big computer screen. In front of the chimney on the side wall there was a small coffee table, surrounded by armchairs and a small couch. On the table there was a staple of novels. The room seemed cosy, and personal.

“Oh, Miss Mirajane. I wasn’t expecting you to come and see me.” Lucy smiled confusedly and stood up from the chair behind her desk, starting to walk around it. Natsu couldn’t help but let his gaze roam her body again. It was gorgeous, to say the least. She had all the right curves in all the right places, wasn’t too tall either and seemed quite delicate. Her beautiful blonde locks framed her pretty face, and he could see that she wore only little makeup to accentuate her natural beauty. The girl was absolutely stunning.

Mirajane giggled. “Please, call me Mira. You don’t have to be so formal around me. I’m here because I wanted to talk some things through with you personally and thought that you might feel better if your father wasn’t present.”

This seemed to make the girl insecure, and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

“Sure. Would you like to take a seat?” She motioned for the armchairs in front of the chimney and Mirajane nodded. Once they were sat down opposite each other, Natsu went to stand behind his boss. Lucy gave him a polite smile, which he returned.

“To not beat about the bush, I’m sure you already noticed Natsu.” Mirajane introduced him and he nodded when she glanced up to him.

“He is my best man, and while my whole team will constantly care about the safety of you and your family, he will be your personal bodyguard. He will accompany you to university and to all kinds of other events. I’m afraid he will even be there when you just meet friends, as your father requested.” To Natsu it was obvious that Lucy hated every word coming out of her mouth, and yet she kept up a perfect smile. She didn’t blame Mira, he realized, even though she would make her job as hard as possible.

“What I wanted to ask you was, do you have a boyfriend, Miss Lucy?” Mirajane continued, earning a confused look from Lucy. For a moment, she didn’t seem to know what to say.

“Why is that relevant?”

“Because of the current situation, it would be an advantage if it wasn’t too obvious that Natsu is your bodyguard. Since he will be around you every time you leave the estate, a practical tactic would be for him to pretend to be your boyfriend. Only if you are comfortable with that, of course.” She quickly added, but Lucy didn’t seem entirely convinced yet. “You would not have to do anything you don’t like, just introduce him as such. If you do not want to go with this possibility, we can arrange some other cover story, of course. Our job is to take care about your safety while keeping you as comfortable as possible, so please don’t hold back with criticism.”

Lucy stayed awfully quiet for some minutes, thinking it all through. Eventually she nodded, giving Mirajane a smile that seemed a lot more honest and also mischievous than all the smiles she had put up before. Natsu swallowed hard at the wicked gleam in her angelic brown eyes. “If this is the best possibility, then I should not be the one to turn it down.”

“Great. I will leave you two to talk everything through then and check up on the rest of the team. I wish you a nice afternoon, Miss Lucy.” Mirajane stood up and bowed, before leaving the room in calm strides. When the door clicked shut behind her, Natsu turned his gaze towards Lucy.

“Will it be possible to tell the truth to my closest friends?”

“I’m afraid that I might have to advise against it.” Upon hearing his voice for thew first time, Lucy gave him an odd look.

“Just advise? Then I will tell them.“ She said, such finality in her voice that he knew, no matter what he would say would not find any soil to grow on.

“Is there anything else you would like to talk through or ask?” She questioned and stood up.

“No, Miss. I will remain here in the study with you, though.” She nodded before turning around and returning to her studies. Natsu decided to roam through her bookshelves in the meantime.

 He was currently studying an entire shelf full of astronomy books, wondering how someone could ever read something like that without banging their head against a wall, when Lucy cleared her throat behind him. Startled, he turned around, only to find her standing only centimetres beside him. How had she gotten there so quietly?

“Do you like astronomy, Natsu?” She purred, staring right up at him with her big brown doe eyes. He tried not to let it show how much impact they had on him.

He shook his head. “Can’t say I do, Miss. If anything, I’m more of psychology guy.”

“Psychology, huh?” She responded, inching closer. “Call me Lucy, will you?”

“If you wish me to.” He swallowed. What reaction was she trying to get out of him?

“I do. I’ve had psychology classes for some years myself. Loved them, though I had no time for them anymore upon entering university.” She murmured, curious eyes roaming over his chest muscles and biceps before she raised them to stare right back into his. “Have you ever been to university, Natsu?”

“I’m afraid not. After finishing high school, I went straight to the military.”  He responded, not sure as to why he was even telling her. He usually didn’t talk about his personal life to his clients.

“The military? So, you really are a tough guy…” Lucy stated, laying a hand on his arm. Only then Natsu realised that she was purposefully manipulating him, bringing him out of the concept. He shook her arm off and hardened his gaze.

“Yes, I am. May I help you with anything, Miss Lucy?”

Looking up at him, and seeing the change in his expression, Lucy smirked. The game had begun.

“Please, call me Lucy.” She repeated and turned away, walking back to her desk. With furrowed brows Natsu stared at her retreating figure, swearing that her skirt was higher up than it had been in her father’s study.

She wanted to play games, huh? Good thing he was a player then.

Hey Sweethearts, it’s me. I’m writing this fanfiction because, obviously, I love Fairy Tail, but also because I am not a native english speaker and I want to up my english game. I would really appreciate some feedback!

Have a lovely Day, your Duchess

[laora-inn]

Supernatural - 15x19. Why it’s a good ep considering Destiel

As all of my SPN metas, it’s Destiel positive and happy end positive, don’t like - don’t read.

I wasn’t disappointed of this ep’s outgoing, in fact, I’ve been waiting for something like that.  Here in September I wrote my specs for the last 7 eps, and for 15x19 there was one: “they will not talk about Cas’s saving. And he will be dead in this episode for sure”. I was especially sure about this spec after 15x18. ‘Cause THE INTRIGUE guys. 

There is no intrigue at all - only Cas’s returning/saving in 15x20 could SAVE THE SHOW. Other way - it’s never too late to rebel :) Though I don’t think it will be necessary, not in this case.  So I liked the 15x19 outcome and my hopes for the DeanCas happy end are strong as ever. 15x19 made them stronger. 

I liked a lot of things in the ep - so, so many of them. Jack and Dean’s grieving. Blood mark on Dean’s jacket. Sam and Dean’s readiness to surrender. Dean’s demand for Chuck, to return Cas - though ONLY CAS AND DEAN THEMSELVES COULD DO IT. Luci’s comeback as a fact - I speculated about it a bit here, though I thought more of Nick calling to Luci. But Nick was also Chuck’s puppet, why not?  Luci’s playing Cas - “let me in”. We saw Dean’s weakness, so clear that it hurts and could be even uncomfortable to watch. We ALL understood that was a coy the moment Luci called I suppose - but not Dean. And THIS FACT alone is nice - not the details though.  Michael’s tragedy, though hidden and not well-played - but it was there.  Chuck’s inability to love. The whole metaness of his character - “I’m cancelling your show” again. His death wish. Sam and Dean’s revenge neglect. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who we are”. Chuck as a human, without his strength. It’s strange, but I think he could be happy now! If he’ll change something in himself, of course.  Chuck’s empty Book of Death. His book is empty now, there will be no new Death... and he can start from the beginning. He can write his own story now and be redeemed - despite all the things he had done. It’s a new page for him as well. Chuck finally could be free himself.  The way Jack became the new Almighty AFTER exploding in the Empty. THE EMPTY IS THE ONE THAT GAVE HIM THE STRENGTH, it’s not the enemy. I wrote about it here.   Amara’s mentioning - and it was Sam who asked about her, she was important for both Sam and Dean all the way.  Beautiful acting - they certainly did their best with the script given. 

The way how the children should be free of their parents - Michael and Luci from Chuck, Sam and Dean from Chuck - and their dad, his name even wasn’t curved on the table by the end of the ep and despite the kind words to John in 14x13 we saw in 15x16 and 15x17 how destructive was John’s impact on Dean - not at Sam, ‘cause Dean was protecting Sam all along. Jack from Sam and Dean - this freedom is blurred though ‘cause of Cas’s absence in the episode structure. But his freedom is a good thing itself - for Jack it’s impossible to be a human, Kelly believed that. Cas believed that. Cas saw paradise on earth - so Jack’s chosen fate was in being a Child who is everywhere, in all of us, who doesn’t play with us, but lets us act ourselves. He isn’t the God as we understand him in strict norms, he isn’t cruel and abusive.  And he should be free of any expectations from Sam and Dean - Cas said it in 15x18 to him. Jack is a grown-up in his own manner. He is independent now, and that’s a good thing. 

Also, there is a promise in these shots:

We see these shots 3 times - before Jack returns all the humans, in the process of returning (see the girl whose bike was abandoned at the road at the end of 15x18 and at 15x19 beginning?) and when he talks about him being everywhere.  One More. The One.  Is Jack the One now? Is he the one more One?  Is it ONE MORE EPISODE? One more story? One more thing? One more... You can continue the thought if you want. All I want to say - these shots are visually important and I find them hopeful :)

I liked Sam and Dean in the end. I’m a Destiel shipper but I’ve never hated Sam and Sam and Dean’s relationship. I just think it’s not good for this relationship to be romantic - it’s not good for both of Sam and Dean. But I respect them and their bond and don’t see anything bad for DeanCas ship in it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite - Sam was helping both Cas and Dean all the time. I’m afraid of thinking what will happen without him. Nothing good I suppose. I liked the way this scene was filmed. It’s also hopeful for me - though the double reading here is possible.  But I think “just us” is not the end.  I liked the names curved on the table as the fact. Now it’s confirmed - they ARE a family. All of them.

I liked the choice of the song - Running on Empty. Wow. Symbolically - ‘cause the Empty in the story is the separate character AND the place, you know. I liked a clip-show at the end. It’s nostalgic and sweet, and it has Cas in it - he IS the part of that, not only as Dean’s love interest, hey. He has his own party.  Here the story of blood ends.  What’s next?

We’ll wait and see. 

And now - some things in 15x19 which left me disappointed. 

I must confess that I’ve always loved SPN myth-arcs and wasn’t noticing Destiel as a thing for a while because my interests weren’t in the field of shipping. This show wasn’t about shipping for me - and the weirdest, it isn’t about shipping for me now. It’s a DAMN GOOD STORY WITH THE SENSE. And the sense is love. Yep. 

So this episode didn’t do well with the myth-arc.  

You see, I kinda enjoyed some of Buckleming eps. For instance, 15x13 - I love it, and there are some more. I’ve even appreciated their lack of subtext, parallels, allusions sometimes. They could be very specific. One more example - when Dean in 11x03 cupped Cas’s face, it was very easy to understand the ROMANTIC nature of their relationship and stuff.

But this ep?! 

Pandemic situation added some stress I suppose. Nevertheless, all the story with Lucifer and Michael is just catastrophic. The only strong part was Lucifer telling Michael how Chuck can’t love - and the fact that his words were confirmed by the plot, and Chuck’s inability to love finally ended him. We’ve known that. We’ve predicted that. I’ve written about it here. 

“You’ve killed your own son” (c) Dean, who didn’t do that.   

But the rest part of this story---ugh. Killing Luci so easily? Michael is so plain as a character? Are you f*cking kidding me?!! Even AU!Michael was more interesting, I swear. I had a feeling that I myself could write this part of story better. And it’s not about lack of Cas as Dean’s love interest or hope for his returning, or for DeanCas whatever, I’m pretty sure we will get all of that. It’s about the myth-arc only! One of the main ones from season 4! 

All this epic story of Luci and Mike could be done much more better. Like WAY MORE BETTER. With the same convo, you know,with the same outcome, which is absolutely correct - we are not supposed to serve our parents. But different details, WTF! And that’s my main point here. 

There are some other things that I’m disappointed about, though less:   1) Betty the Reaper was a total WTF either despite of her eager lines. 2) I need more explanations about how exactly Jack gained his new power, how is he reunited with Amara, how he returned all the people BUT NOT Donna, Bobbie, Charlie, Jody, Eileen, Cas - not the people HE cares about. Or they are not important for him now? This thing could be resolved in 15x20 though. 3) I didn’t like physical violence from Chuck. A) I have some doubts if he can properly do it, he like to watch. What’s changed? I’m not convinced. B) I felt physical pain from that scene. It was awful. It all could be showed for us in a different way, but they didn’t want that. 4) I didn’t like how Chuck’s mind changes every second. I don’t kill you, I don’t care about you, you’ll live and suffer, no, I’ll kill you. It could be written more properly, but hey. This part is much more harder to fix that Luci and Mike’s. 5) I didn’t like the dog move. Like AT ALL. I loved Jensen’s kind voice and his acting, but: A) all these doggy parallels are not for me, I didn’t like how Cas was called a dog before - in Buckleming eps specifically (and that terrible parallel in 8x15!), but not only there. I didn’t like when Atropos called Sam and Dean Cas’s pets either. Not my kink, sorry - and it’s JUST TOO THICK; B) it’s classic move. So classic that it’s dumb! The Bad Guy always hurts some cute pets. Kitties, doggies, birds whatever. That’s how we are supposed to understand that he is Bad. Hey, we all know that Chuck is bad. Why to add something? To mess with Destihellers? Not helping here. 6) The moment with Luci instead of Cas (for Dean, for Jack) could be less “haha gays” and more proper either I guess. It feels more like a mocking to me the way it is, whether the idea was good. Luci played Cas for Dean before (11x11, 11x14), as he played Jess for Sam and Sarah for Nick, and he played a father for Jack. He was in his place there - a mock from Chuck. But you can’t blame Chuck on the poor writing ALL THE TIME. 7)  Also the music. It just didn’t feel right.

8) The end for Jack is right... but also somehow confusing, like something is omitted. Or SOMEONE. You know whom.

Someone whose absence also made Michael so plain, I suppose. 

Jack’s story started with Cas, I think it couldn’t end without him. Jack was so devastated to hear about his death - and all is OK in the finale? ‘Cause he is the Almighty now? And Michael - he was also connected to Cas, we saw it in 14x10, in 15x08 - all the way actually. There should be some mentioning of Cas from Michael I think. Not from the DeanCas point of view - it’s Adam who noticed something in 15x08, not Michael, Michael was angry with Cas. But somehow their connection made Michael stronger as a character. Okay, he is not strong enough to rebel. But that’s Cas who said that! He said that he felt sorry for Michael, that it’s Lucifer who was always the smart one. 

Without this context Michael isn’t easy to understand - though we heard that Adam is erased and I liked that. That’s a hint - Michael had a strong will when he had Adam, without Adam he is lost, just like AU!Michael was. 

I think he is lost because he killed his Lucifer - in both cases. He gave Chuck his ending - and Chuck can’t respect that, he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like to win.  So Michael couldn’t rebel though he’d known about Chuck’s motives from Cas, and not because of love, but because him being a cuck.  And all this will be much more easier to understand with Cas’s mentioning. But NO. We had a dog instead. Like WTF again??? 

The Jack’s part could be fixed in 15x20 I suppose. But not Michael’s part.  Well, sorry for him.  Now I must add the myth-arc was also connected with Cas all along. He is not just the main hero’s love interest - well, HE IS, but he has also his role in the plot. HE IS A REAL TRICKSTER of the show, the rebellious one, the rule-breaker - at all levels. So without even MENTIONING him in the main myth-arc all this arc looks like a card house, and not as proper as Luci’s card house from this ep was. 

This arc deserved much more better. It deserved Cas as a trickster. Don’t like him even mentioned ‘cause he’s also Dean’s love interest? Well, say good-bye to a proper myth story. And that’s a shame, in my opinion. 

‘Cause 15x20 could be 15x19 and vice versa and both eps could win ‘cause of that. 

Well, that’s the reality we live in. And we’ve got so much goodness already. We should be thankful for that. 

9) Who the hell is curved Jack and Cas’s names on the table? Sam and Dean? Jack? With Mary, it had sense, with all these flashbacks. I understood she curved her name herself. What’s for Cas and Jack? What’s the point? Dead for good? I know that’s NOT the point. So what is it? I can’t understand it here. 

We need continuation, guys! :)

[janeyseymour]

Dessert For Breakfast

I’ve decided to continue with this little SiX/Waitress crossover, so uh, here you go?? 

prompt: ooo i'm so glad to see that people are liking the jane and jenna story :') i can't wait to see what you write next! what if bo gets sad at the time jane spends with the pomatters. less in a mom/daughter way (personally i see bo and jane as close friends like abby and andrea would be) but more like jane is slipping away. jane is still around and ALL the queens hangout at least once a week so it's not like anything has really changed. it's a shift in the ~vibe~ ahfkjajf if that makes sense

I’m not quite sure that my brain did what it was supposed to over even really followed the prompt all that much, but I hope you still enjoy it? 

Since beginning to nanny for the Pomatter-Hunterson household, Jane had grown quite fond of the family. Oftentimes, long after the day’s work was done, the blonde hung around with the three.

Not much had changed in reality. The other five queens were usually out of the house during the times where Jane was watching Lulu. It’s just that every once in a while, the second queen would walk into the house expecting a home cooked meal to be on the table like it so often was only to be met with a silent household. The third queen would rush into the house mere minutes later apologizing profusely about how “Lu kept begging me to stay for dinner. I couldn’t say no to that sweet little face,” or “Lulu was so excited to have all of us together. I couldn’t leave right when Jim and Jenna got home.”

It’s not that Anne was jealous of the six year old. No. Even she, as petty as the green queen could be, would not be jealous of a six year old. So, the second queen let her successor have her fun. If Jane was happy, well then so be it. She could wait another thirty minutes to eat. 

But more and more, the conversation with the blonde would turn into “Jenna said the funniest thing today,” or “Oh yeah! Jenna and I did this today,” and that’s what would drive Anne up a wall. 

Since being reincarnated and travelling on tour together before settling at their home in New York, Anne and Jane had a special bond. It wasn’t quite like a mother-daughter dynamic as the avid fans of the show made it out to be; they were just exceptionally close friends. Regardless of who Jane was with, her mothering tendencies were bound to shine at some point; it just happened to be that she was out with her predecessor a lot. 

“Oh! Jenna and I-” Jane began.

“Would you shut up about Jenna? I get it! She’s great, she’s your new best friend, blah blah blah,” Anne snapped.

“What?” Jane was visibly confused. Anne was her best friend, not Jenna. 

“All you do now whenever you're here now is talking about Lulu, Jim and Jenna. What about us Jane? What about me?” The second queen asked the last question rather quietly. She was a bit embarrassed to admit she felt this way.

“Annie,” Jane sighed gently, her tone immediately getting soft. “Is that how you really feel?”

“I-” Anne threw her arms up in exasperation. “I don’t know!”

“Honey,” Jane reached out towards her friend. “Is that really how you feel?”

“It’s just that you always used to be around whenever I wanted to do something. You’re not always now. I don’t know,” Anne looked up at the blonde. “Maybe I’m just being stupid. You deserve to have other friends. I’m sorry.”

“If I made you feel that you’re not my best friend anymore, I’m really sorry Annie. You’re always going to be my number one. I can do my best to be here more again.”

“No!” Anne shook her head. “I was being selfish. I guess I just got used to having you around all the time. If Jenna and Lulu make you happy, you should hang out with them. I can go vibe on my own.”

“What if,” Jane smiled at her thought. “On Saturday, we head over to Jenna’s diner and grab some breakfast pie?”

“Dude, really? You always say I can’t have dessert for breakfast.”

“I think I can make an exception this once. Her pies are literally to die for.”

“Yes!” Anne fist pumped. 

So that Saturday, the two walked down to Lulu’s Pies. 

“Oh hey Jane,” Jenna smiled from behind the cash register when she saw the blonde. 

“Jane!” Lulu came bouncing out from behind her mother. “Guess what! I have-” the little girl took in that Jane wasn’t by herself this time. “Oh my gosh! You’re the lady from the cafe! Thank you so much for that extra treat!”

Anne smiled. She didn’t think that her sneaking an extra treat into the young one’s bag would be remembered a month later. “Anne.” She grinned.

“I’m Lulu. This is my mama. Do you want a slice of pie? My mama makes the best pies in the whole world! Today’s special is In The Dark, Dark Chocolate pie.” Anne had to bite back a laugh. The pie’s name was so dirty, but hearing it come out of the six year old’s mouth with such innocence was adorable. “There’s also Wild, Wild Berry pie, or Mermaid Marshmallow. Or, Lulu’s Strawberry Dream pie. That one’s named after me! And guess what? I made it up!” Anne could see why Jane had grown so fond of the youngster.

“That would be awesome! Do you think you can pick the slice of pie for me?” Anne grinned. 

“Yeah! But, we gotta sit down first. We can sit in my booth!” Anne was pulled by Lulu to a small booth in the back of the diner. 

“Jane!” Lulu called. “Come on! We have some coloring to do! Mama even bought me new colored pencils!” 

“Go on hun. I can bring over your usual. Anything special for Anne?”

“Maybe some hot chocolate?”

“You got it. I’ll be over to talk. The others have it covered for a while.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Anne asked the little one. Lulu nodded excitedly. “Jane never lets me have sweets this early,” she stage-whispered as she saw the blonde approaching.

“She doesn’t let me either,” Lulu laughed. “Mama and Daddy don’t either. They say I gotta eat all my vegetables before I can have pie.” 

“You girls are already gossiping about me?” Jane laughed good-heartedly as she sat down across the booth that Anne and Lulu were occupying. 

“No!” Both girls' hands shot up in defense. The two had very similar tendencies. 

“I’m just joking, loves.” 

“Alrighty, I got a cup o’ Joe for Jane, and two hot chocolates.” Jenna laughed as she watched the younger girls’ eyes light up.

“Really Mama? I get to have hot chocolate this early?” Lulu asked excitedly.

“A sweet treat every once in a while doesn’t hurt babe,” Jenna pushed the drink towards her daughter. “Just be careful not to spill.”

“Jane told me you like hot chocolate?” Jenna pushed the other one towards the girl with space buns. 

“Yes. Thank you,” Anne’s energy shifted with the presence of the woman she was slightly jealous of. 

“No problem hun. I’m just gonna go grab the pies, and then would you mind if I joined y’all?” Jenna wandered away only to return seconds later with four slices of pie.

“So you’re Jenna.” Anne looked the brunette up and down.

“So,” Jenna sighed as she took a seat next to Jane. “You’re the one who sugared up my daughter?” She looked at Anne.

“Ma’am, I-” Anne started getting defensive.

“Love, she’s just joking,” Jane stopped the second queen before she could finish her sentence. 

“No, no, I don’t mind at all. It’s not every day a broadway icon gives your daughter an extra cookie because she had good manners,” Jenna smiled. Anne relaxed slightly at this. She was still a bit weary of the brunette.“I’m sorry if I came off as rude at first.”

“It’s alright.” Anne lifted the fork up to her mouth and took a bite. The second queen’s face went from neutral to a grin in mere seconds.“Holy-”

“Anne,” Jane interrupted.

“Holy moly this is great!” Anne dove into her slice of chocolate pie. “How did you do this?”

“It’s baked from the heart,” Jenna grinned.

“No, seriously! How did you-”

“Anne! Look! I drew us!” Lulu shoved a paper in the second queen’s face. 

“Wow! This is so good!” Anne complimented. 

“You can have it if you want!”

“I’ll make sure it goes in a very special place in my room. Do you think you could sign it for me?”

“Yes!” Lulu wrote her name down on the paper before handing it back to Anne. “It’s not that good, but Mama says with practice, my handwriting will get a lot better!”

“You know Lu, Anne used to sign things all the time! She was on Broadway with Jane. Isn’t that cool?” 

“You and Jane were on Broadway together?” Lulu looked up at her new friend with big eyes.

“Yep. Me and ol’ Janey-”

“Not old,” Jane interjected. 

“Me and ol’ Janey did a show together! It was a lot of fun!” 

“Not old!” Jane laughed once again.

“The show was amazing,” Jenna said earnestly. “You have a spectacular voice. I wish I had that kind of talent.”

“Thank you!” Anne let herself go. Maybe this woman isn’t so bad afterall, she thought.

“I’m serious Anne. Your voice is killer. And my husband had tears rolling down his face from laughing so hard at some of the things you said. You were amazing.”

“Thank you so much. This pie is amazing.” The green queen turned her attention to Jane. “Is this where you disappear to every Saturday morning?” Jane nodded sheepishly.

“What does she get?” Anne turned her attention to Jenna.

“She gets pie,” Lulu ratted out the blonde. 

“Jane!” Anne exclaimed. “You preach all of this stuff about eating healthy and ‘no dessert’ before our meals, and you sneak off and eat pie every Saturday for breakfast?” 

“No?” Jane’s voice went up an octave.

“Oh just wait until Aragon gets a load of-”

“If you don’t tell her, you can come with me,” the blonde offered.

“Annie! You should come!” Lulu jumped around.

“You’re always welcome to come hang out with us on Saturday mornings. I’ll have a nice hot cup of cocoa waiting for you,” Jenna enticed the woman.

“You got me with the hot chocolate.” Anne pointed at the brunette. “I like you. Feeding into my bad habits.”

“Let’s not make a habit of it.” Jane put her head in her hands.

“So, you got any dirt on ol’ Janey here?” Anne spoke through a mouthful of pie. 

“Sometimes Jane will bring me to the diner to visit Mama, and she’ll always have a slice of whatever the special is.”

“I like you kid,” Anne chuckled. “I got one. One time I caught her in the kitchen at like 3 in the morning baking cookies for herself. I was silenced with a promise of getting half the batch.”

“One time Mama was eating ice cream out of the container! She let me have some if I didn’t tell Daddy.”

“And you did anyway.” 

“He wasn’t mad Mama,” Lulu giggled.

“Not with you anyway,” Jenna muttered. “I got a stern talking to.”

The four spent the morning together laughing sharing different anecdotes about each other. Every once in a while, Jane and Jenna would make eye contact and smile. 

When Jane and Anne made their way out the door, Lulu smothered them both in hugs. 

“I’ll see you next week?” Lulu asked Anne expectedly. 

“For sure.” The second queen hugged the small girl tightly. “Thank you for my drawings.” Anne held up the several pieces of paper Lulu had gifted her with.

“If you guys are ever up for it, I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind if you came over for dinner one night,” Jane offered. 

“Oh, we wouldn’t want to impose.” Jenna waved her off.

“None of them will care,” Anne said. “Once they meet you guys, they’ll know why all Jane talks about is you guys anymore.”

“Oh?” Jenna’s eyebrows shot up. She didn’t know her family had been the talk of the house.

“All good things I promise,” Jane assured. 

“Just bring a couple pies, and you’ll have their hearts,” Anne joked.

“Noted.”

With promises of returning the following weekend, Jane and Anne made their way out of the diner, bellies full- and both with a slice of Mermaid Marshmallow pie. 

As they were walking, Anne admitted, “You know, I walked into that diner intending on hating Jenna.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t though.”

“That’s good love.”

“She’s real good at baking.”

“That she is.”

“And Lulu is adorable.”

“That she is.”

“Can they come over for dinner soon? I think they’d fit in well.”

“I think they would too.”

“Hey, did you know that you and Jenna look kind of similar?”

“Oh her husband has made it known that he thinks that for a while now.”

Turns out, Jane having another friend was also a good thing for Anne: she got free pie and hot chocolate every Saturday morning now.

[shemakesmusic-uk]

This segment features artists who have submitted their tracks/videos to She Makes Music. If you would like to be featured here then please send an e-mail to shemakesmusic@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Bayleigh Cheek

Dallas native Bayleigh Cheek began her love affair with music at an early age thanks to her immersive upbringing. Both parents were in the music scene, exposing her to a variety of sounds ranging from psychedelic and folk to progressive rock and new wave. Some of her personal music influences include Patti Smith, P.J. Harvey, Radiohead, and Angel Olsen. Those influences led to the creation of her EP, Immortals, that was self-released in early 2020 which brought her DOMA nominations for Best New Artist and Best EP. Her latest single is ‘Release Me’. "This song is about what it means to realize you've believed a lie, or false identity of yourself, and the process of becoming free from it and knowing the truth,” explains Bayleigh. “Growing up listening to a range of genres, from psychedelic and folk to progressive rock and new wave, ‘Release Me’ opened my eyes to the world of synths and everything electronics can provide to create a whole new universe of sound. Taking something seemingly fun and cheerful on the outside, and revealing something deeper on the inside. Before I started writing my upcoming debut album, I decided to be more vulnerable, honest and raw. I've hidden behind surrealism, which is still a big part of my art and always will be, but in light of the pandemic, I felt I needed to really let myself be open and not hide anymore. I'm becoming the person I've always wanted to become, and art will always be there as gentle reminders." Listen below.

Bayleigh Cheek · Release Me

Cozy Slippers

Cozy Slippers have released their first new music since 2019’s single ‘A Million Pieces’ b/w ‘Will You Disappear?’ (Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten) and the band’s tour of the United Kingdom. Like everyone else, the Seattle indie band had to adapt to the challenges of 2020 and beyond. ‘When Will When Come?’ is the first release to come from a year’s worth of home recordings done by the band. “We started from scratch. We didn’t have any gear and hadn’t really thought about recording ourselves before. It was so great to escape the stressful outside world for a while by recording and meeting on Zoom to put it all together,” explains vocalist and bassist Sarah Engel. While the band couldn’t be in the same room at the same time, they made use of samples from their prior recordings in order to stamp their sound and personality on the song. “We did whatever we could to get this thing recorded. Some of the vocals I recorded into my phone while sitting alone in my car or late at night when everybody else was asleep. It was a challenge to find space to be creative and alone time to make the recording happen during the past year,” remembers drummer and vocalist Barbara Barrilleaux. The track was mixed by Dylan Wall (Versing, Great Grandpa, and High Sunn).  Lyrically, ‘When Will When Come?’ is a plea from one person to another to embrace life’s messy possibilities -- to live before it is too late. Instead of participating in their own life, the subject of the song stares out a window and fantasizes about pink flamingos.  “I remember the first time I heard Sarah singing the lyrics. I thought the idea of somebody daydreaming about traveling to see flamingos was weirdly sad. Flamingos look cool, but the world has a lot of other things I’d want to see before a bunch of birds. It seemed poignant to have such a relatively small wish and still be unwilling to make it reality,” recalls guitarist Steven Skelton. Listen below.

Cozy Slippers · When Will When Come?

Everstill

New York-based alternative rock band Everstill have released ‘In Your Dreams,’ their first single off their debut album, Longing. Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sara Aridi (vocals, bass, guitars, keys) weaves her melodic guitars and haunting vocal harmonies with percussionist Luca Bertaglia’s pulsating drums to evoke sounds that are at once melancholic and euphoric. The group draws from disparate influences and genres including grunge, indie rock, jazz, metal, folk and more. ‘In Your Dreams,’ recalls artists like Warpaint, Wolf Alice and Chelsea Wolfe. Aridi wrote the song — something of a seductive plea to an unknowing crush — in 2015. A year later she met Bertaglia while playing in an alt-prog band, and the pair reconnected in early 2020 to bring her songs to life. They found themselves working on their debut album during the pandemic. Listen to ‘In Your Dreams’ below.

Everstill · In Your Dreams

No Lore

No Lore is unlike any other indie alt-pop duo. It all started when Manila-based visual artist Tita Halaman decided to make music out of her paintings and poetry with her brother Jerald. As an artist, she wants to elevate her audience’s experience by expounding the message of her paintings through the art of words and sound. No Lore’s goal is to continuously release a new song with a painting every month and to publish a book out of it. The band name No Lore comes from the concept of having no formal studies in visual art, music, and poetry. Both Tita Halaman and Jerald are self-taught and everything is D.I.Y. from ideation to audio and video production. New single ‘With Little Light’ is “a song about courage,” explains Tita. “I believe there is no such thing as complete darkness to a soul that thrives to seek for “light” everywhere. With all that’s happening these days, I hope that we can still see hope no matter how little it may seem. Hope prevails if we believe. I’m a visual artist here in the Philippines and my signature style is writing poems at the back of my paintings,” she continues of her creative process. “On top of that, me and my brother Jerald are also into music - we’ve been playing together and learning different instruments since we were kids. No Lore is our attempt to create a layered expression of our emotions. I’d say our songs are my art and poetry, but in sonic form. Every song is inspired by a specific painting of mine and the latter serves as the former’s cover art.” Listen to ‘With Little Light’ below.

Another Nguyen

Ngoc-Anh is a Vietnamese German independent artist from Berlin performing under the name Another Nguyen. She has just released her new single ��My Friend’ which was entirely written, produced, mixed and mastered by women. She says of the song: “I wrote this song after a friend of mine opened up to me that her long-term partner was physically abusive towards her. Hearing her story was shocking because I had always perceived them as a very happy couple. With this song I want to tell my friend and anyone who has experienced intimate partner violence that "I see you" and "You are not alone". Listen below.

ANOTHER NGUYEN · My Friend

Noni A.

‘20s’ is the new single from the Berlin-based artist Noni A. Written in her bedroom and turned into a chill pop production by her brother, ‘20s’ talks about the aspects in your twenties that happen in the background but are not often addressed. 21-year-old singer-songwriter Noni A was born and raised in Prague in a German-Greek household. In 2020 Noni A. released her debut single ‘Losing Game’, an acoustic pop ballad. Currently based in Berlin, Noni dives into a different sonic direction in her new music. Inspired by the sound of Jeremy Zucker, Audrey Mika and Quinn XCII, Noni A. blends emotionally honest and unreserved lyrics with a clean and minimalist chill pop production. With her new single ‘20s’, Noni A. takes a new sonic direction. '20s' dives into the chill pop scene, including lo-fi elements, more samples, underlined by a strong beat. "I walked into my kitchen one evening and had absolutely no motivation to clean it,” says Noni A. “Apparently when you’re 20 that becomes a regular activity (cheers to my mom for letting me live blissfully unaware of this and cleaning up my stuff too). This realisation of my day-to-day life as a 20-something-year-old turned into the inspiration of '20s'. This song talks about all those things that everyone experiences in their twenties that happen in the background of our lives: moving out of your hometown, adjusting to life on your own, procrastinating (if you say you don't procrastinate, stop lying) and learning how to use your washing machine (in my opinion a straight-up mystery)." Listen below.

Noni A. · NONI A - 20s

Chrissie Huntley

One of Bristol’s most promising new artists, Chrissie Huntley has released her brand new single, ‘Supposed to Be’. Huntley decided to use the time granted by national lockdowns to her advantage. Collaborating with musicians across the globe and transforming her closet into a home studio, Chrissie has spent the past year equipping herself with a brand new body of work to return to the stage with later in 2021. ‘Supposed to Be’ is the first of a series of single releases set for release this year, and is one that the Brit School graduate holds close to her heart: “‘Supposed to Be’ is one of the first songs I ever wrote when I was a teenager and I just got dumped by the guy who I thought was supposed to be “the one”. I think we’ve all been in that position where you know that it’s over, but you just want to hold on and pretend just a little while longer…” Recorded in Bristol with upcoming songwriter and producer Laurence Fazakerley Buglass, the track demonstrates why Chrissie’s effortless vocals have had such an effect on her audience to date. Working with rising producers Jon Will, Gabriel Gifford (Harvey Causon, Maya Law, Lucy Lu) and Peter Beckmann (Gregory Porter, Laura Mvula, Marie Dahlstrom) to bring the song to life; ‘Supposed to Be’ is the perfect balance of collective ingenuity, creativity and talent...  mixed with the exposed, emotional honesty that comes with having your heart broken. “... It’s a very vulnerable track I suppose. It was very raw at the time of writing and I never had any intention of releasing it- it was more like a therapy to me than anything else. But, seven years later and here we are! Releasing this as an introduction to my new sound seemed like the perfect fit, as it holds the part of me that first turned to music at a time where I was struggling, which went on to become the entire premise of my musical journey..." Listen below.

Karen Harding

Weaving enchanting melodies straight from the heart, Karen Harding crafts, intimate heartfelt tracks that help us become ones with ourselves. The kind of one-to-one soul conversations that dig deep into our hearts and wake emotions once thought long gone. She specializes in helping people shed away their insecurities and finally feel again in a special moment of true authenticity. Drawing from a lifetime of experience, the Melbourne-based singer crafts bittersweet melodies that move and inspire. She gorgeously crafts an entire experience with every timeless track she creates. The emerging singer has just  released her debut track ‘I Didn’t Realise’. The heartbreak ballad talks on the struggle of an earth shatteringly painful breakup in a way so intimate it feels like we’re right there with her. It’s a reflective song that navigates us through every raw emotion during the healing process; from processing the pain to finally coming to terms with what’s happened. Truly a breath-taking journey that will leave you with a deep sense of wonder. The song was passionately penned in the peak of Covid-19 on a piano she played growing up. Like much of her music it came to her very organically. She had the chords already laid out and the words just flowed out of her soul naturally. It wasn’t created with the intention of being turned into a record. Rather it was a simple moment of self-expression based on the way she currently felt. The result is something deeply authentic that’s oozing in originality. She worked with acclaimed producer Josh Hennessy of Pivotal Music to bring the project to life. He helped add the magic to this simplistic yet innovative piano and vocal track. Listen below.

KarenHarding · I Didn't Realise