#please pb release rod 2 let them be happy

[raleighcarrera]

finally

ride or die | colt kaneko x mc (ellie wheeler)

but the truth is this / i’ve never seen a mouth that i would kill to kiss / and i’m terrified / but i can’t resist

a coda set somewhere between chapters 7 and 9.

~4.2k words | M (18+)

out of all the girls in los angeles -- out of all the girls in california -- out of all the girls in the world... why did it have to be her?

he’d had crushes before. he’d met plenty of girls that made him feel uncomfortable, not like himself, nervous. 

and yet none of the girls he’d ever hooked up with made him feel quite like she did.

only ellie could craft that particular cocktail of deep irritation and annoyance mixed with an aching, longing desire to fuck that self-righteous tone out of her voice and shake it up until he was simmering. she was the only girl he’d ever met who instantly, without even talking to him all that much, located each of his buttons and figured out how to press them perfectly with little more than a few pointed words. 

so of course she had to be infatuated with the most insufferable person he’d ever met. it didn’t make any sense; a girl like her should have never looked twice at a loser like logan. he had absolutely nothing to offer her. if colt was being honest with himself, it made him sick. she was wasting her time with an idiot kid who didn’t know how to handle her, and logan was completely ignoring her potential. he didn’t understand what she was capable of... but colt did.

and the thought of what she could do for the crew? what she could do with him, if they put their heads together... admittedly turned him on a little bit.

okay, a lot.

but he saw the way she looked at him. ellie didn’t seem to notice or care that logan hardly knew what she was worth -- she was obsessed with him nonetheless, sleeping in his fucking bed every night, making eyes at him from across the garage every day, taking his side in every argument, even though he was a moron who never knew what he was talking about.

colt was quick to anger; he was self-aware enough to know that. despite his temper, he also knew how to be patient -- how to bide his time carefully. maybe that was in his blood, passed down from his old man. maybe that was what made him such a good planner, what made any scheme he could come up with have a higher probability of success -- he knew when it was important to act, and when it was important to wait.

it was inevitable that logan would find a way to fuck up. he was out of his league with ellie, and he had to know that. all colt had to do was hold out.

eventually, what he’d been waiting for fell right into his lap. but he’d never wanted it like this. 

his blood boiled as he stormed out of the shop. he felt like he wanted to punch something -- or someone -- but there was no one around, except for his dad, who he’d just left alone in his office. his mind was racing a mile a minute as he tried to process the information he’d been given.

jesus. how could they do that to her? and not even feel badly about it? 

and now he was part of it, too. every minute he didn’t tell her, he was contributing. he was helping them -- helping logan take advantage of her. 

a strange feeling was churning in his stomach, twisting it into knots. colt could feel it eating away at his already frayed nerves, and grit his teeth once he identified what it was. guilt. 

now she had him feeling guilty, too -- for something he didn’t even do! that was just great. that was perfect.

as if he’d conjured her, just by being angry, ellie’s car pulled slowly into the street in front of the shop. he glared at her as she got out and walked over to him. once she was close enough to see his face without the sun in her eyes, her smile dipped.

“colt? everything okay?”

he tried his best to swallow down some of his anger, but the concern in her voice just worsened it -- what was she doing, worrying about him? he hadn’t even been all that nice to her. 

colt stared at her, at war with himself. god, was he angry -- at logan, at his dad, at himself for being in this shitty position. what the fuck was he supposed to do? all he’d ever wanted was for his dad to trust him, to bring him into the operation -- and now he finally had a way to prove his loyalty, and he didn’t fucking want it. 

he was dangerously close to blurting it all out. and once he told her, he couldn’t undo it. 

“i need to get out of here,” he said abruptly, pushing off the brick wall he’d been leaning against. every second he spent with her looking at him like that brought him closer to a place he knew he could never come back from.

“what’s going on?” fuck her. the expression on her face was open and sincere; ellie looked genuinely worried. fuck her for acting like she wanted to understand him. she was going to go back to her life after this -- at the end of the summer, she’d give it all up and go straight, head off to college and put the whole crew in her rear view mirror. they’d become a story to be shared during drinking games -- the craziest thing she’d ever done. her dirty secret.

“it’s nothing.” he turned and headed inside, towards his bike. he needed to clear his head, and he couldn’t think straight with her looking at him like that. 

but she was nothing if not persistent. ellie followed him inside and stood in his way. “where are you going?”

“what’s it to you?” his voice was rough, the words harsh. he needed to get her to leave him alone, but -- all of his usual tricks seemed to be escaping him. 

her brow furrowed. colt looked away when she frowned at him. the expression on her face felt... wrong. “you’re obviously -- upset,” she said carefully, “maybe i could come with you?”

he laughed humorlessly. before he could stop himself, colt said, “you’re the one i need to get away from.”

he pulled his helmet out from under the bike, not looking at her. “me?” she sounded confused. “why? what did i ever do to you?”

“nothing,” he bit out defensively, “just -- move, so i can get out of here.”

she shook her head stubbornly. his eyes settled on her hands, which were planted firmly on her hips. “no, i’m coming with you.”

“no, you’re not.”

“yes, i am.”

“fine.” colt reached for the spare helmet and shoved it at her. “if you think that’s what you want. then be my guest.” 

she was quiet when she slipped on the back of the bike; he hesitated as his hands found the handlebars. just because she was a colossal pain in the ass didn’t mean that he wanted her to fall off on the 405. “hold on, princess.”

her arms looped around his waist and squeezed tight. as he sped out of the garage and headed towards the highway, he tried to remember the last time he had a girl on the back of his bike. girls at school always loved it when he showed up to parties, but he rarely extended the invite to join him to anyone, even chicks he wanted to sleep with. 

of course, ellie was a whole different animal -- not that he was keen on examining that in further detail. 

she didn’t say a word on the whole drive down to malibu, but eventually he felt himself relaxing, his breathing turning peaceful as the tension bled from his shoulders. a ride like this always managed to clear his head, and it seemed like it didn’t matter if his biggest stressor was tagging along with him -- speeding down the road with the breeze from the ocean beside him still worked to lighten his mood like a charm.

still, he found it tough to look at her when they both finally stepped off the bike. the stretch of the beach he’d pulled up to was blessedly deserted, and colt drew in a deep breath as he dropped wordlessly down into the sand, staring out at the ocean. after a minute, ellie came and sat down next to him.

“do you want to talk about it?”

just like that, the guilt was back. he knew he should tell her. it was the right thing to do. “yes,” colt answered honestly, “but i can’t. i’m sorry.”

surprisingly, she actually seemed to understand. logan had probably done that to her -- forced her to learn to accept non-answers and bullshit when she deserved the truth. his jaw tightened. 

“if you change your mind,” she started softly, “you can always tell me anything.” colt forced himself to turn his head and look her in the eyes. again, she seemed annoyingly sincere. “you can trust me.”

“i don’t trust anyone.” 

for some reason, that made her smile. maybe he was getting predictable. “well, you can trust me,” ellie reiterated, “that’s a promise. and i never break a promise.”

this whole thing was so fucked. he had to tell her the truth. if he didn’t tell her, he’d just be hurting her more -- ellie was going to be crushed when she found out. she so obviously thought the sun rose and set with logan. it was going to ruin her life if she ever found out what was weighing so heavily on his mind.

he could feel the words coming up, beyond his control. he was going to blow it.

desperate for a way to stop himself, colt leaned in and kissed her. that was probably just as bad, but -- it worked. everything except for the feeling of her lips on his faded away, and he lost himself in how incredible it was to finally, finally give into the temptation to sink his teeth into her invitingly full bottom lip...

she gasped when he pulled away. the reality of what he’d just done was starting to sink in. this was something he couldn’t ever undo, either.

“i shouldn’t do this.” maybe if he acknowledged it out loud, it’d help him find a way to stop -- or she would realize that he was right, and stop him; colt wished she would scream and push him away and shove him into the sand, but...

she didn’t. she had her hands bunched in his jacket, and she was staring at him with wide, dark eyes.

oh, well. one way or another, his life was already over, anyway.

colt tangled a hand in her hair and pulled her in again. ellie immediately opened up for him, groaning and parting her lips for his tongue. colt held her tightly as she fell against him and kissed her hungrily, his mouth searching and insistent, his intent to completely devour her perfectly obvious. his free hand slid down her side and mapped the curve of her body, committing it to memory. 

any moment now, she was going to do what he wanted and shove him off of her, so he was greedy in taking his fill, knowing he’d need the memories to stop himself from doing something insane when he saw logan next. remembering this, later tonight, was the only way he was going to be able to get some sleep.

otherwise, knowing that she was in his bed with no idea that he was using her, like an asshole, would kill him. 

ellie pushed forward, trying to climb into his lap. he scrambled back on the sand to let her, welcoming her on top of his thighs with a shiver. his mouth broke away from hers to trail frantic kisses along her jaw, dragging his lips across her soft, sun-warm skin. 

carefully, she moved her hands under the hem of his shirt. her palms were warm on the muscles of his stomach and they tensed under her touch as she ran her fingers along the defined lines she found there. he unwillingly let out a shaky sigh. if she didn’t stop --

“god damnit,” he groaned, lifting his head out of the space between her neck and shoulder. he stared at her, breathing hard. ellie looked beautifully debauched, her hair mussed and her cheeks flushed. she was so fucking gorgeous. “fuck.”

his eyes were stuck on her throat as she swallowed. “colt... it’s okay.”

absolutely none of this was okay. in fact, it was misery -- this entire mess was the last thing he’d ever wanted. he shook his head as he reached up and gently pushed her out of his lap, back onto the sand. “it’s not. we’re not doing this.”

her eyes narrowed. sure. she was probably very used to getting her way, especially since logan had to keep her happy one way or another. “why not?”

his heart was racing. he exhaled, running a hand down his face. the anger he’d been doing his best to repress rushed back to him all at once. fuck her for making him resent his dad for involving him in this. fuck her for making him feel this way, for being a weakness. fuck her for looking at him like that, like how she usually looked at logan.

fuck him for wanting her to. 

“look --” he stared out at the ocean. that awful, sick feeling was back again. “there are things you don’t know, okay?” 

colt pushed the envelope in a lot of ways. he took chances most people wouldn’t, he did things even people who broke the law often couldn’t dream of. he was a risk taker by nature. he wasn’t the type of guy who’d hold off on taking something he really, really wanted.

but he wouldn’t do this to her. he was nothing like logan, and he didn’t want to be. because she deserved better.

“and you have a boyfriend. and you’re happy. so we shouldn’t --”

ellie shook her head. “logan’s not my boyfriend.”

he snorted. “you sleep in his bed every night. you don’t need to patronize me.”

his eyes cut back towards her just in time to watch her cheeks flush deeper. “i’m not. he sleeps on the couch.”

wow. logan really was an idiot. “are you serious?”

“if you don’t want to do this, you can just tell me. you don’t need to make up some reason to get me to back off.” her voice was defensive, and she looked almost embarrassed, when he turned his head back in her direction.

it was actually pretty funny, that she could even think for one second that he didn’t want to kiss her until they both ran out of air. 

...but she didn’t take kindly to him actually laughing about it. “colt!”

“sorry.” he smirked at her for the first time all day, feeling a little more like himself as his face pulled into the familiar expression. “but that’s hilarious. of course i want to do this. it’s one of the only things i ever think about.”

his pulse sped up as he watched ellie’s eyes drop deliberately to his lips.

with all the self-restraint he had, he firmly continued, “but we’re not doing it. not while you’re... doing whatever you’re doing with him.”

his eyes traveled over her one last time, taking in the soft, inviting curve of her lips, the way her hair framed her face, how her wide, expressive eyes were staring at him. he was going to be dreaming about this for days. 

“so... what?” ellie asked softly. “you want me to -- break up with him?”

he blinked. she had to be kidding. “huh?”

“you said you won’t while i’m -- i mean, we’re not dating, but what would it take? i’d have to find someplace else to stay?”

one of the most annoying things about her was ellie’s ability to leave him speechless. “jesus.” he was frustratingly tongue-tied. he hated what she did to him. “no. come on -- be honest with yourself. i see the way you look at him. you don’t want this.”

“that’s for me to decide,” she argued. “you don’t get to make that decision for me.”

“got it,” he agreed, nodding, “now it makes sense. you only think you want this because i said no.” he thought back to when she’d stormed over to the shop in the rain, ranting and raving about how she’d finally stood up for herself, how her dad didn’t trust her to make her own decisions. she thought that doing this would give her a taste of independence. of course that was it. 

colt’s lips twitched as ellie’s mouth dropped open indignantly. she was cute when she was pissed off. “that’s not true! how i feel about you has nothing to do with logan.”

he couldn’t think about this now. this wasn’t what he’d come out here to do. he stood up, brushing sand off his jeans. “come on, i need to take you back. the crew will be wondering where you went.”

colt held a hand out to ellie to help her up. she glared at him as she took it, standing with her jaw set in a hard line, determination in her eyes. he barely had a second to wonder what that look was for before she tugged on their clasped hands, pulling him in close.

ellie’s free hand gripped the back of his head and she kissed him again, her mouth scorching and all-consuming. he didn’t stop her, resting his hand on her waist and letting her take the reigns, lazily moving his mouth against hers. out here, they were just two dumb kids, making out on the beach. so far from the city, there was no one to stop them, and he knew it was probably stupid not to take advantage of that. they might never be alone like this again.

“if we have to stop when we get back,” she whispered, pressing her body in along his, “then i don’t want to go back yet.”

damnit. damnit. damnit. what was wrong with him? her words lit something inside him on fire, and just like that, he couldn’t control himself anymore. his lips found hers again and he lifted ellie into his arms, groaning when she locked her legs around his waist. slowly, he lowered her down into the sand.

colt kneeled over her, trying not to be too demanding -- but it was hard. she was stretched out beneath him, looking like a birthday present, and he was only human. out of all the girls in los angeles, in the state, in the world -- he wanted her. 

his hands touched her stomach, her thighs, her face. he tried not to think about the sounds she was making and if she made them when she was with logan, too, his ever-present jealousy rearing its ugly head for the briefest moment before he swallowed it with her next groan. 

if he didn’t stop soon, they were going to get dangerously close to public indecency. 

“hey,” he said roughly, pulling back enough to press their foreheads together, breathing hard. “i don’t want you to do something you’re going to regret.” 

her eyes tracked his face quickly. ellie’s breathing was labored, too. “you seem pretty adamant that i’m making a mistake.”

well. wasn’t she? 

colt stared at her seriously. “you don’t know what you want. i don’t want you to blow it before you figure it out.”

logan would forgive her, though. he wasn’t like colt; he’d forgive her for messing around behind his back and never think about it again. it wouldn’t keep him up at night, like it did to him. 

“your concern is touching.” her voice was dry -- sarcastic, and he probably deserved that. a taste of his own medicine. colt watched her teeth dig into her own swollen bottom lip. she seemed to be lost in thought. “alright,” ellie said finally, “let’s make this last one count.”

all of her limbs wrapped around him and held on tightly. colt kissed her with everything he had, giving in and letting himself go for it. there was no holding back. he let the part of himself that had been wanting to do this since the sideshow take over and kissed her hard, determined to give her something she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about. after today, if she had to go back to logan’s bed, he wanted it to be with thoughts of him. he needed her to not be able to forget this. 

eventually, she moaned for air, and he forced himself to let her go. ellie’s head tipped back against the sand and he watched her suck in a few deep breaths, sliding his hands reverently down her sides one last time. 

okay. he could do this. all he had to do was get up. 

her legs squeezed around his waist. damnit.

colt’s lips kissed a trail down her neck, down into the open front of her shirt. if only they were somewhere private, then she’d see what he was really capable of. he’d fantasized about a number of things he wanted to do to her, but the position they were in now was really doing it for him -- the thought of holding her down and giving it to her slow was making his whole body tingle. 

ellie wove her fingers into the hair at the back of his head and lifted his face out of her shirt. she was smiling. “it’s getting late.”

he sighed. “yeah.” they’d have to get back to reality sooner or later. he pushed up onto his hands and pressed one last, lingering kiss to her lips. ellie cupped the back of his neck in her hand, and then rolled out from underneath him, pushing to stand.

she was covered in sand. he bit back a smirk as she brushed it from her thighs and tried to shake out the legs of her shorts. 

“you know, maybe next time i’ll take you to my favorite spot,” he remarked, as they walked slowly back towards his bike. colt pointedly didn’t think about the way they were both dragging their feet, trying to prolong the inevitable.

“yeah? where’s that?”

“my old man used to take me to this cliff out here, overlooking the water. i’d jump off all the time as a kid, but -- i haven’t done it in years.” he handed her the spare helmet, more gently this time. ellie ducked her head and smiled down at it, like he’d just given her a gift. 

“cliff jumping,” she remarked, laughing under her breath. “very on brand.”

his eyes traveled up and down the length of her body. out here, he could really let himself look. for some reason, she wanted him to. “hey, what’s life without a little danger?”

she nestled up neatly behind him as he tore away from the pier. in another life, he might’ve made a day out of their trip -- taken her onto the boardwalk and let her play carnival games, bought her an ice cream, kissed her at the top of the ferris wheel. 

but the cards they’d been dealt were different. and he had to make do with what he had. 

he pulled over when they were a block from the garage, lifting his helmet so she could hear him. “go ahead. say you went for a walk.”

ellie looked unsure, but he held firm. after a beat, she got off the bike and put the spare helmet away. he watched her expectantly, waiting for her to start walking away. 

“thank you,” she said softly, “for today. i feel like i know you a little better now.”

yeah. that was what he’d been afraid of. that sick feeling of guilt rushed him again, and he grimaced, looking away. “don’t get used to it.”

ellie laughed, reaching out to pull his helmet back down. she slid the face shield over his eyes, then leaned in and pressed her lips to the glass. “i’ll see you later?”

sure. why not? that’d be the cherry on top of this fucking disaster of a day, if he got to hang out at the shop tonight and watch her play grab-ass with her boyfriend. 

he needed a plan. he had to figure something else out. they couldn’t do this forever.

but in the meantime... he knew there was no way he’d be able to stay away. “yeah.”

he watched her walk off into the sunset. she turned the corner and disappeared, heading towards the shop. he still felt unbearably hot under the collar, warm from the phantom press of her lips. 

colt knew he couldn’t outrun the way he felt forever, but even just an afternoon of peace would be welcome. he kicked off from the curb, heading back towards the highway. 

he’d have to clear his head all over again.

[mfackenthal]

The MFackenthal Show with Birthday Girl @lilyofchoices

banner by @whenyourheartskipsabeat

~~~~~

Megs: Hello hello hello! Today is a very very very special day and I am so excited to announce my next guest.  Please give an extra special welcome to our birthday girl, Lily!

The crowd stands up and cheers as Lily comes from off stage, waves to the crowd and gives Megs a big hug!  When Lily sits down, the audience get quiet. 

Megs:  Wow!  Look at how you command this crowd, Lily.  This group loves you!  I cannot believe you have only been here since March.  

Lily: I know!  It feels like it has been so much longer. 

Megs:  So, how did you come up with your tumblr handle? 

Lily: I hate coming up with names and titles. They are the bane of my existence. Just ask any of my friends on tumblr I’m constantly asking them for help or whining at them. Thank the gods I have help. So my tumblr handle is super boring and unoriginal. It is my name (well one of my middle names) and I’m “of the choices fandom” so...of choices. Yeah, you can groan. It’s bad. I know.

Megs:  Are you really telling me, MFackenthal, that your handle is unoriginal?  

Lily: laughs 

Megs: Anyways, tell me, what brought you to the fandom? 

Lily: Well, I live for crazy and this site definitely delivers on that. Joking, kinda. In all honesty, I created that tumblr on a whim after I went looking for more fanfic to read.  I found @perriewinklenerdie @hopelessromantic1352 and @ahumanmishap and loved their writing.  Their writing inspired me to just go for it!   I created this blog just to post shit and geek out with myself about the newest chapter releases and share whatever fics I discovered. I never in a million years expected to find so many friends and awesome people.

Megs:  But find so many friends you did!  

Lily:  Yes, I did!  They’re all amazing. Well … takes calming breath I’ve had my fair share of disagreements in this fandom and while the haters are hard to deal with and they can get exhausting, they are far, FAR outnumbered by those in this fandom that are here to have fun and be crazy and silly and don’t care if your opinions differ from their own. I live for those types of beautiful people that make this fandom amazing! Plus have you seen the level of talent from the writers and artists in this fandom? I’m constantly in awe of them all.

Megs:  The talent amazes me every day!  Speaking of talent - what’s your favorite work that you have created? 

Lily: Damn girl. You are asking all the tough questions. Why ya gotta do that to me? 

Megs:  laughs and shrugs her shoulders  It’s kinda my job, girl! 

Lily:  smirks  I guess I'd have to say that I love the first chapter of my Merida fic. I wrote it as a distraction, a break if you will, from my real life writing which is dry and boring. We had all just made our way through the Open Heart chapter where Ethan tells mc that Naveen is dying and then Pb won’t let us even hug Ethan. I desperately wanted that so I decided to write it. I’m going on chapter 32 of that fic now. I need help. Oh, but my favorite as far as fandom reactions goes was definitely the chapter where that dirty rat stabs Merida. Y'all lost your minds and it was hilarious.

The audience gasps.  “Oh yeah, I remember that chapter.”  “Landry is the worst.” Members of the audience whisper. 

Megs: I remember that chapter.  I feared you’d go the way of @laniquelovewrites and kill Merida! 

Lily: winks

Megs: shakes her head Do you have any advice for other writers or artists?  Especially those from within the fandom? 

Lily: Well, talking to all you not-yet-writers out there - take the ducking leap lovelies! Do it! Don’t worry about language, grammar, flow, tempo, timing, editing, just write it. I rarely edit mine beyond a cursory review. And ya know what? This fandom loves whatever you give us. And I’m at the front of that line waiting to read it. Seriously! Tag me in anything you write! 

Also, don’t be concerned about likes and reblogs. My first fic only got like 15 likes when I first released it. It’s hard not to get caught up in wanting likes and reblogs and comments. Hell, I live for them. And ya want to think that a lack of those means no one likes it, but trust me, there are plenty of people enjoying your work that don’t like, comment, or reblog. Try not to focus on the likes but on your fic and know that there are those out there enjoying the hell out of it!

And I’m always willing to review anything and everything. If you want someone to look it over first, I am here for you.  But I warn you now, I will encourage you to share it with everyone.

By the end of this little speech, the entire audience is up and clapping.  Standing ovation. 

Megs:  Look at that crowd, Lily.  It’s obvious that you speak the truth.  

Lily:  Whispers to Megs: Don’t worry - I can get them all to sit down. Ask me about the choices books. 

Megs:  So Lily, have you read all of the choices books? 

Lily:  I feel like I’m going to have to duck behind this couch as soon as I say what I’m about to say. No, I’ve not played them all. I’ve played most. I tried to play The Freshman, Big Sky Country, Sunkissed, and America’s Most Eligible but I couldn’t. I have replayed countless books. Thomas, Ethan, Sonia, the entire Perfect Match crew, the entire Nightbound crew, and Jake - I’ve played all of their options.

Now Megs, I have only admitted this once and after this we will never speak of it again hangs head in shame I am a sucker for one particularly hated Choices book. Want to take a guess? I've, no joke, replayed this more times than I should admit. No one will follow me after this. I...I, love Home for the Holidays. 

Lily gets up and ducks behind couch while many in the crowd sit down.  

Lily:  This is now my home. I will live back here so no one can see me in my shame. 

Megs:  walks around the couch to sit with Lily loudly saying: Well, as I enjoyed that book a lot and very much miss Nick, if you live back here then I will have to live back here with you … but this is kinda a crappy place to continue this interview so I’m gonna move back to front of the couch, okay?

Megs walks back around the couch and sits down.  

Well, you did get people to sit down, Lily.  Gives her audience the stink eyes.  Where were we?  Oh yes, which book is your favorite? 

Lily: stands up behind the couch Well, I’m going to stay behind the couch at this point because I'm not going to say Open Heart and I know I'm going to hear about it. Hero is my favorite book. It was the first I played and I absolutely loved it! The art! The characters! The story! It had it all! If Pb doesn't give me Hero 2 in 2020 I’m not sure what I’ll do now that they’ve teased me. But I’ve also learned that they like to tease me.  Lily jumps over the couch in a superhero type move and lands sitting down next to Megs.

Megs: Nice moves!  So who is your favorite OTP? 

Lily: I will always say Detective Jason Shaw and my mc Ashtyn Stark to this question. I loved the book RoD until the end when our option of which side to help disappeared and we had to help MPC. I was so excited to see a book that allowed you to pick which side to help, Police/Brotherhood, MPC, or both. You should know by now that I love the villains and all I wanted was for my mc to side with Shaw. 

Bryce and Harper are another OTP for me. I found a few others out there that ship this but @tallulahshh is a godsend when it comes to this ship. Her fics on these two are so amazing! For reals, you should all check them out. She will convince you that this is the ship to be on. 

Megs: Gasps!  I should kick you off this couch for loving a Bryce ship over an Ethan ship.  YOU WRITE FOR ETHAN!  

Lily:  What can I say?  The heart wants who it wants. 

Megs: Yeah, yeah.  What do you do when you’re not producing work for the fandom?  What else do you do for fun? 

Lily: I teach Latin and Formal Logic and I also write (journalism and academic pieces).   My fanfics are my break from my dry writings. I know y'all are dying to read about how Latin could revitalize the modern American educational system. I love to cook, read, hike, and spend time with my family. I live in the city now but I'm a country girl at heart. Give me open fields to run through, dense forests to explore, water to kayak on and I'm a happy one.

Megs:  That sounds wonderful.  Lily, one last question - do you have any questions for me? 

Lily: Ah, you should not give me this power. What non-LI would you make a LI if you could and why? I must know, please tell me!

Megs:  Oh, that’s easy - Bastien!  The drama is already built in because of his part in the Tariq plot and damn @stopforamoment, @bobasheebaby, and @lolablackwrites have made that man irresistible. 

A second and more strange one is actually Emerald Phan from High School Story: A Class Act Chapter 2.  She’s technically an adult when I’m (MC) technically a high schooler … but I would date this gal.  She’s gorgeous!

Before you leave, Lily, I need to ask one last thing of you.  Please close your eyes. 

Lily closes her eyes

@msjpuddleduck, @anxious-arliah, @meindraws, @keepcreative, @brightpinkpeppercorn, @tallulahshh, @twin-skltns all come on stage, pushing a large cart with a beautiful cake that says “Happy Birthday Lily!”  They all start singing Happy Birthday.  The entire audience joins in. 

As soon as people start singing, Lily opens her eyes and smiles really big.  

Lily: Oh my gosh, you guys, I love it!  

Megs:  Happy Birthday, Lily!  We’re all sooooo glad that you’re here.  Blow out your candles, beautiful!

Lily: Takes a deep breath and blows out the candles in one puff. 

The audience cheers!

Megs:  It’s cake for everyone!  

Those on stages start cutting and plating the cake.  Others start handing a slice to everyone in the audience. 

Megs:  And that’s today’s show everyone!  Thanks for coming!  Join me next time when @hopelessromantic1532 will be the guest star.  Have a GREAT week and please, join me in wishing @lilyofchoices a wonderful birthday! 

~~~~~

I’m guessing @lilyofchoices will get this when she wakes up - but it should be officially her birthday right now!

And now for the tags.  If you want to be added to the tag list for these or removed, please let me know!

@hopefulmoonobject @queen-among-writers, @hopelessromantic1352, @lilyofchoices, @msjpuddleduck, @theroyalweisme, @lady-kato