By The Sea teaser

Summary: Francine thinks she has her life figured out. She’s going to marry her fiancé, and like in all the fairy tales, she’s going to live happily ever after. Except he dumps her, on her wedding day, and now the only thing she can do is keep moving forward. Her journey keeps taking her to warm sands and beautiful waters, but can she find love there? For my Summer of Love series. Full piece can be found here on AO3.

Part 1: The Honeymoon

Chapter 1

Francine was letting her hairdresser work her magic. She’d hired the woman on a whim, but also because a friend of hers used the woman for her wedding and her hair looked like something out of a fairytale. She needed no instruction other than her style needed to accommodate her veil, which the woman said she could do in a very thick accent before getting to work. Francine watched in the mirror as her hair transformed, at least until the woman turned her chair.

At First Sight

Nigel was pouring his second coffee of the morning when she walked in. Principal Haney led her to the center of the teacher’s lounge, his presence alone silencing the room. When Nigel had finished pouring his cup and had completely turned around, Principal Haney began his introduction:

“Everyone, this is Melanie Fuller. She’ll be joining our team as the new art teacher, well, substitute art teacher while…well you all know,” Principal Haney smiled, gesturing to Melanie, “We want to welcome you to the team, Melanie, and if you need anything, anything at all, let us know right away.”

“Oh, I will,” Melanie replied with a southern accent. Nigel felt himself swoon, a feeling he hadn’t felt in ages, probably since he was back in grade school. Crushes weren’t part of his vocabulary and they never had been, something he was almost proud of. No crush had ever gotten in the way of him moving up in the world, yet here he stood, swooning over a new teacher that was probably half his age.

Animal Matchmaking

Summary: Francine has had a crush for a while on a particular classmate. When she keeps putting off reasons to tell him, a particular feline decides to take matters into his own paws. Will Nemo be successful?

Francine was attempted to do homework when Nemo bounded into the room. He dropped a leaf onto her page before strutting around her bed. Francine scoffed at her crazy kitten as he kneaded the corner of her mattress.

“Yes, yes, you did good, Nemo, but I’m trying to study,” Francine said, tossing his leaf onto the floor. Nemo went straight from ‘loving fluff ball’ to ‘ninja-in-training’, diving on the leaf and chasing it into the hallway, nearly knocking Catherine over on the way out.

Life-Long Crush

Summary: Arthur’s heart was always meant for one girl. Throughout his life he pines for her, but the two never end up together. How can he live with such a life-long crush?

Arthur was playing outside with his preschool class. Francine and Fern were nearby on the blacktop, trying to put together a game of hopscotch. Arthur and Buster were drawing an alien landscape nearby with their own chalk, their conversation simple as they colored in their wobbly lines.

“I need these!” Francine said firmly, stomping up to the boys. Before they could protest, their box of chalk was across the blacktop, finishing the top of the hopscotch board while Fern colored nearby.

The Letter Writer

Summary: Buster uses mysterious letters to track down the girl he thinks has a wild crush on him. What he discovers is who he expected, but the situation is not all it seems. Can also be found here on ff.net.

Buster opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Just as he knew it would be, the room he stood in was open to the elements, a warm breeze blowing through open windows. Dust bunnies waltzed around the floor as he stepped outside into the comforting sunlight. He found her there, a paintbrush in her hand as she took in the landscape.

Pairing Discussion 2

Well my last pairing discussion had hits and misses for some of you, but I expected that when I decided to write about some of the fandom’s most-used pairings (and pairings I should use more for various reasons). This time around I want to discuss the oddballs, longshots, and just HUH? pairings to see what you all think.

Pairings Discussed:

• Arthur x Marina (with some Buster x Marina insights)
• Francine x Muffy
• Sue Ellen x Fern
• Binky x Boy
• Arthur x Buster
• Bitzi x Teacher
• Pal x Killer
• DW x Tibble/ Emily x Tibble
• Ladonna x Arthur
• Brain x Lydia

Warnings: Some language and sexual talk; PG-13/T rated discussion. Note that some pairings are slash/femslash.

The Art of Love

Summary: Rattles has a huge crush on Sue Ellen. They have an art class together that lets him see her every day. But when some horseplay causes him to ruin her painting, he has to find a way to make it up to her. Can Rattles fix the damage? Can they ever be together?

Can also be found here.

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Sue Ellen had her tongue stuck out slightly with concentration. The entire canvas depended on her making careful brush strokes, which meant ignoring the loud class around her. She was in an art class at Elwood City High, and judging by the daily noise and confusion, most of the kids thought the high school was a zoo instead. Sue Ellen did her best to ignore them, but today, the piece had to be perfect to complete her artistic vision.

Suddenly the canvas leaped off the easel and onto the floor, causing her to paint across the entire painting as it nearly fell into her lap. Sue Ellen cried out in horror as the boy responsible appeared in her field of vision.

Pairing Discussion 1

[Written February 28]

So I really enjoyed my entry about the Tough Customers, which I’m glad you all enjoyed and commented on. Because I loved it so much, I figured I’d do another one, at home, to discuss some other things in the fandom. Today’s entry will discuss some of the pairings, both canon and fandom pairings, to show you all what I think about them. I have quite a few pairings listed and discussed here, but I want you all to weigh in as much as possible. I may even have to break this up actually…. It’s a little long.

Pairings discussed:

• Arthur x Francine
• Arthur x Sue Ellen
• Buster x Fern
• Buster x Kate
• DW x James
• Binky x Molly
• Brain x Sue Ellen

Naomi’s World

SUMMARY: Sixteen-year-old Arthur is experiencing an interesting life change. After getting into a bicycle accident and breaking his arm, he’s thrown onto the Hottie List of Elwood City High. Girls are finally noticing him, but Arthur thinks it’s for the worst reason in the world. To make matters worse, a hot young babysitter named Naomi is hired by the Read’s to help care for Arthur, DW, Kate, and their four-year-old younger siblings, Ricky and Vicky, while Arthur is out of commission. Will Naomi fulfill her duties and make life for the Read’s better, or will she only make things worse as she too joins the pursuit of the handsome Arthur Read? Find out in Naomi’s World, and be prepared for plenty of twists and turns.

Important notes:

• This piece is Rated K+, so there won’t be any cursing, naughty bits, etc.
• This piece has nothing to do with my other piece, Sophomore Sorrows.
• Each chapter is divided into named sections for easy division.

Chapter One

|Introductions|

Arthur felt stupid for the bicycle accident that broke his arm. He was sixteen; he’d been riding for years. But after one major bump, BOOM!, he was over the handlebars. The crack and the pain was unmistakable: He’d broken his arm badly, and he was lucky to not need surgery to fix it.

In The Beginning

Summary: Arthur has a crush, but it’s not your standard crush. He’s in love with a sweet, lovely smell coming from the hair of Elwood City High’s newest student, Jade West. He just doesn’t know it’s her scent. Can he connect the two, and if he can, does he have what it takes to become the boyfriend of beautiful Jade? Can also be found here

Part 1 of 3.

Smells Like Teen Crushes

Arthur was intoxicated. He wasn’t drinking; he was smelling a beautiful scent, a scent that filled his science class every morning. He dreamed about the scent, dreamed of flying through it like a beautiful bird. He had a crush on this scent, and he wondered every morning where it came from.