#athenasparrow

[tifftoms]

GUYS!!!

I decided to get one of my stories printed into a book, AND IT ARRIVED TODAY 🥹

Look at it! Look at ittttt! 😍

Ah! Anyway, I wanted to thank @scriibble-fics for recommending the printing place (lulu) and a big thank you to @athenasparrow @cscs01 @chiechie97 lighteningmischief & oldenough2knowbetter for their awesome reviews I totally added to the back cover❣️

Anywho, I highly recommend doing this. Such a cool feeling!

[athenasparrow]

The Bartender's Revenge

Read on AO3

For @mppmaraudergirl

Finally, a stand-alone! @jilymicrofics

“Shit!” She curses as she slams into something solid as she rounds the corner.

“Sorry!” Calloused fingers skim the exposed skin above her skirt as warm hands stop her from toppling – unbalanced as she is in heels – to the harsh concrete floor.

He’s alluring in an untamed sort of way; wild curls frame a face with a sharp jawline – the perfect place to let her lips wander – with just a shadow that tells her he didn’t bother with a razor this morning.

“Thanks,” she breathes, missing his hands as soon as he deems her stable enough to stand on her own. 

“No problem, I’m here to help with anything you need.” He winks at her before disappearing through a door marked staff only. 

Lily doesn’t catch another glimpse of him for the rest of the night. Not that she looks that often. Mary is the designated drink runner of the night – mainly because Marlene can’t be trusted and Lily is tired from work – and it’s all fun until some guy comes over and tries to plant one on her.

“Come on love, it’s just a bit of fun.”

Lily eyes the man in front of her. The flickering neon lights of the bar cast a sallow glow on his face as he grins lecherously at him. He might be considered attractive in a professional photo by the light of day – Lily briefly imagines his blond hair slicked back as he poses for a sleazy shot in a real estate magazine – but in the poorly lit pub, dishevelled from hours of drinking and nothing to hide the unnerving look in his eyes he’s really not. She keeps her hand firmly on his chest – straining against his weight as he tries to lean in – as she regards him cooly. 

“I don’t care if it’s a dare. The answer is no.” It’s firm and even despite her own downed margaritas. All she really wants is for him to leave – back to the table where three other men are eyeing them, or even better out of the bar completely – so she can finish her girl's night in peace.

His lips curl, and his smile turns even more unpleasant, but whatever he’s about to say gets cut off by the sudden splash of a margarita on his face. “Oi! You deaf?” Marlene shouts – a bit louder than necessary – over the music. “Fuck off or my glass is the next thing that’s going to hit your face.”

He looks just the type to be dumb enough to take Marlene up on her offer (even when her glass is poised to pitch in his face), but whether he’s suddenly chicken or notices how quiet the crowd around them has gone, he gives them one parting sneer (not very effective with droplets of Marlene’s drink running down his cheek), before turning and marching back through the crowd.

It’s not long before Lily’s weaving her way through the remaining crowd to pay.

“Lily! You’re going too fast!” Marlene clutches at Mary – the most sober by far – as she stands on one foot to undo the straps of her heels.

“Evening ladies! Have a good night?” The haughty smirk, high cheekbones and smooth posh tone in tandem with the gallery of ink displayed on his skin, the ripped jeans and the rings adorning his fingers all scream an odd I don’t give a fuck elegance. Lily’s eyes stray in search of his messy-haired, hazel-eyed coworker she’d clocked upon entering, but he’s nowhere to be found.

She forces her attention back to the man in front of her. His knowing smirk prickles her, but she’s come down from the high of her night and just wants to get home. “Hello! Can we split the tab for the corner table over there?”

“It’s taken care of.”

“But…” Lily frowns. “Are you sure? None of us have paid…”

“That guy who was bothering you did.”

“I didn’t peg him for the apologetic type,” Marlene jumps in, barefoot with shoes dangling from her fingertips. Lily hopes the floor gets a good clean each night.

“He wasn’t,” the bartender snorted. “More the born an arsehole, die an arsehole type.”

“Yet he wanted to buy our drinks?” Mary asked, her tone incredulous. “Why?”

“Who said anything about him wanting to?” The bartender slides a menu in front of them, tapping at the bottom.

10% surcharge on weekends, 15% on public holidays. Arsehole surcharge applies every day of the week.

“And he agreed to that?” He didn’t seem the type to go quietly.

“Think he was too smashed to notice.” When Lily lets out a disbelieving laugh accompanied by Marlene’s snort he shrugs in a not my problem way, picking up another glass to polish.

“I love your policy!” Marlene declares as she rifles through her purse. “Let me just see if I have cash for the tip….?.”

“Sirius. And don’t worry yourself love,” Sirius waves his polishing cloth carelessly. “We charged them for that too.”

“How much did you charge them exactly?” Marlene asks as her sweeping gaze appraises him.

“James charged them triple.” Sirius nods his head to where the messy-haired man has reappeared, biceps popping as he leans against the doorframe. “He was especially ticked off for some reason.” His voice turns knowing as he winks at Lily. 

James flushes as he tugs at his mess of curls. A zap of energy courses through Lily that has nothing to do with the alcohol in her veins. Her eyes stay a moment too long – too short for her, too long for Marlene – on the strip of flesh above the waistband of his jeans and when she blinks back to reality Sirius is still smirking while Marlene has dissolved into giggles as she grabs a napkin from the bar.

“Here you go James ,” Marlene says waving the napkin at him. For one horrible moment, Lily thinks she’s hitting on him, but then she wishes it was that at her friend's next words. “Here’s Lily’s number; my plethora of margaritas can’t keep from missing whatever this is.”

Her stomach summersaults as James takes the proffered napkin before holding it up to her in question. She nods slightly, unable to keep the smile from blooming as she drags Marlene towards the door. “Thanks for the drinks fellas!”  Yes, you can call me.

With any luck, she’ll be able to run her hands through his curls soon. Her flush deepens, heat running through her whole body as she imagines his head of curls between –

Her phone buzzes as the door swings shut.

Unknown Number: how about tomorrow?

[kay-elle-cee]

I would love to know about James' feelings that time they first meet eyes years later. Directors take OR a James POV 😍

HELLO Athena! Thank you for your patience since I've saved this in my inbox to answer after the final chapter of i'll be fine, i'll be good went live. Answer below the cut! (And a reminder that anyone can ask me for thoughts/Director’s Cut for any of my fics at any time!)

(sorry I tried to refine this but it still ended up a bit word vomity!)

ALRIGHT so we learn in chapter six that James was, in fact, really broken up about Lily for awhile (I mean....that's not particularly a spoiler, is it?). I like to think that by the time James sees Lily—like walking into the shop and having face-to-face interaction with her for the first time since he told her he loved her all those years ago (oh my god ow)—he's really processed everything and made peace with it all. He's had his eyes opened a little bit more by his work with the Order to just how difficult and dangerous it was for her. He's forgiven her, and he understands (to an extent) her actions, but he also knows that because of this he can't really be mad at her, and he just...is trying to be as normal as he can (even though a part of him misses her). So he has to be careful.

He's known she's worked at that apothecary for years. Remus absolutely told him immediately (well, maybe not immediately, but definitely within that first month). And he's likely agonized time and time again on if he should go in, how bad would it be to look through the window, maybe one of us should just, like, make sure she's okay...But then you have Sirius (and to a lesser extent Remus and Peter) reminding James of what kind of toll Lily took on him last time, reminding him that if she wanted to see him, she could reach out, reminding him how far he's come and fuck Evans because she hurt you. And James, even if he doesn't feel Sirius' anger at the whole situation, maybe listens to this, lets it bolster him to keep his resolve hardened and his guard up.

But then he gets paired up with Sam for the potions run. And he definitely panics and feeds her some BS line about him needing to wait outside so they're not ambushed in the shop and she's like whatever you weirdo I'm going to go see this really interesting girl I met and could definitely be friends with YOUR LOSS. And then she's chatting and he's out there just getting so nervous because what if Sam lets it spill to Lily that he's out here and then they get to talking, what would Lily say would Lily be mad would she want to say hi why do I care so much about what Lily thinks? He's done so well at living his life in a post-Lily world but suddenly everytime he's around this shop she's just there on his mind. So he gets a little overwhelmed and opens that little door and tells Sam to hurry up without ever looking in because he knows there's a real possibility that the second he sees Lily (really sees her) this resolve he has might crumble.*

*And I think it's important to note here that I'm not suggesting James would fall to her feet and confess his love with one glance, but he'd be James. He'd be kind (maybe too kind), and he suspects that somewhere in his heart he still loves her and is worried that it'd be too easy to fall back into that pattern after all the work he's done.

But yeah so he and Sam leave and he's in the all clear but then he gets injured in the field and Sam has to leave and suddenly he's in charge of the potions supply runs and he has no other choice—he has to SEE HER. He spends the whole morning fretting, trying to remain calm, trying not to run scenarios through his head and telling himself he can do it, that it's no big deal—he's just a patron and she's just a shopkeep. (He's definitely not looking forward to it, even if he had all of those musings about dipping in and seeing her over the last few years—that's idealistic James and this is practical James.) I think he goes so far as to even try to remember some of the anger he had felt towards her at one point of time—really grasping for anything to make sure and keep that distance between them. But it's this weird thing because Remus told him about the Snape encounter so he's also a little worried about her and it's this tightrope of keeping things professional. Not concerned, not angry, but something neutral in between.

And then he sees her. And he thought he was prepared, and he was so, so wrong. There's pain, when their eyes meet. The last time he looked into them echoes in his mind and there's pain and a little bit of that anger comes back and maybe it's anger at her but maybe it's also a little bit of anger for himself—for not understanding her as well as he feels he should have. But he leans on the anger, only giving her the shortest of answers, and he leaves. And he thinks: I can do this.

And when he gets sent again, he holds onto that anger a bit tighter and tries to ignore the undeniable way his heart beats faster when that bell over the door rings.

Listen I might do a James POV of some scenes one day, if the urge strikes and people are interested, who knows?

[ohmygodshesinsane]

Hey Finn! Hello! An anon recommended I drop “September Sprinkles” in people's askboxes sooooo here is yours. Obviously I could not say no to such a good and smutty idea 😂 Here you go lovely xx

Guess what I’m not wearing right now.

👀👀👀 I love this, thank you so much for sending it! Here’s my take…. (I hope it’s spicy enough to count!)….

“Lily?” A knock came at the door. Lily cast a quick charm on the bubbling cauldron and pushed her goggles to the top of her head. Her workstation was crammed with teetering books and phials of vibrant liquids and finely crushed porcupine quills.

“Come in!” she called back. The door to the cool underground room opened, and Nita stuck her head through the archway, smirking mischievously. Lily groaned. “Oh, God. What now?”

“Floo call for you,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows. Lily pulled her goggles over her tied-up hair and dumped it on the table.

“Who is it?” Marlene, Peter, Mary, Sirius, and Remus had already called, and of course she’d seen James this morning, when he’d woken her with breakfast in bed and a steaming cup of tea.

“I’m not allowed to tell you,” Nita said, her smile widening. Lily stretched her arms above her head as she followed the receptionist down the hallway. Two hours remained until she could clock off, and go home to properly celebrate her birthday. Not that her day had been all misery; the new tincture they were developing was proving an exciting challenge, and the hours had been punctuated by well-wishes.

They climbed the stairs to the cosy reception, with its wood-panelled walls and pots of blooming aconite. The fireplace on the nearest wall cast a warm orange glow across the round edges of the desk and the navy Persian rug. Nita’s eyes glittered as she slipped into her seat. Lily’s brows furrowed curiously as she knelt before the crackling coals, searching for a face.

Of course.

“Happy birthday,” her boyfriend beamed.

“James,” she said, trying not to smile. Her lips fought furiously against her better instincts. “You couldn’t wait another two hours?”

“No,” he said. “Unless you’re doing something important?” Her heart rushed with gratitude.

“Nothing as important as you,” she said, lowering her voice, though she knew Nita would never tell. “Is this some warning not to come home, so you can better set up my surprise party?”

“You adamantly said ‘no surprise parties’. I respect that.”

“Then…?”

“Then…? I just wanted to tell you that I love you.” But even when his face was made of shifting embers, she recognised that twist of his mouth. Her stomach fluttered.

“Well, I love you too. Is that all?”

“Well.”

“Well?”

James’s teeth skimmed his lower lip. “Do you want to play a game?” The tone of his voice made her look over her shoulder. Nita hummed as she organised a stack of parchment.

“What kind of game?”

His eyebrows arched. “I want you to guess something.”

“Azerbaijan.”

“No.”

“Thirty-two.”

“Not that either.” Lily couldn’t help but snort, and James laughed too, until he was coughing up coals. “Shit. Ow. No, Evans. Guess what I’m not wearing.”

Her heart jumped in her throat, but she kept her expression cool.

“Shoes,” she replied.

“Technically correct.”

“Got it in one.”

“Good girl.” Lily’s breath cut short, heat flooding her cheeks. “I’ve got something for you, when you get home. A present.”

Despite herself, Lily leaned closer to the flames. “Oh?”

“D’you remember Boxing Day?” Her stomach contracted sharply. How could she forget? Drunk on mulled wine, under the tree, James’s hands in her hair, his tongue on her…

“Yes.” Lily tried to focus. “Which part?”

“I couldn’t distract you from your work.”

Lily bit the inside of her cheek. Work had quickly fled from her mind. “Which part, Potter?”

James’s eyes twinkled. “Is that a guessing game you want to play? It’s something you’ve said you’d like. What do you like, Evans?” A shiver ran down her spine.

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“I’ll show you.” His voice was warm and rich, like gold whiskey. Lily’s fingers hovered over the reddened wood, a string in her heart pulling tight as she longed to touch him.

“Go on, then.”

“Nah.” The fire shifted, and James had obviously moved back, for now his features were less focused. “Tonight. You can’t wait another two hours?”

“I can’t get a hint?” A kind of frustration coiled within her… the sort that would make measuring the reactions of porcupine quills to diluted essence of hellebore much less interesting. James had a way of narrowing her world to only one type of chemistry.

“I gave you a hint.” He shrugged, carelessly cool. “Boxing Day.”

“James -”

“I love you,” he said quickly, cheekily. “I’ll see you soon. Happy birthday.”

“I love you. But -” His face vanished from the fireplace, leaving only burning charcoal. Lily leaned back on her heels, breathing raggedly. Her eyes darted to her watch.

One hour and fifty-two minutes.

Fuck.

[call-me-the-cassie]

Hello new friend!! I have three questions for you!

What's your favourite trope?

Feelings on smut? 😈

Which of your fics is your personal favourite?

Hello!

My favourite trope is either fake dating or enemies to lovers, unless it's a oneshot in which case it's coffee shop AU all the way.

Yes to smut!! Where would we be without smut as a society?

I have a huge soft corner for Not Mad At All (https://www.tumblr.com/call-me-the-cassie/665028685956612096/not-mad-at-all?source=share) because that was my first, and also because my secretly romantic heart would like to live that.

I think this is my first ask, so thank you!

[sunshinemarauder]

Trick or Treat 🧡

Hi! So sorry for the late response -- I've been really really swamped with life!

A little something from what I've been writing today 💗 specially chosen for you for reasons you can probably guess haha

Still, she tries to play it cool. Affecting nonchalance, Lily lies back down on the wet grass, hastily untangling her hair from the (frankly unsexy) braid it’s currently in and crooking her knees to the side. By the time he reaches her, she hopes she looks a little bit less like a drowned owl and more like a model in an artfully risqué photoshoot.

[uncertainwallflower]

Oh and 9 & 12 🙌

Oh hey again!

9. What do you feel that you are naturally talented with in terms of creative writing?

Hmmmmm...I've always been heavy handed when it comes to descriptive language/imagery; I guess I like to think I'm 'naturally talented' at that sort of stuff. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

12. Who/what is your greatest inspiration for your current story?

My current story being: Between the Desire and the Spasm. OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, so the greatest inspiration is actually a handful of true personal events. However, the story branches off into an alternate reality. I suppose it's like a What If of my life (plus magic lol). A little. It's very therapeutic, I'll say that. Other inspirations are The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot (of course, the title is a line in the poem). Read it. It's amazing. And then Standing in the Mirror by Eutony which was one of the first fanfictions I ever read and has stuck with me all these years. It is similar in the way of lost/missed love in high school, loss of communication and then reconnecting years later and reigniting (as if it ever burnt out, puh-lease) the love. And I cannot NOT mention the series holiday love affairs and other nonsense by @theesteemedladydebourgh which 1. again, similar premise, 2. I very strongly relate to, 3. got me thinking about lost love and potential lives (which ultimately lead to BTDATS), and 4. has the BIGGEST chokehold on me. Seriously, I guzzle every new chapter like it gives life (I believe it does). If you're not already reading that series DROP EVERYTHING AND READ IT. It hits different. Also, @theesteemedladydebourgh's smut writing is top-notch. It's massively inspiring. ALSO ALL OF @blvnk-art's JILY. LIKE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? PERFECT.

More Writer Asks

[winryofresembool]

7 Up Game

Thank you @athenasparrow for the tag!! Much appreciated 😊

Rules of the game: post the last seven lines of your WIP (or the one you're currently working on?!).

So, this following extract is from a new cat rescue AU (yes, you heard that right. I'm a big cat person and also an avid viewer of TinyKittens livestream so this is something that's close to my heart). I am hoping that it will end up being a longer fic but it's still in the very early stages of development so I suspect it'll be months till I can share something more than snippets. But anyway. Here's this:

“Hello?” 

There was a pretty redhead at James Potter’s door, and the weirdest part was, he had no idea who she was. He thought he knew pretty much all the people living in his neighbourhood; they were a rather close-knit pack, helping each other in various tasks and organizing numerous events together. It was not unusual for someone to for example stop by randomly to ask for a cup of sugar or eggs or whatever they happened to be missing and didn’t have time to get it from the nearby town. But he definitely would have known if he had seen this woman before; the dark red hair and strikingly green eyes were pretty hard to miss. 

“Hi. Um, I’m Lily Evans. I’ve just started a cat rescue some miles from here, and I was wondering… Are those cats running on that field yours?”

James didn’t answer immediately, wondering what this stranger would be doing with a clowder of feral cats. His mind instantly went to kill shelters and he shuddered only thinking about it. Even though the cats living in his property were more or less feral, he had formed a somewhat close relationship with them; most of them had names and they always gathered around him when he brought food to the little feeding station he had built, some of them also allowing pets from him. A couple of cats had even become so friendly that a neighbour had ended up adopting them.

Probably everyone I know has been tagged already, but if you want to do this, feel free!