Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

Once upon a time, a cat fell in love with an ambitious man.

Hudson Ellis is good at his job. Somehow, he manages not to annoy people when he knocks at their doors and asks them to contribute to the charity he works for - instead, he gets them to sign up for sponsoring programmes and fish whatever spare change they have out of their pockets. Even the infamously tough residents of New York City are falling victim to Hudson's easy-going ways and wide smile; that is, until one woman renders him speechless with sarcastic refusals and slams her door in his face. Perhaps Hudson would be able to forget her - if it wasn't for the fact that she lives on the same floor of the next apartment over, and they both have floor-to-ceiling windows that allow for a rather generous view into each other's flats.

Felix Welter is a superhero. In the safest, most normal town in America. Did someone say 'be yourself'?

A BUNCH OF STUFF ELIZABETH ("please for the love of god call me El") THROPP DOESN'T EXPECT: 1. Her mom signing her up to be a counselor at her old summer camp ("I don't care if it's for extra credit, mom!"). 2. That children are this annoying ("no, you can't have another stupid cookie"). 3. Sharing a cabin with Grace Upland ("who's like, a total bitch"). 4. (Sure as hell) that she really doesn't mind it ("like, at all"). 5. Something else, but that's for later. [6. this story to be riddled with typos. seriously. it's blinding. read at ur own risk]

A bleak, steampunky western in which a pregnant woman hunts down her runaway husband, with a mysterious black dog hot on her heels.

In which I am you, you are me, and we are the moments that define us.

“but i must admit i miss you quite terribly. the world is too quiet without you nearby. i go to bed early and rise late and feel as if i have hardly slept at all.”