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hinasakuino · 2 years

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Want me back

Shikamaru x Reader

The one where holidays sucks and even though you vowed you’d never go back to your ex boyfriend he’s the only one who seems to understand you during these troubling times!

Warnings: Modern Au, mentions of drug use (weed) , casual sex (that complicates things more than fixes it 🤦🏾‍♀️😂), angst & fluff! Minors dni !

I’ve been waiting for this writers block to end forever, this was a story I originally scrapped but after scrapping almost all my drafts I felt like shit and was lowkey getting back to bad depressive habits, so I did what I do best, indulge in caffeine with my already fucked sleep cycle and this was born. Enjoy! :)

****************

You inhaled deeply from the blunt, letting the effects make its way through your system. You needed this you told yourself. Ignoring the way your friend laughed as you coughed upon the first inhale. You usually only smoked before bed but after tonight’s disaster of a family dinner that left you irritated and upset, you found yourself huddled with your best friend in a blanket, watching the night sky. You had come home for the holidays, hoping to be greeted with loving arms and smiles but instead, you were met with intruding questions and mean comments from your older relatives.

“Man,” You say exhaling the smoke, passing the blunt to Ino. She accepts it, scrolling on her phone as you spoke. “When did the Holidays stop being fun?” You ask.

“I hear that. I’ll tell you what, If my dad asks when me and Sai will have kids I’m going to scream. I mean I want some eventually, but like jeez we’re still young. I still want to travel more, you know?” She says. She locks her phone and throws an arm over your shoulder rocking the both of you.

“Well if no one is going to be happy about you being home, let me be the first to say that I am ecstatic! No one makes me laugh more than you do!” You smile sadly, you want to match her energy but after the shit show that is your family dinner you’re left in a sour mood. It all started when your aunts bought up the way you were dressed, literally nothing scandalous, tights and a hoodie, hell you’d been driving all day to get here. What did they expect? A ball gown and your face done up to the nines? The night only worsened when the comparisons started. “He’s been accepted into every university he’s applied for, she is already in a high position at the job and she just graduated college. What about you (y/n) what have you been up to?” You stumbled through an explanation of how you’ve been travelling across the country sightseeing and research before your final year in college started. Apparently, that answer wasn’t good enough because then the elders started bickering amongst themselves asking why they were paying for your tuition if this is what you had planned on doing. You sighed and closed your eyes, trying not to let the night ruin your mood especially now that you were united with your best friend, Ino. You both had been inseparable since grade school, though you left Konoha to go to college elsewhere, you never stopped texting and FaceTiming each other.

“Bitch don’t freak out, but um, your ex is here.” Ino whispers, giggling and nodding to the right.

“Oh fucking hell, as if this night wasn’t already going terribly.” You mutter and follow her eyes. There he is, and gods why does he have to look so damn good? He’s wearing a long sleeved black Henley despite the chill in the air it’s the only thing covering his arms, his jeans are plain, slim fitting, you have to do a double take because he’s wearing a pair of shoes you’d gotten for him as a birthday present. His hair seems longer than the last you saw him, how long had it been a year? No two? You weren’t sure but the way it hung past his shoulders and flowed in the wind kind of made you feel a certain way but you were convinced it was the weed.

You tear your eyes away when you see that he’s not here alone. Standing next to him is a blonde, she’s smiling up at him, her hairs is done in two pigtails with her bangs delicately placed to frame her face. Based on her body language, these two seem well acquainted, she reaches her arm up to caress his cheek lovingly and he leans into it. You think you’re going to be sick.

“Shit! I forgot, He’s been seen with Temari girl, since the summer.” Ino says still staring in a very obvious way (literally perching on the table, staring) You shake your head and relight the blunt. You were going to save this for later tonight to enjoy before bed but seeing how the gods above were plotting against your demise, you need to finish this.

“We can stay, I’ll finish this and we can head back to your place.” You say exhaling and passing it to her.

“I’m fine boo, seems like you need it more than me. I’m sorry, I’m a terrible friend I should’ve known more people we know would’ve been here-” You cut her off with a wave and a shake of your head.

“Not your fault, Let’s just enjoy however long I’m here, I’m pretty sure my elders are shipping me off to their preferred school after all my bad decision making.” You put air quotes and roll your eyes and then sit up.

“They’re insufferable, like for real. I took one year off and all of a sudden I’m a terrible grandchild who’s shaming the family. It’s ridiculous.” You sniffle and groan wiping away angrily at the hot tears streaming down your face. Ino nods listening to your ranting, she places her arms around you again and hugs you.

“Well don’t cry, your folks have always been hmm traditional, they don’t know how different things are, I mean did they see how good you look compared to two years ago? You were so stressed and then the breakup? That’s kind of insensitive of them.” Ino says and you agree, because you were working your ass off to complete school in a ridiculously short amount of time, and for what? The approval of family who never even showed they cared for you a single bit.

“I feel like sometimes all they care about is status, socially, wealth, like fuck we’re humans. Gods I’m a mess.” You groan burying your face in Ino’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry you’re going through this.” She supplies rubbing your back sympathetically. You’re about to suggest leaving but then you hear your name being called from a distance.

“Okay we gotta go, Shikamaru and his blonde pup are approaching and I can’t have him seeing you like this because that motherfucker has some ego on him and if he says something I’m not sure if I’ll stop myself from punching him in his shit.” Ino huffs, she pulls you to stand up with her, and he calls your name, this time he sounds closer. You duck your head and follow quickly after Ino and thankfully make it to her car without an incident.

****************

Shikamaru stares as the red jeep backs away and then peel out into traffic. He scoffs because he was positive you had heard him, you just had your head too far up Ino’s ass to listen to him.

“Fuck, that’s annoying.” He grumbles to himself. He pulls a cigarette from the pack he’s been shaking and lights it. He hears shuffling behind him and turns around smiling apologetically.

“Who was that?” Temari asks, she crosses her arms over her chest and pulls the jacket, his jacket, tighter across her frame. A pout sets in her face as she frowns. He inhales the cigarette, and blows the smoke away quickly, shakes his head and waves off in the direction he was shouting in.

“Just a couple of friends from high school, hadn’t seen them in a while is all.” He lies. He’d seen Ino earlier that week when she re-upped with her boyfriend Sai, and he hadn’t seen y/n in gods know how long, and he damn sure wasn’t letting Temari know that she was his ex, the one he’d just told her about, the one he’s admitted to never getting over. Fuck his life was a mess.

“Cmon let’s get you a hot chocolate.” He says suddenly stamping out the cigarette. She smiles slowly, and accepts his outstretched hand. She starts a new conversation and Shikamaru is glad she’s talkative and telling a story because he’s not sure he trust himself to respond to her considering he hasn’t been listening to a thing she’s said since they sat down. The only thoughts floating around his mind were when the hell did you get back to Konoha and how the hell could he leave now, knowing you were here?

***************

The car ride to Ino’s apartment is silent. You opted out of listening to the radio, but you also couldn’t put in the effort to start a conversation.

Your phone vibrating in the cup holster brings you out of your thoughts, you reach for it preparing to lie to your parents about your whereabouts but you stop short.

“Is it your mom?” Ino asks glancing over at you, you shake your head and show her the phone before pressing the red button, forwarding his call.

“Oh damn, he’s adamant.” Is all Ino says you sigh and put your phone back down, a few seconds later the phone vibrates, this time you hesitate before looking at your phone.

“Girl the audacity.” You mumble unlocking your phone when you see he’s also texting you.

“What he say?” Ino asks coming to a stop at a red light, you hand her your phone.

“Are you going to respond?” Ino asks, handing you the phone back.

“Honestly no. I’ve got so much shit on my plate, if I let this guy back in my life I promise you I’d be hella stressed, even more so than I am now. Hell no! Shikamaru is off limits, no go zone.” You said, it sounds defensive, even to your own ears so you avoid meeting Ino’s gaze saved by the green light and the car honking behind her. She flips them off but drives away once again in silence.

You both finally reach her apartment and you can hear the noise from Sai & Naruto’s antics going on before you enter. You smile for the first time that night, the night can definitely turn around if you’re hanging out with your friends. Ino unlocks the door but doesn’t open it. She turns to face you and hugs you, one that catches you off guard because suddenly you have tears slipping past your eyes.

“Listen, y/n, I don’t want to seem like I’m coming off as a bitch but I also want to be forward with you. I don’t think it’s in your best interest to respond or even get involved with Shikamaru.” You freeze in the embrace and pull back, frowning at your friend.

“My elders have just told me they’re not paying for my travel anymore and you think I’m worried about my ex from 2 years ago? My mom just insinuated that I was rapidly gaining weight and you think Shikamaru is on my mind? That’s low, even for you Ino.” You say pushing away from her.

“No, head me out,” she says while holding her hand up in front of her. “You’re in such a good place with yourself, like I know things at home aren’t going well but fuck that you’re going to be moving out soon right? Let’s focus on that. Shikamaru bought out the worst in you. I don’t think I want to be there to pick up the pieces again.” Ino admits, looking away as she says the last bit.

“Ino, for the love of gods, I deleted his message the minute you passed me back my phone, I’m not gonna give the kid a second thought, swear!” You snap. Ino sighs and closes her eyes. She doesn’t push the conversation further, thankfully.

“Are we telling them that we saw him?” Ino asks you shrug your shoulders and bite back and insult, you knew Ino liked to gossip and if you didn’t tell them now, you were sure they’d know by tomorrow morning.

“Whatever, as long as it’s out and open in the air and over with.” She hugs you again, and though you’re upset, you accept the embrace again.

“I love you okay, and I care about you. I just don’t want to see you broken.” She mumbles and you nod, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from crying.

“Oh man it’s not the food, just your girlfriend and y/n outside!” You both jump apart and turn to glare at Naruto who’s scowling back at you both.

“Shut your mouth, we have neighbors and I don’t want to be kicked out because of your loud ass mouth.” Ino shushes him, pushing him back inside. You laugh and hope to god your face isn’t puffy from all the crying you’ve been doing.

“Welcome home y/n!” Naruto shouts, squeezing you in a strong hold.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” You laugh but hug him back, following into the apartment.

You’ve been to their apartment multiple times but each time things change, like now there’s a huge sectional in the living room, Ino had previously deemed sectionals ugly and out of date, yet here she was having worlds biggest and comfiest in her living room. You kicked off your shoes and sat in the corner, and accepted the hard cider from Sai. Ino sat next to you and leaned against your side. Naruto went back to the tv, they had a pause screen on their game, Sai playing on the computer in the corner and Naruto on the tv.

“Ino has a secret.” Sai says, swinging around to face the group. You groan as she begins chuckling. For as long as you’ve known the couple they both had you convinced they had telekinetic powers or something because Sai always seemed to know when Ino was upset before Ino could even realize she was upset. You think it’s because he grew up in foster care, being with so many families made him a tab bit more intuitive than others, he was able to read emotions and understand the way people felt before they spoke on it.

“That’s so weird.” You shudder, taking a long gulp of the cider. Ino sits up and leans back sipping on her own drink but nodding, because Sai was right, as always.

“Y/n saw Shikamaru, and he was with Temari.” She confirms, nodding her head at the boys shocked expression.

“Yep, and She’s not going to do anything stupid like I dunno try to fix what doesn’t need to be fixed.” You say bitterly. Ino shoots you a look, and you have to look away because you know you’re being mean. Ino only wanted the best for you.

“Shit, that sucks.” Naruto says rubbing his jaw absentmindedly. It was always kind of awkward for Naruto because he’d grown up with both you and Shikamaru. After the breakup you always felt awkward talking shit about his friend in front of him, until he pulled you to the side and reassured you that any words you’ve ever spoken wouldn’t be relayed to the other but you still didn’t fully trust him. Naruto was known to be quite Mischievous.

Sai on the other hand wasn’t too fond of Shikamaru, except for the fact that he was the only person who supplied good weed in Konoha, he was always on time when he’d ask to meet for a re-up and he always knew his strains. So he wasn’t that bad in Sai’s books, except he broke your heart and you were like a little sister to him so he was kind of a piece of shit for that, whatever Sai wasn’t going to get mixed in the politics, he just wanted to buy good weed from a person that wasn’t shady. Like Kiba Inuzuka, the guy was cool, his suppliers however were not.

“Well how did seeing him make you feel?” Sai asked, already working on rolling a new blunt.

“Honestly, it’s over and I’m ready to have fun with my friends so can we please stop talking about that dickhead?” You groan. Sai nods, the sound of a lighter flickering has all eyes on him as he lights up.

“Girl you might wanna call your people and let them know you’re spending the night, hell let them be mad, and let’s just have fun.” Ino says accepting the blunt from her boyfriend. You smile and nod in agreement, shooting your parents a message in a group chat, you turn your phone on do not disturb and spend the rest of the night catching up with your friends.

Ch.2

#naruto anime #modern au #fanfic #shikamaru x y/n #shikamaru x reader #shikamaru nara #naruto uzumaki #saiino #sai x ino #sai naruto #ino yamanaka #Temari #wantmebackfic

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onestowatch · 3 years

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19 LGBTQIA+ Artists You Need to Listen to This PRIDE

PRIDE is all about self-empowerment and self-determination. It’s about not just being comfortable with who you are but showing the world that there is pride to be found in being unapologetically you. And that’s why, this PRIDE, we wanted to shine a light on a small handful of our favorite LGBTQIA+ artists. Ranging from rapturous hyperpop, revelatory bossa nova meditations, romantic rave music, and everywhere in between, these are 19 LGBTQIA+ artists who deserve a spot on your PRIDE playlist and every playlist for that matter.

girl in red

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In her debut single, “i wanna be your girlfriend,” a teenage girl in red unapologetically sings of young queer love over a mesh of lofi production and jangly instrumentation that would come to define much of the bedroom pop genre. It is a standout moment of unrelenting honesty, and a serenely simple three-minute confession that would go on to strike a chord with millions who were afraid of what it meant to be something more than friends. Now, a few years later and following the release of her critically-acclaimed debut album, if i could make it go quiet, Ulven still writes with that same emotional honesty, putting forth every ounce of herself for the world to see.

Meet Me @ The Altar

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“the little lonely black alt girl i was in the 00s is living rn, she never even dared to hope she might see this 💖💖,” reads the top comment on Meet Me @ The Altar’s music video for their single “Garden.” It is a sentiment shared by much of the rising band’s fanbase, who are used to the mainstream alternative scene championing cis white males. Existing in the space between pop-punk and hardcore, Meet Me @ The Altar exists to challenge the notion that queer women of color don’t have a place in punk. And after penning a record deal with Fueled By Ramen, home to the likes of Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, and nearly every pop-punk band that made up your middle school playlist, chances are this is just the beginning for our new favorite punks.

THE BLOSSOM

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For Lily Lizotte, better known as THE BLOSSOM, music exists as the synthesis and subsequent recontextualization of a host of past experiences. From the sound of their dad belting away in his home studio to stumbling upon niche Internet subgenres, THE BLOSSOM transforms all this and more into a sound that is instantly recognizable but impossible to perfectly place. The culmination of this host of influences takes sweeping sonic form on their debut EP, ‘97 BLOSSOM, a perfectly imperfect introduction to one of the most fascinating rising artists of recent memory.

BIMINI

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You may recognize BIMINI as Bimini Bon-Boulash, the runner-up on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. And now you should familiarize yourself with Bimini, brit-pop extraordinaire. Releasing their debut single “God Save This Queen” earlier this June, Bimini deftly channels late ‘90s brit-pop and punk to deliver a single that has us absolutely living for the ensuing chaos. Serving up multiple looks throughout its eye-catching music video, “God Save This Queen” is not just a non-binary anthem but a veritable 2021 lookbook.

Hope Tala

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With a sound that falls somewhere between turn-of-the-century R&B and bossa nova, Hope Tala’s music is expectedly a dream given sonic form. Perhaps that’s why much of the UK singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist’s music is able to so deftly weave imagery of love, heartache, and teenage fistfights into tightknit tracks that feel simultaneously transcendental and deeply personal. And with the release of her 2020 EP, Girl Eats the Sun, Hope Tala poses one all-important question, “Why have a life if you’re not going to do something crazy and make a difference in the world?”

chloe moriondo

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For much of chloe moriondo’s avid fanbase, watching her transform from budding ukulele sensation to pop-punk phenom very much meant watching her grow up. Getting her start on YouTube, moriondo's fanbase witnessed her evolve as both an artist and person. Coming out in the aptly titled “a ramble about self identity, growth, and being a lesbian,” to be a fan of the artist often feels like trading secrets with a close personal friend. It is a sentiment that rings all the more true upon delving into her debut album, Blood Bunny. Grappling with coming-of-age at the axis of empathic pop and euphoric pop-punk, Blood Bunny sees moriondo taking yet another impressive step forward.

Godford

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Little is known about Godford beyond what can be garnered from a handful of interviews online and his succinct Spotify bio, and chances are he’s happier that way. The anonymous DJ and producer aims to make non-binary music that exists outside of the confines of genres, overly-simplified classifications, and even himself. What is important are the emotions his music hold and what his listeners take away. Fusing romanticism and rave in his debut album, Godford: Non Binary Place, the anonymous artist does just that. He provides a space that exists simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, like an ephemeral night spent out on the dancefloor with a stranger or close friend.

Joy Oladokun

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Joy Oladokun is at the core of her music. It may at first glance appear to be a painfully obvious statement, but as her sincere songwriting seeps into every corner of your soul, it is a notion that becomes undeniable. In her major label debut, in defense of my own happiness, Oladokun writes with an unabashed authenticity, never turning a blind eye to the world around her. These shared reflections and recollections of life are often heartbreaking and uplifting in the same breath, but in their candidness, we can begin to piece together what it means to be human, imperfections and all.

Allison Ponthier

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Allison Ponthier may only have a handful of singles to her name, but her unmatched potential is clear as day. Raised in the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, Ponthier’s moving songwriting and emphatic vocal prowess speak to her country roots. Pair that country sensibility with some of the most pristine pop songwriting we have heard in quite some time, and you begin to understand just how exciting Ponthier is as a rising artist. With only two singles to date, there’s not much else we can say beyond do yourself a favor and play “Cowboy” on repeat.

Rina Sawayama

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It feels like no hyperbole to call Rina Sawayama an inevitable pop icon. First garnering critical acclaim with singles like “Cherry” and her 2017 debut EP RINA, the Japanese-British singer-songwriter staked her name on her immaculate ability to capture all the glamour and larger-than-life appeal of early ‘00s pop. Building on what was a nostalgic yet forward-thinking vision, Sawayama returned with her 2020 eponymous full-length debut. From nu-metal, club beats, to veritable pop anthems, SAWAYAMA emerged as a genre-defying showcase of an avant-garde pop star.

Arlo Parks

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Listening to Arlo Parks’ music is akin to sipping on a hot cup of chamomile tea as you watch the world slowly pass by your living room window. It is a testament to the British poet and singer-songwriter’s subtle yet beautiful way with words, the way in which each lyric serves as a glance into a tightly-held memory or passing observation. These poetic musings come to life in her debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, which layers lyrical revelations over some of the most tender R&B of recent memory. Parks’ is more than a must-listen; she feels like the birth of a new wave.

Claud

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Claud has spent the past few years making a name for themselves in the indie pop world, and the culmination of it all arrives in their debut album, Super Monster. The acclaimed album sees Claud reckoning with coming-of-age and love with an irresistible charm. Pair that with a penchant for grounded, affective songwriting and infectious, dreamlike melodies and you have one of the best debuts of recent memory. In case you somehow need any further convincing that Claud is one to watch, Super Monster marks the debut release from Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records.

UMI

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Equally as inspired by R&B and neo-soul as she is by her generation’s penchant for blurring genre lines, UMI and her music exist as a form of spiritual healing. Half-Black and half-Japanese, her work explores everything from identity to self-introspection, such as on the aptly-titled Introspection. It is a fondness for self-exploration that UMI delves headfirst into on her 2019 EP Love Language, a sublime blend of identity struggles, love, and anime that tackles the issue of always feeling like an other, never Black or Japanese enough.

Joesef

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Sad boy summer. It’s the simplest way to being explaining Joesef’s serene albeit somber sound. Emerging out of Glasgow, the quickly rising star often wears his still bleeding heart on his sleeve, even when the underlying sonics seem to be moving onto greener pastures. It is an exquisite balancing act that comes to life on his 2020 EP, Does It Make You Feel Good?. Blending elements of soft-spoken R&B, jazz, and ethereal pop, Joesef sets himself apart as an artist whose influences and appeal know no bounds.

Serena Isioma

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At the top of the year, we named Serena Isioma one of our top artists to watch in the year to come, and for good reason. The self-proclaimed “nonbinary rock star” experienced a breakout moment with “Sensitive,” a track that is difficult to perfectly encapsulate but think along the lines of fusing modern-day R&B and woozy indie-pop with reckless abandon, and you’ll be about halfway there. It was an impressive standout track that was only buoyed by a pair of EPs, Sensitive and The Leo Sun Sets, in 2020, officially cementing Isioma as an artist like no other.

Khai Dreams

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Khai Dreams’ music is effortlessly easygoing. With its straightforward guitar lines and understated production, every track from the Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter flows out as naturally as breathing. Maybe it’s that laid-back approach that begins to explains Khai Dreams’ universal appeal and millions of monthly listeners, despite releasing most of his music independently. A hallmark of the DIY generation and its massive homebrewed potential, it would be a crying shame if you didn’t let Khai Dream’s serene meditations transport you somewhere far from here.

Frances Forever

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Like much of their Gen Z cohorts, Frances Forever’s exponential rise was not the result of a well-executed marketing plan but by the pure chance of a single song finding a home online. The song in question, “Space Girl,” was originally part of NPR’s Tiny Desk Content before soon blowing up on TikTok, and it’s not hard to see why. Short, sweet, and to the point, “Space Girl” is a saccharine love letter to that bubbly feeling of floating on cloud nine. Now signed to Mom+Pop and with their debut EP, Paranoia Party, due out later this year, this is the perfect time to get familiar with Frances Forever.

Dorian Electra

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Unapologetically playing with gender norms and stereotypes while seeing just how far they can push the limits of pop, Dorian Electra has long maintained a cult following in the world of experimental, highly addictive hyperpop. And it’s not hard to see why. Having collaborated with the likes of Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Village People, Pussy Riot, Rebecca Black, and more, Electra’s music ranges from off-the-rails hyperpop to introspective pop slow burns. All of this and more reaches a fever pitch in their 2020 album My Agenda, a devious showcasing of one of pop’s most explosive figures.

MAY-A

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Maya Cumming, professionally known as MAY-A, is no stranger to the hustle it takes to make it in the music industry. The Australian artist got her start entering numerous singing competitions in her hometown of Byron Bay and started busking on the streets at the tender age of 11. Now, she has a breakout single under her belt in the form of “Apricots,” an anthemic indie-pop ode to queer love. And since that breakout moment, MAY-A has continued to release impressive single after single—the latest being the collaborative “American Dream.”

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beaudeanw · 3 years

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Soldier Boy- What can we expect?

- Possible spoilers ahead

Gif credit : @justjensenanddean

The Boys S3 will have Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy - A Captain America-esque Supe, also known as the original superhero.

In the comic books, there are three versions of Soldier Boy. Ackles will be playing the first one. According to Eric Kripke, Soldier Boy is like the Homelander before Homelander. He has a similar kind of ambition & ego. It will just come in a different way.

He was a leader of the Team Payback - a Parody of The Avengers.

In the show, Soldier boy was the only one to ever exist.

Soldier Boy as a Character

As said above, Soldier Boy is touted to be very powerful. His powers are almost on the same level as Homelander.

According to a recent q&a with Kripke, he mentioned that Homelander will be threatened by Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy is said to be very Charming and Funny.

He will have this charisma that attracts the public towards him. As mentioned in the first episode of The Boys Season 2, Soldier Boy killed Nazis by a huge amount and he helped the Allies win the World War 2 against Germany. After that he went on to become a movie star and a huge mainstay of American culture.

During the course of S2 we saw some Easter eggs like his movie posters on the wall. Kripke compared his character to somewhat like John Wayne. If you google search John Wayne, you will get to know that he was conservative, racist, homophobic etc. John Wayne although famous for playing Soldiers in cinema, never served in WW2. He also had a complicated relationship with women.

Soldier Boy might take some similar route considering the fact that he is in fact from the 1940s. The q&a mentioned that he will be involved in a lot of Sex, Violence & Swears. Needless to say, soldier boy can totally be a. One of the 2018 tweets of Kripke said that Soldier Boy was involved in drugs & stuff. This might also be a part of his personality.

Since it's also said to be a parody of Cap America, Soldier Boy a complete anti-thesis of what former stands for. Cap America is sort of a moral, altruistic, kind & good superhero. Soldier Boy might be completely opposite. That he has no shame in hurting people & possesses no morals in order to get his work done & his ambition fulfilled. He can be the reason for the war crimes that America did after the WW2.

How the character might fit in S3

Now The Boys Season 2 ended with Stormfront becoming Stump-front. We have Homelander who got blackmailed by Queen Maeve with the footage from the airplane back from S1. We have Starlight & A- Train back in the Seven. However, the most important part is how both Vought & Homelander are completely screwed in the public eye. As we know in S2, Homelander was getting boo-ed by the public for indulging in war crimes. Now Stormfront's Nazi reveal should have some serious repercussions. The public people might boycott Vought because of their alleged ties with a literal Nazi. Homelander might not get the same love & respect in the public because he had love affair with her. We also have a Federal Bureau of Supe Affairs to keep Vought into check by Victoria Neumann, who is also a supe but thats not the point. The point is Vought needs a good PR to get themselves out of this mess.

Enter- Soldier Boy

Now there is a common theory that Vought must have kept him in some kind of facility & have him trapped. This is a very good possibility since that will mean that he is basically has no idea about the modern world. During S2 we saw a statue of Soldier Boy which showed that he sort of died in the 80s. So it will be interesting to see how Vought brings Soldier Boy back in the public eye.

Now Soldier Boy coming back to Vought can help them with Good PR. I mean who better than a Supe who killed Nazis in WW2 can help Vought clean up the Nazi shitstorm. He is the golden boy of patriotism. He is like a blue print of how they wanted Homelander to be when they created him the lab.

Another common theory that spread which was also kind of agreed by Laz Alonso, the actor who plays Mother's milk said that only his character until now never had something personal against a supe. We also learnt sort of MM's backstory in S2 which mentioned his father working against Vought & how he fought until he died. We have an idea that there is a possibility that both Soldier Boy & his father might have existed at the same point & SB might have something to do with his dad.

This can also be the reason why he vanished in the 80s & Vought lied about his death.

This also makes sense because at the end of S2, we saw all the members of The Boys seperated. One of the major reasons why they come back together is to help MM. I mean MM has been kind of a backbone keeping all of them together. A moral conscience. He is a good friend of all. So if he is in problem, the boys will come back together to help him for a change.

I am pretty sure that with Soldier Boy we will get to learn a lot about the dirty past of Vought & metaphorically, America.

Soldier Boy and Homelander

So first of all, Ackles' Soldier Boy & Homelander didn't have any sort of sexual relations. What happened in the comics was a sexual assault. That was Solder Boy #3. That character was a bumbling idiot, subservient to Homelander who got manipulated by him. It's also not logical for the show to have that kind of relationship of SB & HL. Homelander doesn't have that kink that is shown in the comics. Also, soldier boy in the show looks like has a dominating personality as opposed to of an idiot.

What Ackles is playing is Soldier Boy #1, the one fought in WW2 & as mentioned above, he is the only one to ever exist in the world of TV Show.

However, both of these characters have a lot of similarities. They are both powerful, egotistical, narcissistic, pathetic male superheroes. The difference is the situations they will be in. Homelander is currently in a problematic situation as his issue with wanting validation are bare open. He is emotionally at its weakest point. He wants to be loved. He longs for validation from the public which Maeve uses to threaten him. As he was made in a lab, he didn't have a normal childhood. He didn't have friends or anything. However, Soldier Boy was given Compound V when he was an adult. That means he might not require the same kind of validation. He is a very self-assured man. Also, since he was around in public life for decades, he has received love for years. So he not only he is physically strong, he might be emotionally capable against Homelander.

S3 might create a problem of Power Struggle.

Homelander might struggle to keep his head strong & possibly be threatened by Soldier Boy. Since the latter seems very confident, he might be able to take his position in Vought back. In the S2 premiere, we get to see how Homelander thinks of himself as indispensable for Vought as a company & how Stan Edgar shuts him down. Now think about how Homelander will react when Vought's original golden boy comes back & takes his what he thinks is his. There is a power struggle here. It's likely that Soldier Boy might corner him because of how popular he is in the public and how Homelander wants that same love that SB is getting. S3 might present a situation in front of him when a supe who might almost be as powerful as him & emotionally stronger than him kind of threatens both his power and position.

Soldier Boy and Stormfront

Speaking of Stormfront, Eric Kripke mentioned in a TV guide article that Soldier Boy had a connection with her when she was Liberty. Now both of them were created at the same time by the same man. Liberty was married to Frederick Vought but he then joined the Allies & injected Soldier Boy with Compound V. Now they are basically two sides of the same coin.

Some of this is from articles with Kripke's description of the character, some of them are common theories that have floated around & some of it is my predictions about what direction the character's storyline can take. This is majorly based on everything I have read, heard or watched. It doesn't mean that any of it will turn out the way it's written here. But I still hope this is helpful.

Anyway, I am very excited to see Jensen in this new role. I know he will rock it and I can't wait.

Some Articles I took into consideration -

#soldier boy #jensen ackles #the boys #the boys s3 #the boys tv #the boys amazon #Homelander #Stormfront #vought #solider boy #antony starr #aya cash #eric kripke

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gemstoneconstellations · 4 years

Note

omgggg can you share ur list of things you’ve read ? 😭 i feel like i’ve hit rock bottom thinking i’ve read everything

Alright, here we go, these are a few of my favorite reader-inserts I have saved on my AO3:

Multi Ships (collection of one shots/love triangles)

Dear Diary: Bakugo VS Midoriya VS Todoroki. Reader had her heart broken by Bakugo, moves on and develops feelings for Midoriya that might be mutual?, and now Bakugo likes reader but is a fucking dick about it and Midoriya is an oblivious green bean. Meanwhile Todoroki is just a sweety, acting like a real friend and being there for reader during the drama (that he sometimes causes). Angst alert, just pure angst. I love it as much as i want to pull out all my hair cause of these idiot children. (Wordcount: 77415 Status: Incomplete)

The Void You Left Behind: Past Kirishima/Reader, Bakugo/Reader. Reader was married to Kirishima who sadly died while on the job. Bakugo and reader mourn together and help each other to move on. The grief in this was so realistic and well done, you will feel like you were hit by a truck. I cried and had to take breaks. (Wordcount: 71016 Status: Complete)

Million Reasons: Past Bakugo/reader, Midoriya/Reader. Bakugo and reader were married, but Bakugo (a total dick) cheats on reader and was abusive towards reader who ends up leaving him, changing jobs, and now working for the current number one hero Deku. Warning: Domestic violence, abusive and manipulative behavior. (Wordcount: 55693 Status: Incomplete)

MULT-FANDOM COLLECTION (my-american-hero): Multiple story collection, not just bnha. Author’s tumblr account.

BNHA College Reader Inserts series: 5 works, all in college. Really like the Bakugo/Reader centric fics in this one, reader doesn’t take his shit. (Wordcount total of all works: 62691 Status: Series incomplete, but only one of the works isn’t complete.)

Baby no Hero Academia: Multiple stories of our favorite characters being parents. (Wordcount: 72822 Status: incomplete)

My Hero Academia Images: multi story collection. If you like these, look at the other works by this author. Some are choose your own route stories with different endings for each ship. (Wordcount: 240426 Status: incomplete)

My hero academia one-shots!: smutty and fluffy one shots with multiple characters. (Wordcount: 155424 Status: complete)

Boku no Hero Academia One-Shots/Imagines~! (lady-Bakuhoe): one-shot collection. Didn’t realize right away that I had been reading lady-bakuhoe’s stuff for months on AO3. (Wordcount: 39963 Status: complete)

Ship Centric:

Bakugo/Reader

Bakugou, Katsuki ( Alpha!Bakugou ; Omegaverse )(AO3 Link) (Tumblr Link): Smut one-shot, omegaverse, alpha/omega, daddy kink. (Wordcount: 5087)

Wolves Among Us: I’m pretty sure everyone knows this one, still putting it down. Werewolf!Bakugo x Human!Reader, Fantasy AU. (Wordcount: 334465 Status: Incomplete)

Bakugou Household: Domestic Bakugo just being the best dad. (Wordcount: 37867 Status: incomplete)

Types of Love: A bunch of one-shots about different types of love with Bakugo as the center subject. (Wordcount: 10243 Status: Complete)

Sex is a learning, even for shitheads.: Porn with Plot. Focuses on the evolution of the relationship between reader and Bakugo and their sex lives together, from first learning how to do the sex and controlling quirks during to exploring kinks, likes and dislikes. (Wordcount: 73453 Status: Complete)

Speak (Katsuki Bakugou x Reader): Soulmate Au- first words tattooed on body. Reader isnt too thrilled about the resident gremlin of 1-A is her soulmate. Smut included. (Wordcount: 153848 Status: Complete)

Knockout: I just started this one today, but I like it so far. Underground kickboxer au, kickboxer!Bakugo meets card girl!reader. (Wordcount: 85297 Status: complete)

His Tyranny: Fantasy au. Barbarian King Bakugo is power hungry, looking for anything to boost his strength, takes reader, a girl with a strong and dangerous magical ability, from the tower she was locked away in. (Wordcount: 76038 Status: complete)

Dakimakura: Bakugo develops a crush. Porn with plot. (Wordcount: 48657 Status: Complete)

Secret Admirer: Reader leaves Bakugo love letters. Things get steamy when reader gets caught. (Wordcount: 2278 Status: complete)

Kirishima/Reader

How to get a boyfriend?: Reader is Bakugo’s little sister and wants a boyfriend, she has her eyes set on her brother’s manly best friend. (Wordcount: 22431 Status: complete)

A Helping Hand (author’s tumblr https://thetrashyartwitch.tumblr.com/): No quirk au. Reader wants to better herself by going to the gym and develops a crush on Kirishima who was just being himself and being kind to reader. This gets a gold star from me, I read this over and over and I still love it so much. (Wordcount: 5707 Status: complete, one-shot)

Rising Sun (Btw, don’t bug the author about updating, they already get hounded about this one and other fics. The wait will be worth it.): Fantasy au and arrange marriage between princess!reader and dragon!Kirishima. Reader is in an entirely new environment and culture, getting to know her new kingdom and husband. (Wordcount: 14667 Status: incomplete)

Crimison|Ink (Kirishima x Reader) : I know I posted about this one before, but I will post about this again. I read this so many times, I have it downloaded on my phone to read offline. I don’t even know where to begin to describe this one, I just love it so much and can’t wait for it to come back. I don’t want to say I have a favorite, cause I love all of these… but if I had to choose *cough* this one *cough*. Summary: “Kirishima and his band of heavily tattooed brothers own and run a very well known tattoo shop together. One day a girl wonders into the shop in search of a tattoo to mark the start of her new life. Soon enough she’ll learn that this ‘family’ business is more than just buzzing tattoo guns and ink, and finds herself caught up in the middle of it, all while having to deal with a certain sharp-toothed pain in the ass.” Warning: violence, blood and gore, toxic past relationships. (Wordcount: 119179 Status: incomplete)

Oranges: Omegaverse, alpha!female!Reader/Omega!Kirishima. Mutual pining childhood friends who are oblivious towards each other’s feelings while everyone notices. (Wordcount: 19695 Status: Complete)

Anger Management: smut one-shot, reader is pissed about something at work and uses Kirishima to get rid of the rage by riding him till she’s no longer angry. (Wordcount: 1509 Status: Complete)

The Pizza Delivery Guy: Modern and College Au. Reader’s roommate Mina puts in to send the cutest delivery boy over. Best customer service experience ever. Pure fluff and flirting. Wanna see more. (Wordcount: 1607 Status: Complete)

Better Late Than Never: Dumb dumbs pining over each other both thinking they are just friends. (Wordcount: 2996 Status: complete)

Boyfriend Me: Short and simple, i live for the fluff and awkward kirishima. Accidental confessions and lack of words when around your crush. (Wordcount: 701 Status: complete)

The Heat of a Dragon: Pure smut with fantasy dragon!kirishima… who has two dicks. (Wordcount: 2464 Status: Complete)

All in his head: Reader has a mind reading quirk and Kirishima has a surprisingly dirty mind, sexy times ensues. (Wordcount: 1415 Status: Complete)

Fatgum/Reader (warning: all are smut fics)

First Time: This was my first fatgum fic I ever read and it’s still one of my top faves. Reader and Fatgum finally take steps into becoming intimate. Fluffy porn with plot. Size difference, totally a size queen’s go to fic. (Wordcount: 5394 Status: complete)

Sugar : Another first time fic, this time with a baker!reader in the middle of her kitchen. Size difference. (Wordcount: 6241 Status: Complete)

Dine and Dash: Celebratory public sex. (Wordcount: 2883 Status: complete)

Brick Walls are Great Support: Public sex in an alleyway. (Wordcount: 3006 Status: complete)

Drizzle: Valentine’s day sexy times with food. (Wordcount: 3017 Status:Complete)

Temporary: Omegaverse, Omega!reader goes to a heat/rut house and meets alpha!Fatgum. (Wordcount: 3367 Status: Complete)

Not a typical Office Romance: office sexy times. (Wordcount: 2006 Status: complete)

Midoriya/Reader

Warmth of You: collection of Deku/reader one-shot smuts. I actually love this author a lot, does some of the best bottom Bakugo fics I have ever read. If you like bakudeku, check out their other works.

“Just Friends” : Jealous Midoriya doesn’t like being called just friends and reminds the reader that they are way more. Smut. (Wordcount: 3492 Status: complete)

Sero/Reader

Hero Santa: Best friends become something more during movie night in a blanket fort. Fluffy smut that makes me smile. (Wordcount: 4936 Status: complete)

Hoodie [SeroxReader]: post-break up, the only thing left behind was one of Sero’s hoodies that Reader still wears. Angst. (Wordcount: 3284 Status: complete)

Sour. Sweet. Gone.: no quirk and college au. Sero and reader are both pining idiots who go from friends to enemies to lovers. (Wordcount: 10448 Status: complete)

Tape residue: fluff smut, friends to lovers. Sero misread some signals but it all ends well. (Wordcount: 3410 Status: Complete)

A Seronade of Misunderstandings: Sero plans the most romantic and cheesy way for the first time but reader thinks his secretive behavior means he’s cheating. (Wordcount: 3420 Status: Complete)

#kirishima x reader #kirishima ejirou x reader #kirishima eijiro x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #sero hanta x reader #sero x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #fatgum x reader #todoroki shoto x reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader

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dianapana · 3 years

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SH Day 4- Childhood Connection

Modern AU, OOC

@sasuhinamonth

There are friendships I miss, but not enough for me to reach out first. My reluctance to try and get back in touch with these people is mostly because what I miss most isn’t the person but the memories, specific time points in my past. I don’t want a new friendship with a changed old friend, I want to relieve over and over again the same few blissful events from the old friendship with a precise past-variation of said person. I want to go back to those moments, for they are instances in which I felt at peace, in which I felt true and pure happiness and freedom.

I miss walking down the riverbank holding in my hand the worn-out leather dog leash of an old Huskey that I don’t even own while its owner walks alongside me, maybe a step or two in front, I miss the silence of the walks and the way in which I felt totally comfortable with simply watching the back of his head, I miss thinking that I was exactly where I was meant to be, that there was no place I’d rather be but next to him in utter silence.

I miss being over at his house laughing so hard at random things that weren’t even meant to be funny. If I close my eyes, I can see this particular moment in which he asked me something while I was drinking and to me, that was the funniest thing ever so I sprayed him all over with soda and spit which led to another uncontrolled fit of giggles, I miss crying and my stomach hurting from laughing too much, I miss my throat being sore after spending a day with him indoors.

I miss laying down on an old uncomfortable sofa in his grandparent’s basement, yet feeling like that was heaven. I miss looking up from that spot on the sofa and seeing his face right above me, giving me a cocky smirk that was meant to be cool but to me looked goofy. I miss his eyes that always lit up whenever we hung out, I miss his hand when he held mine after punching another kid for calling me names, I miss so many parts of him and our friendship, yet I do not miss him, I cannot. Despite all of the lovely moments in which he made me feel like I belonged, his person always brings with him unfortunate memories as well, memories dark enough to outweigh the good ones, dark enough to make it impossible for me to utter or even think his name.

He may represent my childhood, but he also is a constant reminder of my childhood’s tragic end.

I try to change my train of thoughts; however, I know that whenever his image pops up into my brain, it likes to stick around for a while, almost like it’s making up for lost time since I rarely think of him, I haven’t thought of him for almost 2 years until today. I close my eyes and try to drift to sleep, I know I’ll dream of him and the accident because I always do in these cases, I know I’ll wake up shaken and distressed. I can feel my anxiety rising just thinking about it.

-----

I’m so glad school is over, I liked Iruka sensei but I am excited about highs school, but before that, I’m more excited for the summer. Hmm, maybe I should have brought my backpack and put the bentos in it, I hope the pickles won’t go bad because of the heat until I reach Sasuke’s house. Should I run? But I’m wearing new sandals and I don’t want to dirty them. I chose to wear my new sunflower dress too, mom bought it for me and I think it’s pretty I wanted to show it to Sasuke, I hope he’ll like it. I wonder what we’ll do after we eat today? Does Dai need a walk? I think it’s too hot for him to be out though, so he might be stuck in the house until they take him to Itachi’s place. I hope dad lets me go with them this year to Itachi’s. The summer there is much cooler because he lives in the middle of a forest. I’m scared of bugs but Sasuke will be there so that’s ok. I wonder if he saw the last episode of Avatar, I like Zuko he reminds me of him at times, I maybe shouldn’t say that, he might be embarrassed. Should I run after all? No, no I’m almost there, I hope he’s awake I didn’t think to call before I left, if he’s not awake I can just wait and play with Dai. I think that-

“HINATA!” I look up and Sasuke is running towards me, he’s wearing fully black, I wonder if he’s not dying from the sun. If he were a pickle, he would have surely gone bad.

“Hey, I was just coming over to yours,” I say as he gets nearer, I didn’t notice when he first called out to me, but he looks panicked and that makes me panic, I can’t even ask what’s the matter, because he takes hold of my arm and continues running. I let out a surprised noise when the bentos fall from my grip, yet Sasuke doesn’t stop. All thoughts about whether i should run or not in my new sandals are out the window, I try to look at his face but he’s two steps ahead of me and I can only see half of his face, but he looks…distressed. I call his name a few times but he ignores me.

“S-SASUKE….W-WHAT’S WRONG?” I shout trying to get his attention. I still get no answer and my focus is on his face so I don’t see a small rock in the road and I trip over it, the belt on one of my sandals snaps and I fall and skin my knees and palm, my fall makes Sasuke stop for a moment but he continues running. I feel betrayed, he didn’t help me up, he didn’t ask if I was fine. The fall hurt and the damage done to my feelings make me cry, but Sasuke keeps running away and I want to know what happened. I get back up and continue running with one foot bare onto the hot asphalt. I try again to scream for him but he doesn’t turn around at all.

My eyes are filled with tears and I can’t see well, my knees and palm are bleeding and my foot hurts from the heat and all the rocks and bumps, that’s when it happens. One moment I’m on the street running and the next I’m flying, it’s an odd sensation, but soon gravitation comes back and I’m on the ground. That’s when it all starts to hurt and when I realize what had happened, I was hit by a car. The images turn blurry, I think I hear someone screaming, but all I see is Sasuke still running away, is that true? Is it a hallucination? I cannot tell. I close my eyes and moments later I open them again, only to find myself in a hospital. Two weeks passed, thankfully all I got from the accident were a contusion, a broken arm and an injury on my left knee which they had already done surgery on while I was in a medication-induced coma.

The image changes, the dream is no longer in the first person, I am merely a spirit watching the action unfold. Time speeds up and days go by in an instant, people come and go, they talk to the small version of myself and wish her a smooth recovery, my whole class comes to see me once. In the myriad of people, there’s one missing.

“Where’s Sasuke?” my past self’s meek voice seems to boom and echo with this question.

“He left the day of your accident, what a jerk” Neji mumbles. I can see the moment my little heart breaks and that’s when the first person pov returns.

I feel the world's collapsing onto me, the feeling of concern and betrayal had been equal when he left me on the ground after my fall, but now…I was drowning in betrayal. He left me alone on the street to die. He didn’t care, I loved him and he didn’t care.

That was the tragic ending of my first love, I cried for weeks to come. People said I changed after the accident. It wasn’t the accident that changed me, it was him, he utterly destroyed all of me at the young age of 14.

#sasuhinamonth #sasuhina #sasuhina fanfic #shmonth #shmonth2021 #day4 #sasuke #hinata #susake uchiha #hinata hyuuga #uchiha #hyuuga #dia story #diawrites

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diaphragmjellyfish · 3 years

Text

Miguel Diaz fluff alphabet

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Miguel loves your smile. He’s a funny guy and he thinks your smile lights up a room so he makes it his mission to make you laugh as much as possible. If you have some crooked teeth, he thinks it’s adorable. Also, looking at your smile makes him think about your lips which just makes him want to kiss you.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

Yes, after he gets a stable job. He would love kids but he doesn’t want to be like his dad and end up abandoning his family so he would make extra sure he could support the child and you and makes a conscious effort to be there for his family no matter what. Asking about their day, being involved in their sports/clubs/hobbies, making snacks when they have friends over. He just wants to be the Cool Dad ™ and would probably try to teach them karate before they could even sit up.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

He loves to have you sit between his legs and lean back against his chest so he can wrap his arms around you and make sure you’re always safe and warm. It’s the perfect position for movies, video games, deep conversations, baths. He will also often come up behind you at a party and hold you like this if someone is hitting on you or if you look uncomfortable or bored. He can whisper little jokes in your ear or kiss you on the cheek.

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

He loves fun dates. You both have always found fancy dinner dates really awkward. He likes something where you guys can move around, do activities, and just let loose. The go-to’s are usually mini golf, the arcade, the zoo, or just a nice picnic in the park. He often gets you little gifts before dates, though, like flowers, a stuffed animal, or a cool rock he found. His Yaya taught him never to show up for a date empty handed. And he’s a total gentleman, never making you uncomfortable or rushing things. Miguel keeps his hands to himself unless instructed otherwise.

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…)

You are my sunshine. As cheesy as it is, Miguel sees you as the shining light in his life. You make everything better, whether that’s an injury, a bad day at school, or losing a fight at training. He knows he can always go to you and be distracted by your beautiful smile.

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

Miguel first knew he was in love with you when you met his family for the first time. They invited you over for dinner one night and he told you his Yaya didn’t speak much english, so you asked him to teach you some spanish so you could talk with her. It wasn’t perfect, you made lots of grammar mistakes and really only said a couple sentences to her, but the effort you made combined with the smile on Yaya’s face made him fall absolutely head-over-heels.

If you already speak spanish, it would be seeing you talk with his Yaya and joke around with her over dinner.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

The most gentle boy on the face of the Earth. Like I said earlier, Miguel keeps his hands to himself unless you tell him otherwise. The first time you guys kiss, he barely moves a muscle. You had to grab his hands and put them on your waist. Even now, when he’s teaching you karate, he refuses to hit or grab you, so you honestly don’t really learn anything lol and if you’re sick or sleeping, he’s like a feather, so scared to disturb you. It’s like touching a kitten honestly

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

All. The. Time. He’s not too big on PDA, except for hand-holding. This is how he lets everyone know you’re taken without seeming possessive or gross. Miguel will grab your hand at the mall, at school, while y’all are cuddling, at the beach, literally whenever you’re in arm’s reach from him, he’s holding your hand.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

Miguel’s first impression of you is that you’re this bright ray of sunshine. He’s drawn to you like a magnet. Your eyes, your smile, your laugh! And when he finally works up the nerve to say hi (Strike first!) he thinks his heart might actually melt. When you actually laugh at the joke he makes and hold out your hand to introduce yourself, he turns bright red and can barely speak omfg this poor boy. But luckily you think it’s sweet and keep talking to him.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

He did at first, we’ve all seen how he acts with Sam and Robby, but you lay down the law. You have to tell him that it’s not cool, it makes people uncomfy, and then he finally starts to work on it. Now he’s better. He still feels jealous sometimes, but he trusts you and can control himself a bit more.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

So your first kiss. You were giving him The Look for like 10 minutes straight and he never made a move. He just stared at you. So you had to be the first one to actually lean in, but once you did, he met you halfway. His kisses match his personality. Sweet, gentle, and goofy, but with a more dominant, aggressive side if you know how to bring it out ;)

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

He did. After you had dinner with his family and he realized he loved you, he told you almost immediately. This boy just wears his heart on his sleeve. He was walking you home and when you got to your house and turned around to kiss him goodnight, he had a funny look on his face. When you asked him what was wrong he kind of went ILOVEYOU! Really fast and you had to make him say it again slower because you thought he had a stroke or smth lmaooo but once he took a deep breath and said it more clearly, you jumped on him and kissed his whole face and said it back a hundred times.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

When he first introduced you to Sensei Lawrence. He thought Sensei was gonna be super mean and make fun of you, but turns out you guys had a lot in common. You loved 80’s rock music, and responded to his sass with even more sass. Johnny almost couldn’t believe Miguel was able to get such a cool babe. You guys all had lunch after taking a tour of the dojo, and it was a super fun day! You all drove around in Johnny’s car with the windows down listening to Guns ‘n Roses.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Miguel spoils you in his own little way. His family isn’t as fortunate as others, but he still finds ways to make you feel special. Instead of a diamond necklace, he gives you a cool rock he found outside and cleaned up. Instead of taking you to expensive restaurants, he spends all day cooking with Yaya to make a nice picnic for you guys to have on the beach. And he saves up to buy you nice gifts for your birthday or anniversary.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Rose gold. You’re so beautiful to him and have this natural charm that everyone falls for. You’re so radiant and yet soft and unique. He just love love loves you.

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

Sweety, sweetheart, baby, gorgeous, and Princess during more intimate moments.

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

80’s rock music. He learns to love it through Sensei Lawrence. He even saves up to buy a record player so he can feel more connected to the past.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Build blanket forts, cuddle, bake cookies, he might even let you put makeup on him if you ask nice.

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

Humor. He loves cracking jokes and lightening the mood. If you’re ever feeling down you know you can go to him and he will turn that frown upside down in mere minutes. Honestly even just being in his presence makes you happier. He cheers himself up by working out, taking some alone time to get his feelings out, and then going out with some friends or with you.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Umm, karate! Duh lol the boy is obsessed with it. Also superhero movies, video games, his day, he’s honestly kind of a rambler. He can talk about anything and everything if he’s nervous enough. Let’s not forget the gas station scene in season 1…

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

You, dark rooms, white noise, puppies, linen scented candles, his mom’s cooking.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

His new muscles. Ever since joining Cobra Kai, he’s gotten pretty ripped and now it’s a struggle to get him to keep his shirt on. He worked hard for that body, he wants people to see how good he looks!

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

After college, he takes you on a hike up to this ridge overlooking a lake. It’s fall, the leaves are changing colors, and there’s no one around. You guys have been holding hands the whole time, but his hand is super sweaty even though it’s like 50 degrees out. You guys finally get to the top of the ridge and he grabs both your hands and tells you all the things he loves about you. This boy basically recites your whole love story, and as soon as he sticks his hand in his pocket you know what’s going on. He barely even got the box out of his pocket before you were jumping on him screaming Yes! You guys fell to the ground and he stopped you so he could officially get the words out. You were both crying, it was very beautiful.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

More Than Words by Extreme. You guys dance to this at your wedding.

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Absolutely. Y’all marry pretty young, like right out of college. He knew you were gonna get married on the first date.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

Iguana. He thinks they’re like little dinosaurs! He would name it Wade because we know he loves Deadpool.

#cobra kai #miguel diaz #hawk #robby keene #sam larusso #fluff #miguel x reader #karate kid

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not404error1 · 4 years

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Coming out /Relationship reveal

when i'm set alight By killproof (AO3 ,T, 5685 w, FTM Zuko, Bi sokka, Coming out)

“I’m going to go practice some firebending forms,” Zuko says stiffly, running a hand through the tangles in his hair. “Tell Aang to join me if he wants to once he wakes up.” Gold eyes dart up to where Aang had strung up a makeshift hammock and was still sleeping soundly, snoring like a buffalo yak.

“Alright,” Sokka says, watching as he walks out without another word, evidently having reverted back into his usual brooding self. “Have fun!” He calls after Zuko loudly, which he means to be sarcastic, but comes out painfully, embarrassingly sincere. His face burns, and as soon as Zuko passes out of sight into the the temple, Katara turns to him, leveling him with a Look.

“You like him.” She says, and it’s not a question.

two feathers of a flower by ymnkn (AO3, T, 21118 w, FTM Zuko, MTF Sokka, coming out, Identity Porn)

“What do you want?”

“I want to be a girl.”

Social Media AU By kryptonianmenace (AO3, G, 4,375 w, Youtube AU, secret identities, coming out, humor, mild angst)

Modern day AU where the Gaang are a bunch of YouTubers.

*one of my faves*

Friends Don't Let Friends Fake Date Each Other By naggeluide (AO3, G, 5349w, Crack treated seriously, Fake relationships, coming out, post war)

Toph demands that Zuko fake date her. This goes just about as well as can be expected. Sokka steps in to show them how it's done, and this goes a bit better than expected.

Like father like son by AlyssiaInWonderland (AO3, T, 2051w, angst, humor, coming out)

In which Zuko and Sokka are in a loving but secret relationship, Zuko mistakes Hakoda for Sokka, and it is Angsty as well as Humourous, because I, the author, have No Chill Whatsoever.

Based on the tumblr prompt: Zukka have just started courting when Hakoda makes an appearance (you can choose the setting). Zuko has forbade Sokka from PDA until they tell him. After a long day, Zuko confuses Hakoda for Sokka and horror sets in - on whose side, you decide lol

*one of my faves*

A Problematic Peace by stmangos (AO3, T, 14145w, Past Mai/zuko, Past Jet/zuko, Oblivious Zuko, Pinning Zuko, Homophobia, Biphobia, Bi Zuko, coming out, Zuko Angst, Past sokka/suki, Post War, two part series)

It’s a little bit hard to sleep alone in an empty palace when you’ve just gotten used to having friends, a little bit hard to lead a nation when your family’s gruesome legacy still colors everything you do, and a little bit hard to hold onto your last vestiges of heterosexuality when you’re starting to realize that you never had them in the first place.

*one of my faves Pt 1 mainly deals with zuko figuring out his sexuality*

Made to Last by stmangos PT2 of A Problematic Peace (AO3, T, 18771w , Past Mai/zuko, Past Jet/zuko, Oblivious Zuko, Pinning Zuko, Homophobia, Biphobia, Bi Zuko, coming out, Zuko Angst, Past sokka/suki, Post War, Pt 2, coming out, assasination attempt)

Sokka’s been in the Fire Nation for a while now, so he totally knows the ropes-- except, that is, as regards his brain rebelling against him, a pro-Ozai group orchestrating attacks, and the ever-present mental rigmarole of how he and Zuko will get out of this damn closet.

*one of my faves*

Open Arms by acezukos (purplefennels7) (AO3, G, 2264w, Crack, humor, coming out)

Sokka tries to come out to his dad. It doesn't go exactly as planned.

or: sokka, panicking: you like guys!

Is This Normal? by callmecaramleh (AO3, T, 4370w, coming out , homiphobia, fluff getting together)

After the Boiling Rock, Sokka starts avoiding Zuko.

(i like shiny things but) i'd marry you with paper rings by cj_thedepressedgay (AO3, G, 2617w, coming out, getting together, secret relationship)

“Katara,” he started, willing the tremor in his voice to disappear. “Would you-” his breath caught in his throat. Was he really going to do this? He exhaled. Katara looked over at him, as if willing him to say something. “Would you still love me -if I- if I was into guys?”

“Sokka,” Katara sighed. She leaned over and pulled her brother into a hug, letting his tears soak into her shoulder. “Of course I still love you.”

---

Following Sokka through coming out, falling in love, and maintaining that love for years to come.

truth hurts by yallbitter (AO3, T, 1813w, marriage proposal, coming out)

Getting married is all well and good, but if nobody knows that you're together, it can put a bit of a dampener on the festivities. Our favourite boys have to tell their friends, family, and finally the world that a wedding is on it's way. What could go wrong?

#zukka #zukka fic recs #sokka/zuko #zukka fanfiction #trans zuko #sokka #trans sokka #atla zuko #atla fanfic #atla sokka #avatar the last airbender

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lelitachay · 3 years

Text

Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: An accident in the North mountain forces Elsa to spend several weeks in her brother’s apartment under Anna’s care. And during this time, Anna begins to notice there are peculiar things about Elsa’s life she wished she could understand. Everything starts to make sense after a family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP. Chapters 1 to 10 - Here Chapters 11 to 20 - Here Chapter 21 - What to do Chapter 22 - What’s there to lose? Chapter 23 - Seek the truth Chapter 24 - An abrupt end Chapter 25 - A fresh start

A promising future

Anna turned her head around and tried to peek into the living room. She wanted to see her mother's face but the door frame was annoyingly blocking her view. Her mother had asked to be left alone while she read Elsa's letter. And for that reason, she and her father had to go into the kitchen to wait for her. To Anna's dismay, her mother was taking way longer than she imagined to finish reading the letter, putting her patience to the test.

She leant against the back of the chair, hoping to rock it just enough to see her mother for a second. At least, enough to try and guess if the content of the letter was either good or bad by her mother's expressions. She was finally able to see the armchair and her mother's hand holding the letter, when the voice of her father startled her. "Stop spying on your mother," said Agdar, almost making her fall.

"I wasn't- I'm not…" She tried in vain to explain, but Agdar's amused expression let her see he didn't believe a word of it. Sighing in defeat, she confessed, "I'm just curious."

"I am too," he admitted as he walked towards the kitchen table. "But as you said, that letter belongs to Idunn. We should let her read it in peace."

"She could read faster." Anna knew she sounded like the impatient child she had once been, but she couldn't help it. Ever since she found out she had an older sister; she had hoped for her family to be reunited again. At least, for just one night. Long enough for her parents and sister to talk things through. She simply couldn't wait anymore. She needed to know if Elsa was willing to make her dream come true.

Agdar laughed and sat down in the opposite chair. Once he was properly seated, he handed her one of the two tea cups he had brought with him. “Here.”

“Thank you,” answered Anna with a small smile. The way her father returned the smile made her feel guilty for the things she had said to him only an hour earlier. It was true she had been mad at her father’s reprimands for not being present at dinner, but it didn’t justify her behaviour. The last thing she wanted was to be on bad terms with him, even if part of her still believed he could have done things differently in the past.

Agdar cleared his throat, calling Anna's attention for a second time. “I didn't choose the company over your sister," said Agdar, as if he had read her mind. He took a sip from his tea and continued, “You may not believe me, but I swear I didn't.”

Guilt washed over Anna once again, and she thought it was best if she learnt once and for all to think before she talked. "Dad, I didn't mean to-”

“Let me finish,” he asked. “I'm aware my decisions have hurt your sister and our family in many ways. But please, don't ever think Elsa was second best." His eyes were focused on the cup he was holding, but Anna knew he was thinking about the past. "I was so happy when your mother told me she was pregnant. I'm sure I cried when I held Elsa in my arms for the first time. Same with you," he clarified. "The two of you put my world upside down by just existing."

"We did?" Her father was a loving man, though he seldom expressed it orally.

"Of course. You mean the world to me." He looked her in the eye and smiled. "It broke my heart to leave Elsa behind. Truth is, we had run out of ideas. We couldn't take care of her, Anna. And to be honest… I–" Agdar sighed, stopping himself mid-sentence.

Something told Anna he was having second thoughts about talking about his past once again. And even if Anna was trying hard to remain calm, her father's overprotection usually drove her mad. "Not sharing things is what put us in this situation to begin with. What happened?"

"I didn't trust my father."

"What?" The sadness in her father's voice surprised her. She wasn't sure what he was going to say, but that certainly was not it.

"My father was a strange man. Full of anger and resentment," he said. "All he cared about was power."

"Power?"

"Money and social recognition, mostly. Sadly, everything he considered an obstacle to his ambition was something that should be taken care of — gotten rid of." The way he wrung his hands showed Anna he was nervous about sharing the truth. He even seemed ashamed of his father's actions. "I feared Elsa would become an obstacle in his eyes. You should have seen the way he looked at me when I told him she existed…"

"Did you tell him about–?"

"Her powers?" he interrupted. "No. I wanted to see how he reacted to the news that she existed first…” He took a sip of his tea and said, “not to tell him was the right call. To this day, I don't know what he would have done to Elsa if he had known."

Father and daughter stayed silent for a while, not knowing what to say. Anna could see a mixture of relief and guilt in her father's eyes. It was clear he had wanted to tell her about Runeard for a long time. "I never thought grandfather was like that."

"I respected him, but I guess it was a respect born out of fear." He looked at the mug in his hands once again, avoiding Anna's gaze. "I never truly loved him. Not the way I love you, your sister and your mother."

The way he included Elsa in the list didn't go unnoticed by Anna, who smiled at the fact her parents were, little by little, trying to make Elsa part of the family once again. "I can't imagine myself in your situation. I love you and mum so much."

"I guess we receive the love we give."

In a subtle way, Agdar said what she had been wondering since the conversation started. Runeard had never shown him love. At least not in the way a good loving father should.

"You know, Anna," Agdar said, calling her attention once again. "When Elsa was born, I promised myself I wouldn't make the same mistakes my father did. I said I wouldn't raise my child to fear me. I wanted her to love me and respect me. I also promised to do everything in my power to give her a good future…”

Anna could only imagine how much Agdar regretted ever leaving Elsa behind. She could hear the guilt in his voice as he spoke.

“I failed Elsa terribly, and there isn't a day I don't beat myself over it. I made a similar promise the day you were born. This time, I swore I wouldn't leave you alone. I also promised to let you follow your own path.” He grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Sometimes I feel I'm failing you too. I'm sorry if I let my workaholic nature get in the way. I'm sorry if I'm too overbearing about the business too.”

Anna held his hand a little tighter in return and offered him a smile. “I don't think you've ever failed me, dad. You've always been there for me. And you were the first person to tell me I should follow a career in education if that's what I wanted.” She took a deep breath and hoped her father wouldn’t ask too many questions about the previous night. “Last night was my fault, something unfair happened to Marshall and I thought he could use my help. That’s the reason I was late and I’m sorry. I did say I'd be here, I should've kept my promise…”

“What exactly happened last night?”

“Well, you see… It's a long story.” She had no idea how to explain she had tried to stop Marshall from smashing Hans face, only for her to end up knocking him out. “Marshall’s a private person and-”

“It's fine,” Agdar interrupted, giving her the easy way out. “You don't need to tell me. I trust you made the right choice.”

“That I did.” She looked at her foundation covered knuckles and smiled to herself.

“Tell me… Should I be concerned?”

“Concerned?”

“You mentioned this Marshall fellow is Elsa's friend and I-”

She gaped already knowing where her father was going. “No. No. I won't let you do this,” she said, pointing an accusatory finger in her father’s direction. “You almost freaked Kristoff out when we started dating. I won't let freak Marshall out.”

“So, they are together.”

“No, they are not. Though, I'm rooting for Marshall.”

“He looked like he had been involved in a fight recently,” he said, serious about the situation.

She rolled her eyes, annoyed by her father’s overprotection. “Leave the man alone, dad.”

“Elsa's been through a lot in her life. I won't let a hooligan get anywhere near her.”

For a moment, Anna wondered if had said anything that could make her father think Marshall a hooligan, but the memories of the day he met Kristoff came to mind. “Marshall’s not a hooligan. The same way Kristoff was not one either- Are you listening to yourself right now?”

“Does Kristoff approve of him? Kristoff's a sensible man in that regard.”

“Leave the man alone.”

Resting his chin on one of his fists, he asked, “What's his last name, again?”

“Dad, I'm serious.” For a moment Anna thought her father had finally lost it, when she noticed a playful smirk drew on his face. “You were being annoying on purpose, weren’t you?”

Agdar’s and Anna’s playful smiles were short-lived however. Idunn entered the kitchen with red, puffy eyes which were hard for them to ignore.

“Idunn?”

“Mum? What's wrong?”

They both asked, almost instantly; and soon after they shared a worried look.

“Everything’s okay,” she assured them. “I'm a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”

“So…” said Anna once her mother took a seat between them both. “Did she say anything? Will she give you guys a second chance?”

“She doesn't say.”

Agdar’s disappointment was obvious when he asked, “what did she write about?”

“I wrote about our past in my letters, and I asked her to share hers with me…” Idunn explained.

“And, did she…?”

She shook her head. “Not the past you're thinking about. She doesn't mention anything about Romsdal or the time she spent inside the clinic. She wrote about Kristoff and the Bjorgmans, instead.”

Anna smiled at that, at least she was certain Elsa hadn’t had a hard time writing the letter. She understood perfectly well why her sister had avoided more serious topics.

“She talks about the day she met Kristoff and everything they did together - how they became friends,” Idunn continued. “She then jumps to the day she was officially adopted by the Bjorgmans.”

“She doesn't mention Weselton at all?” asked Agdar, clearly as interested as Anna in the content of the letter.

“I think she avoided it on purpose,” she said. “Maybe Gerda's right, maybe she's pretending it didn't happen.”

That last comment called Anna’s attention, but she didn’t say anything. After all, she knew her parents had met the Bjorgmans a couple of times. It wasn’t a surprise they had shared their worries with her parents.

“Do you think so?” Agdar said, being unable to hide the concern from his voice.

Looking at the different pages of the letter in her hand, Idunn explained, “she avoids talking about it. She jumps from one topic to the other… It's as if she picked certain parts of her childhood and mixed them together in a way she doesn't mention Romsdal nor the clinic at all.”

“It hurts too much,” Anna said, surprising even herself. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but the words had slipped from her mouth faster than she could stop them.

“What?” her parents asked, looking at her.

Anna had mentioned Elsa’s mental breakdown, but she hadn’t talked to them about her past. Elsa had opened up in a moment of weakness and stress, and Anna thought it was wrong to share what she had said to her. But now that she had her parents’ attention, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know some parts of it. “It hurts too much,” she chose to say. “If I were Elsa, I wouldn't like talking about it either.”

“You know about her past?” The answer to the question was quite obvious, but Agdar asked it anyway.

“The night she found Kai's petition, she seemed terrified of facing Weselton again. I saw her so distressed, I had to ask about it. I was lucky she told me…” Anna sighed as she tried to find the right words to explain it. Finding none, she said, “It's- it's bad.”

Idunn and Agdar shared a painful look. “Gerda and Kai told us about it,” said Idunn. “They didn't know all the details, but… Well, they met her right after she was found. Her health condition gave them a clear idea of what she went through.”

Anna grimaced, not once she had stopped to think about the aftermath of everything her sister went through. The way Elsa had explained Gerda and Kai had rescued her had made it seem everything was okay after it. But now, Anna could only wonder how much time it had taken Elsa to recover from her time in Weselton’s hands. Shaking her head, she uselessly tried to erase the idea of Elsa in a hospital bed.

“What did she tell you?” Agdar asked her.

“It's not my place to tell you really – not that she told me everything about it either. But I think she should be the one to talk about it with you. At her own time. I guess only Elsa can say what really happened.” Anna wasn’t trying to be mysterious, she hadn’t liked when Kristoff did the same to her; but she truly believed it was best for Elsa to be the one to share her past with their parents, if she ever wanted to.

Idunn’s sigh drew Anna’s attention back at her. “She must have been so scared. So lonely,” her mother said. And not for the first time, Anna wondered how much the guilt of leaving Elsa behind was going to affect her mother.

“What else did she tell you?” asked Agdar once again. This time, he was pointing at the letter in Idunn’s hands. “In her letter, I mean.”

"Mainly stories about her days with Kristoff. She also told me about a book, which was her favourite. She couldn't read at the time so she doesn't know its name. She said she was hoping I may have an idea." A smile appeared on Idunn's face and Anna felt more at ease knowing Elsa had really tried to establish some sort of relationship with their mother.

"The one she transcribed?" asked Anna, already knowing the answer. Elsa must have truly loved that book.

"That's the one!" Idunn exclaimed, happily. "I wish I could see her transcription. Does she still have it?"

"She never said." Anna thought it was funny how she had never thought of asking Elsa about it. Maybe the drawings could help them realise which book she was talking about.

"You could ask Helga," offered Agdar. "The owner of the bookshop two blocks from here. She can always help you, even with the briefest description of a story."

"You should definitely ask her, mum." Anna was certain her mother would do everything she could to find the book.

Idunn nodded with a smile and looked at the different pages again until she found the part where Elsa described the book. She put it aside as a reminder.

"She didn't say anything else?"

It was clear her father wanted to find out as much as possible about Elsa, and that fact made Anna truly happy. Her parents hadn't lied about loving and wanting to get to know Elsa once again. She hoped Elsa could see that side of them and actually realise how much they cared.

"She talked about Gerda and Kai too," answered Idunn, unaware of Anna's excitement. "She enjoyed getting to know them and becoming part of their family, even if at the beginning she felt like an intruder in their house. She talks a lot about them, actually. It's clear she loves them."

"She once said to me they're her heroes," said Anna.

"It's good to know she found a good family after everything she went through," Agdar said honestly.

Idunn nodded with a smile. Looking at the letter once again, she tried to order the pages before offering it to Anna. "Would you like to read some of her stories? There's one about Kristoff's old truck that you'd like."

"Are you serious?! Kristoff always avoids talking about his old truck! Give me that."

Idunn handed her the letter, and even though she was excited about Elsa's stories, she couldn't hide her disappointment when she first looked at the content of the letter. "Oh, Elsa…"

"What? What is it?" asked Idunn, worried she had missed something important.

"This handwriting is terrible even for her standards. I guess she must have written it in a hurry." Anna gave the rest of the pages a quick look and sighed tiredly. "This is messy as hell."

"Let me see that," said Agdar, curious to finally see Elsa's disastrous handwriting. "Oh… No wonder you took more than an hour to read this."

"She apologises about her handwriting at the end," Idunn was quick to say, trying to justify Elsa's work. "She says she's trying to learn and improve. The two of you should be more understanding. Especially you, Anna."

"Oh, please, she always avoids practicing her handwriting all the time. She's just being lazy," laughed Anna. She knew perfectly well Elsa hadn't tried to improve one bit in the last few months. If Anna was honest, she was starting to believe her sister's handwriting was beyond saving.

---

Idunn smiled at Anna's eagerness to read Elsa's letter. She was happy her youngest daughter had not only found someone like Kristoff to share her life with, but also had found her long lost sister. Even if things with Elsa didn't work out and she never forgave them, at least Idunn could rest assured her girls could enjoy each other's company.

Once Anna became absorbed in the stories Elsa had to tell, Idunn turned to her husband. Agdar looked happy and peaceful, and she felt bad for ruining his good mood, but she needed to share what Elsa had also explained in the letter; even if it hurt him.

"She was there, Agdar," she said all of a sudden, calling his attention. It was best to let him know.

"What?"

"The day we visited the orphanage here in Trolheim. She was there." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "They lied to us so we wouldn't find her."

Agdar looked at her for a minute, not uttering a word. Idunn was beginning to think he hadn't really understood her when he asked, "are you sure?"

She confirmed the bad news with a nod of her head. "She says it herself."

"Do you mean this?" Anna said, surprising both of them. Before Idunn could pay a look at the letter, Anna began reading…

"When I was eight I was living in Trolheim's orphanage. I can't be sure, but I guess I was there when you and Agdar went looking for me. I re-read your letters. I wrote down the dates you mentioned. I counted the years… It all adds up. I wish the nurses would have said something. I was so lonely at the time. I would have given anything to meet you. No-one knew I existed; and those who did, didn't care about me.

I'm thankful Kristoff found me around that time though. For some reason I cannot understand, Kristoff did care and he stayed by my side until the day he was adopted… "

A bang startled mother and daughter, who turned to look at Agdar who had hit the table with his fist.

"They fucking lied!" He yelled. "Right in our faces. We were desperately looking for our missing daughter and they lied. They forced us to stop looking. I can't believe this!"

Idunn tried to grab his hand to calm him down, but he stood up before she had the chance.

He walked a few steps away from the table and began pacing as he covered his face with his hands. "How could I've been so stupid – so gullible! Weselton and those 'caregivers' need to rot in hell."

"Calm down, Agdar."

"No. They will rot in hell. I'll make sure of it!" he yelled once again, not paying attention to his wife.

"We won't get involved, Agdar. And that's final." She knew he wasn't going to take the news lightly, for that reason she had tried to tell him the good things Elsa had shared with her.

He stopped pacing to look at her with a painful expression. "Idunn, she was there. Elsa was a few walls away from us! Don't tell me you're okay with this!"

Trying hard to remain calm, Idunn took a deep breath that she hoped could help Agdar calm down too. "Of course I'm not okay with this, Agdar. But I won't go against Elsa's wishes. Too many people have already done that…"

He opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it. It was clear he agreed with her in that regard, but still his anger was palpable. "I just wish for them to pay," he said in a low voice.

Idunn could only agree with him, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at Anna and reassured her they were not going to do anything stupid.

---

Kristoff sighed as he climbed the stairs to his apartment after a long day. The last thing he had wanted to do that day was to work, but to his dismay his boss had called him soon after he had picked his truck in the early morning. He had apologised to a sleepy Elsa, and he had left in a hurry.

What he had hoped to be a short working day, had stretched and became an even-longer-than-usual day. He was exhausted; and what was worse, he hadn't been able to spend the previous night nor that morning with his sister. But at least, his boss had rewarded him with an off-day the following day.

As he opened the door, he wondered why Sven wasn't barking or jumping all over him, but he soon realised why. Against all odds, his sister had decided to stay in the city.

"Elsa?" he said, calling her attention. "What are you doing?"

Elsa looked around herself and then at Sven, who was by her side, before finally asking, "Setting the table?"

"I mean here!" said Kristoff with a smile.

"Did you have plans? I can leave if your friends are coming."

"You don't need to go anywhere," said Kristoff patiently, though he already wanted to smack her in the head. "And you know I wouldn't kick you out if my drunkard friends were coming. I didn't expect you to be here, that's all. I thought you had gone back to the mountain."

"I decided to stay and visit mum and dad. I wanted to have dinner with them but they had plans," she answered with a shrug. "So, I thought it was a good opportunity to have dinner together."

"Mum told you no? That's hard to believe." It wasn't a secret his mother had soft spot for Elsa after all.

"They had the anual dinner at the police station," Elsa explained while she arranged the dishes.

He left his jacket on the couch and walked to the kitchen ready to ask his sister what she had ordered, when he realised the stove was on and a tempting smell was coming from the pot. "Did you- did you cook dinner?"

"I tried. I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

Elsa seemed proud of her achievement, that was clear. The fact her food didn't smell like a burning building was in itself a miracle. "You cooked dinner."

"Don't start," she warned.

He looked inside the pot and was surprised to see a mouth-watering stew. In all their years together as brother and sister, Elsa had never been able to cook something that could be considered tempting, and Kristoff was not going to miss the opportunity to make fun of her. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

Elsa pushed him to the side so she could have access to the food. "Stop goofing around and hand me those bowls."

"What did you cook?" Stew was the obvious answer, but it didn't look or smell like Gerda's typical.

"Hunter's stew."

"Where did you learn to cook that?"

"Just a recipe I found…"

Kristoff could hear the hesitation in his sister's voice. She wasn't being completely honest, but he had no idea why. "You aren't trying to poison me, are you?"

"Shut up and eat your food," said Elsa as she pushed the hot bowl against his chest.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed and sat down in his usual place. He took a cautious first bite. It didn't matter how much he loved his sister, he could never be careful enough while trying food she had made herself. This time, however, the food was the complete opposite of what he was expecting. It wasn't the best dish he had ever tried, it wasn't even in the top twenty. But the fact it tasted good and it wasn't burnt was in itself a great achievement. "Unbelievable."

"What?" asked Elsa, worried she had messed up once again.

"This is edible."

"You're an arse."

Kristoff laughed loudly, making fun of her was too easy at times. "It's a compliment."

"Sure, tell Anna she doesn't look hideous one day. I'm sure she'll love the compliment." She sat down and took a bite herself. A small smile drew on her face, for the first time in forever her food wasn't a total waste.

"I'm messing with you," said Kristoff with a smile of his own when he noticed how pleased his sister was with the dish she had made. "Thank you. I know you hate cooking, it means a lot you took the time to cook something for me. A warm meal was all I needed."

"I wanted to thank you for last night."

He looked at her with a curious expression. “Thank me?”

She played with her food as she tried to find the right words. “I know you hate fights and getting involved in them. You helped Marshmallow last night in spite of that.”

He tried not to read too much into Elsa’s gratitude. He was sure if Anna were there with them, she’d be making several conjectures about Elsa and Marshall’s relationship; but he was not going to. If his sister ever felt something for the mountaineer, he was sure he’d be the first person to find out. “I guess what Hans did to him was unfair,” said Kristoff . “Anna getting involved herself had a lot to do too.”

“He feels awful for dragging you and Anna into it. He said he'll try to repay you.”

“Tell him I appreciate the feeling, but all I want is for him to be more level-headed next time. I won't tolerate him yelling at you for his problems ever again.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about Marshall if he were honest. It was true he didn’t like him at the beginning, but with time Kristoff had realised the big guy didn’t have ulterior motives and he seemed to honestly care about Elsa. But the previous night, his concerns had returned. It was clear Marshall wasn’t himself when he got angry. “Tell me, Elsa, do you trust the guy?”

Elsa stopped eating and raised an eyebrow. “Of course I do.”

“Aren't you afraid of him?” Noticing the worry in his sister’s face he clarified, “I'm not saying he's a bad guy, it's just- he's even stronger than he seems. The guy's unstoppable. And he clearly can’t control his anger.”

“He once told me he has problems controlling his anger,” Elsa admitted. “He asked me to try and keep him grounded anyway I could if he ever lost his temper around me. I didn't think much of it at the time.”

Elsa’s explanation did nothing to calm his nerves. How could she stay so calm around a man like him. “You’re not doing a good job convincing me I shouldn’t be concerned, sister.”

Contrary to what he expected, a small smile appeared on his sister’s face. “Last night I understood what you and Gerda have been trying to explain to me all these years. I can't blame myself – or Marshall in this case – for things we can't control. Marshall has anger management problems, but he tries hard to be a better person. I see guilt written on his face whenever he realises he has lost control…”

Kristoff gaped at his sister and all of a sudden understood her reasons. It didn’t take a genius to see why Elsa could relate so much with him.

“I see no reason not to trust him,” she concluded with a shrug. “You trusted me from the start, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… I did.” He felt like an idiot for not giving his sister more credit. After all, she was his shitty people detector, it was ridiculous not to trust her in this situation too. “Anna mentioned something similar last night. She said not helping Marshall would be like not helping you. Needless to say, it changed my mind about helping him immediately.” Maybe Anna hadn’t meant for him to share that information with Elsa, but it was the truth.

“No matter the reason, you helped him and that means a lot to me. Thank you.”

Brother and sister finished their food, but stayed at the table talking for a while. It had been a long time since they had had the chance to spend some time together, so they took the opportunity to talk about each other’s life, about Sven, and the family; just the way they used to do when they were still living together.

It didn’t take long for them to start talking about work. Kristoff told her about his relationship with his boss and how he was sure he’d get a promotion in the near future. It wasn’t a sure deal, but he was certain he was the best guy for the job. Elsa, on her part, told him about her plans for the season, and how her leg was practically at its full capacity once again.

“Are you still thinking about Marshall becoming your business partner?” asked Kristoff when he noticed Elsa didn’t seem so worried about the way she was going to organise her business.

“About that…” she said with a nervous smile. “We talked about it last night.”

“What?”

“He said yes in a heartbeat.”

“Didn't you say you were going to think about it a bit more?”

“We work well together. I think we can help each other out,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Are you sure concealing your powers won’t become a problem in the long run?”

“It'll be fine.” Elsa gave him a knowing look. It was obvious she could see he was more worried than it was necessary. “I promise.”

Raising his hands in the air, he said, “If you think it’s a good idea, then I trust you. Just take care of yourself. I know it's physically challenging to keep your powers under control sometimes.”

He felt like a nuisance with his overprotectiveness, but all he wanted was the best for his family; but Elsa’s grin told him she wasn’t annoyed at all. They had come a long way together since they met and they both understood the other’s concerns.

“I truly think this arrangement is for the best. I know for a fact I can't keep working on my own, and Marshmallow will take a lot of responsibilities off my shoulders. Especially the business part. He knows more than me about this.”

He was surprised to see Elsa so eager for what was to come. For the first time, he saw her completely relaxed about what was to come and how her powers could affect her plans. Who was he to ruin her happiness with his concerns? “Then, I'm glad you found a way to keep working on your own. I'd hate to see you working for someone like Hans.”

She scoffed at the mere idea. “I wouldn’t work for him, not even for all the chocolate in the world after what he did to Marshmallow.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear.”

---

After an emotionally taxing day, Agdar entered his bedroom ready to call it a night. He wanted to forget for a moment the injustices of life and rest before he needed to face another week. Ever since Elsa had shown up in their life, he had tried to bury himself in work, hoping to find some distraction from the guilt that was eating him alive. But that unhealthy solution had only worked for a short time; lately, he found himself getting more and more distracted at work, and every new week was a challenge.

He was certain this new week was going to be even more difficult than the previous one. This time he was angry about the fact people in Trolheim’s orphanage had lied to his face. And what was worse, he could only blame himself for it. He had trusted Weselton, he had abandoned his daughter and, what was worse, he was the one who had bought their lies. Whenever he thought about how utterly stupid he had been, he wanted to punch himself in the face. Sadly, he needed to keep a formal appearance for his company, if not, he was sure he would have already done it.

He closed his bedroom door silently, thinking his wife was already asleep. But to his surprise, she was still up, sitting on his desk. “You're already writing a new letter, aren't you?” he asked, already knowing the answer. The thrill of receiving Elsa’s letter had given his wife renewed energy, and she had been talking about it all day.

“Yes! I'm so excited. I never imagined she would answer.”

She didn’t need to say it for him to notice. Anna and Idunn were two sides of the same coin, especially when they were excited.

“And you were right about Helga! It took her some time, but she was able to find the book Elsa was talking about,” she said, as she handed him a brown paper bag.

“Really?” he asked. He knew Helga was really good at identifying books and stories, the old woman had read more stories than she could tell, but he never thought she was going to find it so soon. “That was fast.”

He took the book from inside the bag and paid a good look at it. For a moment he pondered about the different ways perceived the world based on their experiences. To him, children's books were nothing but that. Children’s books. It was clear that for Elsa, however, a children’s book could mean so much more. He smiled sadly, as he guessed that for her it was going to be like meeting an old friend. Pain and guilt washed over him once again at that realisation.

“She spent over an hour looking at the old children's books in her deposit,” Idunn continued, unaware of her husband’s sadness. “I'll send the book with this letter, see? I'm sure she'll like the surprise.”

He smiled at her and handed her the book. It was nice to see one of them was looking at the glass half full. “It's the happiest I've seen you in a very long time,” he commented.

“Why do you say it as if it were a bad thing?” she asked, turning around in her chair to look at him.

“No reason.” He hadn’t meant to sound pessimistic.

“Agdar…”

Finding no good reason to lie to his wife, he said, “I don't want you or Anna to get hurt. Elsa's got her reasons to be weary of us.” It pained him to know it was true. “And we can't force her to meet us if she doesn't want to. I'd hate the idea of seeing the two of you disappointed if things don't end up the way you're hoping.”

Idunn stayed silent for a minute, giving Agdar enough time to beat himself internally several times for giving her a reason to worry.

“Then let's try to prove Elsa she can trust us. She might surprise us,” she said enthusiastically, not letting his worries affect her.

He leaned down and kissed her temple. Her strength had always helped him in the bad times, and this time in particular was no exception. “Weren't you the one who said we should give Elsa some time?” he asked, honestly curious.

“I won't pressure her to meet us. I only want to talk to her. Let her know who we are… and get to know her better…” She turned to him and asked, “is that a bad thing?”

“No, of course not.” It was the perfect thing to do in his opinion, as long as they didn’t overwhelm Elsa. “What are you writing about?”

Idunn picked the letter she had been writing and paid a look. “I told her about Helga and how we found the book. Now I'm recommending some books to her. In her letter, she said she spent hours on end reading stories as a teenager.”

“I thought she was just learning how to read and write…”

“She learnt when she was fifteen years old, Agdar.” He chuckled at the tiredness in her tone of voice. She was talking to him the way she used to when Anna was a kid and he forgot every single detail about her dance classes. “Anna says she only struggles with more difficult academic words or concepts.”

Idunn then looked at him and asked, “Is there anything you'd like to ask her?”

“Me? Are you sure?” For some reason he couldn’t explain, he was certain Elsa wouldn’t like to hear from him.

“Of course. Why don’t you ask her if she likes hockey?”

“What kind of question is that?” he laughed.

“She’s a ski instructor,” Idunn said as if it was the most obvious reason in the world. “I’m sure she enjoys all kinds of sports. Besides, Anna never paid attention to the game. Weren’t you the one who always complained she wouldn’t accompany you to the arena?”

“Yes, but-”

“Just talk to her, Agdar,” she said, noticing her husband’s hesitation. “Let her know you care. Sometimes, a simple question means more than you think.”

“I guess I could write to her…” If he was honest with himself, there were so many things he wanted to learn about her. Her hobbies, favourite kind of music, about her business… Everything. He wanted to learn everything about her. He wanted to made up for all those years they weren’t there for her too.

As if she had read his mind, Idunn said, “you’ll feel better if you do, trust me. Just, don’t pressure her.”

“I won’t,” he reassured her.

“I know you won’t.” She stood up from the chair and kissed him on the top of his head. “I’m going to bed.”

---

After cleaning the dishes, Kristoff and Elsa lay on the couch with Sven and continued talking about everything and nothing. It was as if they were back to their younger years without a worry in the world; whenever Kai and Gerda had to leave town, they’d stay up late into the night just spending time together. Playing cards or simply listening to music.

The memory made Elsa realise the opportunity was perfect for her to learn how to play truco. More importantly, to learn how to beat Anna.

“Do you know how to play Truco?” she asked her brother all of a sudden.

“The card game Anna loves so much?” he asked. “Sure.”

“Can you teach me how to play?”

“I thought you already knew how to play.”

“I know the rules,” she clarified. “But I can't beat Anna. No matter how hard I try.”

Kristoff laughed wholeheartedly, clearly aware of her competitiveness. “I can't believe you're putting more effort into this than improving your handwriting.”

Elsa scoffed, faking annoyance. “Why is everyone so obsessed with my handwriting?”

“It's illegible.”

“Will you teach me how to play or not?” she asked, wanting to avoid talking about the fact she hadn’t tried to improve her handwriting in months.

“Go fetch the deck, it's inside my desk’s drawer,” answered Kristoff, as he pointed to the door of his room. “I'll teach you how to read Anna's expressions. She's easy to read once you know what to expect from her.”

“Thank you!” Elsa jumped from her seat and went into the room not wanting to waste any second. She was going to surprise Anna next time they played.

She opened the drawer and had to rummage through his things to find it. When she finally did, she was nonplussed to see the velvet box which was behind the deck of cards.

“Is this…?” she murmured to herself and picked it up to examine it. Inside the black box there was a golden ring with the most beautiful orange stone Elsa had ever seen.

Not being able to stop her curiosity, she walked out the room and surprised her brother with the question, “Kristoff… Are you planning to propose to Anna?” As she showed him the box she had found.

“What?!” Kristoff stood from the couch and walked towards Elsa, taking the box from her hands. “Where did you get this?”

Her brother’s anger called her attention. “It was inside the drawer.”

“And you thought it was okay to open the box?” he said in anger.

“It was open,” Elsa said, excusing herself. “You can't blame me when you leave an engagement ring lying around.” She saw him sigh and sat down once again. “Are you going to propose?”

“I was…” he said after a minute in silence. “A couple of months ago.”

“You were?” That didn’t sound okay. At first Elsa was hurt Kristoff hadn’t shared his intentions with her, but now she was truly curious and a little concerned. “What made you change your mind? I thought things were okay between you two…”

“Things are fine. Don't worry.”

“Why did you change your mind then?”

“It doesn't matter,” he answered in a low voice.

Elsa knew something wasn’t right. Kristoff wouldn’t buy an engagement ring only to change his mind. Something had happened, and it worried her. “It does matter.”

“I don't want to talk about it, Els.”

The nickname he rarely used let her see he was actually begging her not to ask too many questions. “Fine…” she agreed, letting him off the hook. But still, she had to ask her original question. “Why didn't you tell me? I would have loved helping you pick the ring. Though you clearly didn’t need my help, it’s beautiful.”

Kristoff smiled. “It was months ago. You couldn't move or leave the house at the time.”

Thinking about his answer, Elsa realised the only time she was unable to move was the first month after the accident. “You've had the ring since January? I can't believe you haven't said anything in over–” She stopped herself mid sentence when she realised the reason Kristoff didn’t want to talk about the ring. “You changed your mind after you found out Anna is my sister, didn't you?”

“As I said, it doesn't matter.” He closed the velvet box and put it inside his pocket.

Elsa opened her mouth in astonishment . “I can't believe this… You threw away your plans because of what happened? Why would you do that?”

“Why would I?” he exclaimed. “Are you listening to yourself? The world came crashing down on you and Anna, Elsa. I couldn't ask her to marry me when I couldn't look Agdar in the face anymore.” He was surprised his sister didn’t see the obvious reason. “I couldn't ask for the man's blessing when all I wanted to do was punch him in the face.”

“But Anna and you love each other.” That was all that mattered. Elsa walked to the couch and sat by his side. “You don't need to put your life on hold for me or Agdar… You don't need to punch him in the face either.,” she murmured as an afterthought.

“I know but–” A tired sigh stopped him. “You mean a lot to me. All I want is to see you happy.”

“And I want to see you happy.” Elsa couldn’t understand why he was being so dense. “I know for a fact Anna makes you happy. Don't be an idiot and ask her to marry you.”

“If I do, I’ll need to give the Arendelles a second chance,” he said, looking her in the eye.

“So?”

“So?” he repeated. “Don’t you mind?”

“Of course not, Kristoff. They are Anna's parents,” said Elsa with a small laugh. “It’s as if you stopped talking to them just because of me.” His sheepish smile told Elsa all she needed to know. “You haven't talked to them all this time, have you?”

“No.”

“For goodness sake, Kristoff!” Her brother’s loyalty was truly unbelievable. “I knew you were on my side on this, but I never thought you stopped talking to them altogether!” Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. “Please, stop making things harder for you and Anna. Go talk to them.”

“Are you sure?”

Her heart warmed at Kristoff’s hesitation. She wasn’t sure what she had done to have someone like him in her life. “They care about you, Kristoff. I noticed it the night we had dinner together. You're part of their family.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked, surprising her.

“About what?”

“About your birth parents…” He scratched the back of his head, unsure if it was okay for him to ask. “Will you give them a second chance? I know you gave Anna a letter addressed to them.”

“Oh… I- I don’t know” she hesitated. “Idunn sent me some letters which let me see things in a different light. I'm still not sure what to do, but I guess answering back was a start.” She took a deep breath, “If I have to be honest, I only read them because I knew it would make Anna happy.”

A grin appeared on his face as he gave Elsa a side hug, “You're a great sister, did you know that?”

Elsa wasn’t sure if he was talking about him or Anna, or both. But she answered anyway. “Anna’s the reason I didn't burn those letters. I'm glad I didn't, though. I guess I needed to hear their side of things…”

---

Guess who’s back, people?! That’s right, my inspiration!

I am so, so sorry for the delay. When I uploaded the previous chapter in February I knew I was going to take some time off. I didn’t have many things written at the time, and I was about to start working on an entrepreneurship I want to start officially in a few months. The thing is, to be able to meet my own personal deadlines I have to work whenever I have free time from my regular job, which as you may guess isn’t a lot. So, all things combined, resulted in this delay.

I want to assure you I am not planning on abandoning this story. Every night, before I go to bed, I try to write one or two lines. I always end up changing some things, and correcting others. But rest assured that I always devote some time to Søsken (I even have some things written for an after story, which also took a lot of time from my hands.)

I also want to let you know that I read each and every comment and I love them. I treasure them a lot! I will try to answer all of you in the following days.

BTW, that entrepreneurship I was telling you about has some things to do with Frozen and Fandoms in general. I’m working on my own art toys collection, so if any of you are interested in seeing my main hobby, just send me a message.

Anyway, that’s all for now folks! Please leave a review saying what you loved / hated about the chapter. I was definitely rusty this time and I wouldn’t be surprised if you find several mistakes, but I didn’t want to delay this any longer.

Stay safe, everyone! Tagging time: @swimmingnewsie @melody-fox @kristoffxannafanatic @kristannafictionals @neptrabbit @skneez @ellacarter13 @wondering-in-life @who-i-am-8 @fanfictionrecommendations-com @815-allisnotlost @khartxo @joannevixxon @betweenthedreams @burbobah @rileysfs @earlvessalius @blood-jewel @disneydreamer8901 @the-sky-is-awake @disneyfan103 @the-magic-one-is-you @anamaria8garcia @welovefrozenfanfiction @bigfrozenfan-archive @bigfrozenfan @frozen-snips @deisymendoza @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @showurselfelsa @fuzzyelsalikeiduna @when-dawn-arrives @drafteedragon @snowycrocus @tare8chan @localarendellian@wabitham @roostercrowedatmidnight @just-your-local-history-nerd@dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin @bruni-is-love @luna-and-mars @anotherpersondrawing @lovelucywilde @shimmeringsunsets @aries1708 @wabitham @agentphilindaisy @anotherpersondrawing @spkfrozen Let me know if the tags work!

#Søsken #sosken #frozen #frozen fanfiction #Elsa #Kristoff #Elsa & Kristoff BroTP #frozen modern au #Kristanna #frohana #anna #Chapter 26 #Iduna #agnar

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bopbopstyles · 4 years

Text

1. December 26th, 2016

SERIES RATING: M (sex)

CHAPTER WORD COUNT: 6.4k

MASTERLIST | INSPO TAG | ASK

Y/N promised herself she would never date a musician. It was her one rule–her only rule, actually–when it came to dating. But then, Harry Styles rolled into her life and asked her to break it, just this once. And this is what happened.

A/N: welcome to chapter one of THE ONLY EXCEPTION! i’m so flipping excited i could scream!!!!!! this fic is going to be a long boi so buckle up. also thank you to @meetmeinfleetwood for supporting this fic from the start ilysm!!!! xoxo, willa

pls reblog to spread the word about only exception! 🥰

Y/N’s dad had been having these Christmas parties for the past five years or so, each time on the 26th of December, each time packed with music industry people and lots of bottles of tequila and red wine. Her first time had been two years ago, and she had found it surprisingly enjoyable—she had expected it to be boring and to want to leave after the first hour. Instead, it was full of people she had known since she was a kid, musicians and producers and her dad’s old A&R guys who she had grown up hanging out with in recording studios and backstage at her dad’s shows. They had come to family dinners before and after her parents’ divorce, and so when she ran into them at the parties it was easy to catch them up on her life and suddenly it was after midnight and the party was emptying out.

This year she had volunteered to help set up. Her dad had rented a massive house out in the hills and it came already decorated, but it was on Y/N to make sure there were chairs set up for the music circle, a massive bar laid out and plenty of glasses ready. Her dad’s friend was making the food, eager to use the opportunity to promote the new restaurant he was opening, so when Y/N opened the door it already smelled like garlic and olive oil, her favorite scents on earth.

“Karl!” She called through the house, shutting the heavy oak door behind her. Her arms were laden with boxes of plastic glasses—her dad was too scared of the guests breaking glass ones—and she wandered into the kitchen. The tall ceilings of the entryway where a massive Christmas tree sat adorned with ornaments gave way to a modern, sleek kitchen. Karl twirled around to greet her, a grin on his face. “Smells delicious in here.”

He set down his spatula and came over, grabbing a box and giving her a kiss on each cheek. “Hello, darling. Are there more in the car?”

She shook her head, unwinding her scarf from her neck and placing it on the counter. Karl had been her father’s college roommate and somehow they’d stayed close over the years, every one of Y/N’s birthdays spent at one of Karl’s restaurants with all of her favorite dishes made special, a birthday cannoli with a candle in it for her to blow out. “This is all of the glasses. Dad told me to get the bar ready—he’s bringing the booze in a bit.”

“Hope there’s a glass of wine in there for the chef,” Karl said and Y/N chuckled—there always was a bottle of Karl’s favorite expensive wine set aside when he did one of these things and he knew it. It was part of the pay, her father always said. “Want to taste test?”

“Always.” Y/N joined Karl at the stove, eagerly tasting the sauce he was cooking. It was a simple sage butter sauce, but Karl always excelled at the most simple dishes. “Delicious, as usual,” she said.

Karl jabbered her ear off about the updates on the restaurant—they’d run into problems finding a good sous chef and he was about to do the job himself if he didn’t find someone soon—while Y/N decided where to set up the bar. Finally, she settled on a high table against the glass wall in the wide hallway between the kitchen and the sprawling dining room, which opened up onto the patio. She tugged open the accordion glass doors and breathed in the cool Los Angeles air, thankful for a relatively cold evening, since she always got overheated at parties like this, where people were crammed into every corner. Her dad seemed to know more people every year. Satisfied with the position of the table, she set out the glasses and paper napkins, before asking Karl if he had an extra cooler he’d brought with. She’d forgotten to ask her dad for one before she had left. She filled it with ice and set it next to the table with a scoop, and grabbed the special shot glasses her father had told her to bring, placing them on the table next to a bouquet of flowers.

Her job done, she wandered through the rest of the house. It was gorgeous—she wondered how her father had found it. If she remembered correctly, he had said something about it being an official venue for music and parties, he’d done a private gig here a few years back and the owners had loved him enough to offer it for this party. It’s not like anyone really had gigs on December 26th anyway. She closed all the doors to the back bedrooms, remembering her father’s request, and set up a coat closet of sorts out of the bedroom closest to the front, before heading to change into her outfit for the evening.

“Y/N!” She was securing her favorite pair of earrings in her ears when she heard her father’s voice through the halls of the house. “Where ya at, sweetheart?”

“One sec, Dad!” She grabbed the hanger she had kept her top on and shoved it into her massive purse, settling it into the back corner of the room for safety. Her father was waiting for her in the kitchen with Karl, also getting a sample of the sauce she had tried earlier.

“Hi you,” her father said when she came in. His salt and pepper hair was balding a bit, but his bright smile was what drew people in, olive skin that tanned easily in the California sun. Y/N had selected his suit for the evening, a maroon red and a black tie, something a bit out of the ordinary for him, but Y/N loved it. “Look gorgeous.”

She hugged her father tightly. She had spent Christmas with her mother, as usual, so this was the first time she’d seen her dad during the holidays. “Not too bad yourself, captain.”

“Ha!” Her father pinched her cheek softly, just as he had when she was a child. “I’ve got your present in the car, come grab it with me?”

“Sure.” They had decided to exchange gifts at the party and Y/N had hers tucked in the back pocket of her jeans—dinner on her at Karl’s new restaurant, something she’d discussed with the owner a few weeks ago. Her father’s car sat in the driveway, trunk open where boxes of alcohol laid waiting to be carried inside. “That my gift?”

“You wish,” her dad answered, and Y/N gave him a pouty look that he just shook his head at. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out an envelope. Y/N couldn’t help but hope it was cash—she needed a new computer and was running a bit short. She knew her dad would help if she asked, but she hated asking him for money.

She took the envelope and opened it, a sheet of paper and something thicker hiding between its folds. She opened the letter and found a homemade coupon of sorts, just as she had done for him.

TWO TICKETS TO ANY SHOW IN LA - NON-REFUNDABLE, FUN REQUIRED!

“Papa,” she said, giving him a beaming smile. “My favorite!” She threw her arms around his neck and he chuckled, hugging her right back.

“Just give me a few weeks heads up, okay?”

Y/N nodded, and looked back down at the letter, eyes running over her dad’s sweet words of love and pride. It was their thing—homemade cards always, never store bought, despite that neither of them could draw. “Thank you.”

“Welcome, sweetheart.”

“Now yours!” She reached into her pocket and pulled out his envelope, aptly addressed, Dad, and handed it over. Her father read her card as well, and chuckled at her drawing of them at dinner together.

He kissed her forehead gently. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”

“Merry Christmas,” she said, squeezing his side. “Now let’s get all this booze out of your car before I drive away with it!” Her dad laughed and followed her to the back of the car, them each grabbing a carton of wine. There had to be enough for over a hundred people, Y/N thought to herself. Who would be new this year?

The party was in full swing, her dad’s favorite music playing softly through the speaker system, people littered all over the house with the alcohol flowing. Karl was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, his food a massive hit, and Y/N couldn’t have been happier for him. She’d caught up with her dad’s friends and people who were essentially her godparents, sharing how her job was going (fine) and her relationship prospects (non-existent), sipping tequila and red wine on rotation.

Y/N leaned against the patio railing overlooking the hills, a glass of tequila on the rocks settled in between her palms. She could hear her father’s voice in the distance calling people to come and start the music, the scrape of chairs and strumming of guitars. It was about time for her to go in, but she lingered, relishing the quiet of the night and the biting air wrapping around her. Since she didn’t play an instrument, despite her father’s attempts, this part of the evening was the part where she just sat back and observed. And also usually got quite drunk since all she had to do was drink and sing along.

“Y/N, right?” She turned around, eyes focusing on the person standing a few feet away. “I’m Harry.”

Harry Styles. How had he ended up here, and how had she not seen him yet? “Nice to meet you,” she answered, standing up straight and taking a sip of her drink. “Not going in to play?”

He shook his head. “Bit nervous, if I’m honest. Lot of talent in that room.”

She cocked her head to the side as he joined her at the railing. “You’re plenty talented,” she told him. It was true. She was a huge fan of his, had been for a while, following his work in One Direction since its inception, and now in the solo career her dad had mentioned. He was recording with some guys out at The Village a few months ago and called her at the end of the day, saying he ran into Harry Styles in the middle of a session doing some solo stuff. Said it sounded good, which she wasn’t surprised by in the slightest.

But Harry just chuckled. “Nah, those people are legends,” he said. She knew who he was talking about, too. One of the Dixie Chicks was there, some guys who had written with John Mayer and Kanye West, a dozen other Grammy-nominated musicians, some record label execs who had practically formed the industry as they knew it today, the A&R people who had found them. It was intimidating, definitely, but for Harry she didn’t think it would be.

“Just people.” She sipped on her drink, studying him. He was in a long black coat, a loose black v-neck silk shirt and red and white plaid pants that tapered at the leg, his cropped curls falling into his face slightly. He also had a tequila on the rocks gripped in his hand, rings adorning every one of his fingers. A skull, a red stone, a silver band, amongst them. “Having fun?”

He smiles at her, thankful for the change of topic. “Loads. Haven’t been at a party like this in a while.”

“What do you mean?”

The breeze passed between them, ruffling his hair a bit. “I don’t know. Just, people who didn’t really give a shit about me, if you know what I mean? Holidays can be a bit much sometimes.”

She nodded as if she understood what it felt like to be a popstar of his fame, which she didn’t, but she could imagine. “Didn’t go home?”

“My mum and sister came here, actually,” he said. “They were craving a respite from the cold English winters.”

“Well, this is definitely a respite,” Y/N said, and Harry chuckled.

Silence stretched between them and Y/N tapped her fingernails against her cup. Maybe it was time to go inside, she thought. “So, Y/N, what do you do?”

His question pulled her out of her head easily. “Brand strategy,” she answered, thankful for a comfortable topic. “I work mostly with fashion and product companies, preferably sustainable ones.”

“You like it?”

“Love it.” She did. She loved her work—she’d gone to school for it and thrown herself into it after school, loving pitching projects for clients and helping them understand their core purpose and how they could grow and evolve most authentically. “It was that or books, but I decided this was a bit more profitable. Also wasn’t too keen on living in New York.”

Harry nodded, twirling his glass in his hands. She took the opportunity to run her eyes across his face—he was gorgeous in this way that you weren’t sure was real. It was interesting to see how much he’d grown up. At 22, his cheekbones were cut and his jaw defined, his former long locks he had recently cut and Y/N liked these more, she decided. “What are your favorite writers?” He asked, pulling Y/N back into the conversation.

“That’s like asking which one of your children is your favorite,” she joked, and he chuckled, the sound music to Y/N’s ears. “Dunno, really. I read so much it’s hard to choose, you know? Reading a Louise Erdrich book right now that’s absolutely stellar. The Round House—you should give it a go if you’ve got the time.”

He pulled out his phone and she watched him type in the name to his Notes app, the action making her smile. “Been looking for a new book,” he said. “Just been reading The New Yorker and my mum about took my head off for not reading enough.” They both laughed, the sound filling the night air.

“Harry!” A man was standing in the doorway to the patio, a guitar in hand. “Come sing, mate.”

Harry glanced back at Y/N. “Coming?”

Y/N nodded and followed him inside, refilling her glass on the way. Harry handed her his, and she did the same, giving them both another glass of tequila to sip on while they listened to the circle of musicians. Someone had decided to do some Christmas tunes she Y/N smiled when she heard her father’s voice—he’d made it a bit country, just like he loved to do with popular songs. He’d grown up on a steady diet of folk music and country, just as Y/N had, and he always joked it was in his blood. Harry took a seat next to his friend who Y/N didn’t recognize—probably some producer her dad had met recently, maybe one of the guys from The Village if that was how they’d connected, and Y/N grabbed the seat her dad had saved for her next to him.

She joined in immediately, knowing this rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy” by heart, since it was the same one he had made up when Y/N was eight or nine. Karl was in the circle too, a plate of food in his hands and his bottle of red wine on the ground, and he gave her a warm smile. This was her favorite part of the night—feeling a part of something her father loved so dearly. When he gave her a kiss to her temple and introduced her to the group, she couldn’t help but find Harry’s eyes, his irises twinkling back at her under the lights.

At one o’clock, people finally began filtering out of the party, and Harry decided it was probably time for him to head. Jeff, who had invited him to come with, had already left, exhausted from the holidays with family, but Harry had stayed, hoping to talk to Y/N for a little while longer. He had unfortunately failed to catch her, though, the music running long and after it had wrapped up people had tugged her in for hugs and conversation. Despite knowing who she was through her father, he was still in awe of how intimately she knew all of these people. He overheard snippets of her conversations, asking about children and partners, parents who had cancer and career-defining moments she’d missed out on because of work. Harry was in this world too, but many of the people at this party were a bit older than his usual set—they belonged to the group of his heroes, rather than necessarily people he felt were his peers. He was still getting his solo career together, still only a boyband member in their eyes. He tried not to feel less than, but sometimes it was hard when you were sat next to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks with utterly nothing to say but awe-inspired ramblings.

Finally, Y/N was alone, the older couple she was talking to having left for the door, and Harry seized the opportunity. “Y/N,” he said, and her head popped up from her phone to look at him. Her dark brown hair was soft against her skin, and he eagerly wondered what it felt like against his skin, brown eyes that searched his soul. “I loved talking to you earlier.”

She smiled and Harry loved it when she did. Lit up the whole room, just about. “Me too. Glad you came—with Jeff, yeah?”

He nodded. “He introduced me to your dad when we were at The Village.” Y/N nodded as well, obviously having figured out the story. “I—I was wondering, would you want to grab coffee sometime? I’d love to chat more, get to know you.” He restrained the urge to bounce on his heels, nervous in front of her. He felt like a kid asking out his crush, but that’s what this was, a crush. Even if it came to nothing, she was kind, interesting, and fit into the world he revolved in. It wasn’t the most important thing, but he appreciated it all the same.

“Oh,” she said, tone somber. “Sorry, Harry, but I don’t date musicians. Get home safe, yeah?” She turned away from him, feet carrying her back into the living room, presumably finding her father.

What? She didn’t date musicians? “I’m sorry—what?”

Y/N turned back to look at him. “I just don’t. Bit of a rule.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Don’t feel the need to explain it. Bye, Harry.” Then, she walked away and Harry was left in shock. The abrupt change in tone was like whiplash—she had seemed so interested, involved in their conversation, only to tell him she didn’t date musicians? What the fuck kind of rule was that?

He huffed and tugged out his phone to tell his driver he was ready, and went outside, leaving behind Y/N and her confusing rule. But this wouldn’t be the last time he saw her, he decided. He wanted to know why she had this rule, this stupid rule that was stopping her from getting to know him. It wasn’t like he even asked her to date him, just to get coffee for Pete’s sake. Harry sat down in the car and pulled out his phone, composing a text to Jeff.

Could I write with Peter? Seemed like a great guy, really talented. Maybe if she got to Y/N’s dad, he could earn some brownie points. Maybe then she’d bend her rules for him, because despite their short conversation, Harry was intrigued.

Definitely, Jeff replied. I’ll text him tomorrow.

Harry closed his phone and smiled. Hopefully this worked, because Harry was dying to know more about this rule of hers.

Y/N’s eyes narrowed when she pulled into her dad’s driveway. There was another car sat in the drive, a black 4-door SUV she’d never seen before, the windows tinted so she couldn’t see in. It reminded her of those cars the FBI drives in crime dramas, which obviously led her to a part of her brain that was not necessarily a hopeful place. She scrambled to grab her bag from work and her keys, launching herself from her car and towards her dad’s door.

“Dad!” She called into the house, slamming the door shut behind her. “Whose car is in the drive? Didn’t tell me we’d be having company!” Gripping the wall for balance she toed off her shoes and set her bag on the floor next to the door, shrugging off her coat and setting it on a hook. “Dad?”

“He’s in the toilet.”

Her head whipped around and found Harry Styles standing in her hallway, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. As much as she had planned to forget about him after the party, never really expecting to see him again, she hadn’t been able to. And now he was in her house, hair pushed back from his face, a grin painted on his lips. It was irritating how gorgeous he was. “The fuck are you doing here?”

A hand went up to scratch the back of his neck and for a second Y/N regretted being quite so aggressive. “‘M writing with your dad,” he explained. “Guess he didn’t tell you.”

“No,” she answered. She brushed past him into the living room where, as Harry had said, it was obvious they had been writing. Her dad’s treasured old Gibson guitar leaning against his favorite armchair where he’d set it, computers out with GarageBand up for recording demos, papers with scribbles strewn across the coffee table. “Good session?” She decided that there was no way he was here just to pursue her—he was there for professional reasons, after all. Her dad and Harry must’ve hit it off at the party last week. There was also the fact that her dad was a really fucking good songwriter, so of course Harry would want to work with him. Ever since he’d stopped touring, her dad had started doing mainly writing, his songs appearing on records from everyone from up-and-coming artists the label found him to John Legend.

Harry just nodded. Her eyes drifted to his own guitar, a soft brown wood that had obviously seen some heavy use and travel. She recognized it from her dad’s own guitars that he used to take on the road with him, the nicks and faded wood at the base of the bridge.

“Y/N!” Her dad’s voice fell through the silence of the room as he re-entered. He was wearing his favorite old UCLA shirt, where she’d just graduated from not too long ago. “Home earlier than usual. Was going to give you a heads up about this one,” he pointed to Harry then, “but I see you’ve already found out.”

Her eyes drifted to Harry, who stood awkwardly next to the couch, unsure if he should sit or stand. “Finished my projects early and didn’t have any meetings, so thought I’d get out early and surprise you.”

“Well,” her father said, giving her a quick hug, “glad you did. I’m getting hungry, how about you?” She nodded, she was always ravenous after work. “Harry, would you want to stay for dinner?”

No, she thought. The last thing she wanted was to sit at a table with a guy she’d rejected and her father and eat an awkward dinner on a Friday night. She just wanted a massive glass of red wine, her delicious romance novel from her bedside table, and maybe lighting a fire in the pit in the backyard.

Instead, Harry said, “Sure. Don’t want to impose though.”

“Nonsense! Y/N why don’t you go change and Harry and I can tidy up from working. We were about done anyway.” Her dad kissed the top of her head sweetly and she just did as he said, Harry a forgotten thought behind her as she went to her room upstairs.

It was her childhood bedroom which she had been residing in for a month now. How her landlord could put her out for this long was beyond her, but she hadn’t had the energy to fight it—plus, it was an opportunity to spend some quality time with her workaholic father. So she was spending her evenings in her light blue colored room, sleeping between her soft pink sheets, and picking her work clothes that butted up against remnants from high school she’d left behind as memories. Y/N pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt that probably belonged to an ex-fling from college—Daniel maybe? Y/N couldn’t remember. Slipping on a pair of socks to keep her feet warm from the tile floors of the kitchen, she left her room, tugging her door shut so if Harry went exploring he wouldn’t stumble into her room.

Downstairs, Harry was sat at the kitchen island with a glass of wine and a smile on his face, deep in conversation with her dad about Fleetwood Mac’s chord progressions. A glass of red was waiting for her on the counter and she picked it up, wandering over to where her dad was cooking

“Whatcha making?” She asked, peeking into the pot.

“Pasta,” he replied. “Now stop being a nosy Nelly and talk to our guest while I try to focus on not burning the pasta.”

“Dad you haven’t even put it in yet.”

Her dad shooed her from the stove and she chuckled, backing away. “Get out of here, ya pest.”

She turned to Harry, realizing her dad was actively trying to get them to hang out. He was so annoying sometimes. “How do you feel about a fire?”

“Positively,” he answered and she led him outside into her backyard.

It was chilly out, but nothing too bad. She set her glass on the table and went over to the stack of wood her dad kept against the fence, picking up some logs and carrying them over to the fire pit they’d had for years. At first it was so Y/N could roast marshmallows at home, her father trying to do anything to get her to come over to his house more after the divorce, and as time had gone on it had become her favorite place in the whole house. When her dad was out of town and she came over to check up on the house in high school, she’d bring her weed and smoke out here under the stars.

Harry sidled up next to her and picked up a few logs, following her to the fire pit. “This is cool,” he said, words breaking their silence.

Y/N dropped the logs into the fire and looked up at him. “Favorite part of the whole house.” A box of matches sat next to the door and she grabbed them, as well as some kindling, and brought it over to the logs, setting the kindling under the logs before lighting them. The fire leaped up, the wood nice and dry from the lack of rain recently. “So, who got in touch with who?”

Harry looked at her in confusion. “Huh?”

She settled into one of the chairs set by the fire, wine tucked between her fingers. “The writing. You or my dad?”

“Oh,” he answered, joining her in the chair next to her. “Me, actually. Through Jeff.”

As expected. “And?”

“He’s really good,” Harry said, to which Y/N chuckled.

“That he is.”

“What was it like growing up with him as your dad?” He asked, breaking the silence between them.

Y/N shifted in her chair. She’d been asked this question so many times over the years, but it still was hard to answer. “Hard, if I’m being honest,” she told him, truth surprising her. But she had a feeling Harry would get it to a certain extent. He was a hugely popular star, after all. She’d heard rumors that he was a part of a movie coming out this year, something historical. “Like, my parents are divorced, which I assume you know.” He nodded, probably having figured it out by now. “And with my dad’s tour schedule when I was in school, I didn’t see him all that much, especially in elementary and middle school. He was gone all the time, even missed my birthday a couple times because of tour dates, so I just didn’t really know him that well, I guess. Fuck, sorry, this is a lot,” she breathed out, realizing she was rambling. Harry was just surprisingly easy to talk to, his eyes steady on her, intently listening to her every word. Boys didn’t usually listen to her like this.

“S’fine,” he replied. “When did it change, if you don’t mind me asking? Seem so close now.”

The fire, having grown by now, crackled in front of them. “Late high school, but mainly when I was in college. My mom moved to San Francisco for a job and I went to UCLA, so my dad was closest. Came over to do my laundry sometimes, have a home cooked meal, he’d take me to dinner, that stuff. Came to football games with me, sometimes, which he always tried to be interested in but never succeeded.” Harry chuckled at that and Y/N smiled at the sound. Harry was obnoxiously pretty. Like, impossibly pretty in this way where you couldn’t help but look at him again to make sure that yes, he was a real person. And it was really fucking distracting. “His touring kind of stopped when I went into college too,” she added, trying to refocus on the conversation. “Started writing mainly, putting out music only when it suited him. He’s a lot happier now, I think.”

“That’s good,” he said, taking a sip of wine. “I’m glad you guys were able to have that kind of relationship, even if it was later.”

Y/N blinked at him, his words so kind and honest. “Me too.”

“Always been one of my fears, if I’m being honest,” he said, words soft in the cool night air. Sun was starting to set and it was getting dark around them, the light of the fire putting an orange ember to his face. “About having kids with my career, you know? I want to be a dad, but it’s like…how do I do that while being gone all the time?” His honesty shocked her, but then again Harry Styles seemed to be excelling at that in every regard. “Sorry, that’s a lot to unload on you.”

“No it isn’t,” she reassured him. “Just told you about all my daddy issues, yeah?” He chuckled, and it lightened the mood just enough. “You’ll figure it out.”

Harry nodded, taking another sip of his wine and she did the same. It was her favorite, the one her dad bought multiple of whenever she came to stay. Even though they’d gotten closer over the years, his desire to make his house perfect for her never seemed to fade. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Shoot.”

“The rule—I—why is that?”

Well, fuck. This was the exact conversation she didn’t want to have, the one she was hoping he wouldn’t bring up. “It’s actually related to what you were just saying,” she said slowly. He’d get it after everything she’d explained and the fears he shared, right? “I don’t date musicians because they’re always gone.”

Harry was quiet, absorbing her answer. It was true, they always were gone—she had every right to her rule, she told herself. She didn’t want a repeat of what her parents had experienced, what she’d experienced. Her dad’s job had ruined everything in their family, ripping her parents apart, keeping him away from her for more of the year than he was home. She didn’t want the same thing for her kids. “That’s a pretty broad stroke, isn’t it?” Harry said though, pushing back against her. “Like all musicians. Kinda a generalization ‘bout us.”

“You said it yourself,” she said, leaning forward in her chair and resting her elbows on her thighs. “You’re gone all the time. How do you build a life with someone who isn’t there half the time?”

“Devil’s advocate,” Harry said, setting his wine on the arm of his chair, “but hypothetically you’re dating someone who tours all the time. But they make you a priority, coming home and seeing you, putting your relationship first. That wouldn’t matter? You wouldn’t even take the chance that it could work out okay?”

This time it was Y/N who was quiet. “I mean, musicians only have so much control over their schedules,” she said, remembering the excuses her dad used to tell her. “Plus, it’s not the relationship that’s the problem. It’s the part when you get to marriage and kids.”

“…So it’s better to just avoid the whole thing entirely?”

Y/N nodded, her logic laid out in front of her. She’d never had to do this before—most times, guys just took her at her word and dropped it all together. Harry pushed though, wanting to understand in a way the others didn’t care enough to do. “It’s safer.”

“But then you miss out on the opportunity to fall in love with someone,” Harry says, his words like rocks in her stomach. “And what if that person was a musician?”

Y/N had a feeling they were no longer talking in hypotheticals. “We can fall in love with tons of different people.”

“No soulmates and shit for you, then?” She shook her head. She didn’t believe in all that crap, never had. Relationships were about work, effort, time. The person was important, but the life that person led mattered more to her. How much they’d prioritize the relationship, the kind of life they wanted to build. “That’s kind of depressing,” Harry said.

The fire crackled and popped. “I don’t think so. It’s…practical.”

“Love isn’t supposed to be practical, Y/N.”

Y/N found herself speechless. She didn’t have an answer for him. She’d never been in love before, that was for sure. Hadn’t found that kind of love that people like Harry write songs about and she’d often found herself wondering when it was going to happen for her. There just hadn’t been any guys that were right for her yet.

“Y/N! Harry!” She turned and her dad was in the doorway, pasta sauce splattered on his shirt. He’d always been a messy cook. “Dinner’s ready.”

Y/N took one last look at Harry before grabbing her wine and heading inside, Harry following at her heels.

After dinner, Harry decided this was his last chance at Y/N. He couldn’t exactly use the same excuse twice and after understanding her rule, he was determined to be the exception. He helped Y/N clear the plates while her dad settled in at the TV in the other room, telling them it was his time to watch the nightly news and they could clean up since he had cooked. Harry had missed being in a home like this, the kind where he got told to clean up from dinner and there was calm and normal conversation at the table, Y/N talking about her day at work and Harry sharing about his activities from his mum’s visit. It brought him a kind of peace he didn’t know he needed.

The plate clattered on the counter as he set it down, Y/N turning, her hands soapy with the water from the dishes. “Gonna break our dishes,” she said with a snort. “Be careful, please.”

“Sorry,” Harry said sheepishly. He’d cleared the table, so he grabbed a dish rag from the peg and joined Y/N at the sink, taking the clean dishes from the rack and drying them, stacking them on the counter since he didn’t know where they belonged in the cabinets.

They worked in silence, the only sound her dad’s TV from the other room. He could hear Rachel Maddow’s show on NBC, the same one he liked to watch, learning from her commentary on American politics that he was still trying to wrap his brain around.

“Y/N,” he said when they’d finished the dishes. “I promise I heard everything you said earlier.” She looked at him with curiosity in her eyes, trying to figure out where he was going with this. Harry tried to pick his words delicately, wanting to make sure she knew he did hear her, he was just entranced by her and couldn’t give her up. “But what is the likelihood you would be willing to give it a shot? With me?”

She took the dish towel from his hands and dried her own, considering his words. The waiting was killing him, but he didn’t want to rush her. He knew what her worries were and he was asking her to put them aside.

“We’ll take it slow,” he told her, stumbling over the words. “Promise. You set the pace, you decide about commitments. I just…” Can’t stop thinking about you.

But then Y/N surprised him by saying, “I know. I feel that way too.” His eyes widened, not believing the words from her mouth. “I’ll give it a shot,” she said slowly. “Better make the date good.”

“You sure?”

“I wouldn’t ask again unless you’d like me to change my mind.”

“Can I get your number then?” She nodded and read it off, Harry typing the numbers into his phone next to her name. Then Harry shut up and just smiled at her, following her like a puppy dog into the other room where her dad sat watching TV. She curled up on the couch, pulling the blanket her dad had so it would cover part of her and his heart softened at how sweet she looked. He loved seeing her like this, at home, comfortable in her space. “I’m going to head out,” he said. “Thank you so much for dinner, Peter.”

Y/N’s dad turned from the TV and gave him a wide smile. “Of course, Harry. You’re welcome anytime—wouldn’t want you to get lonely out here!”

His eyes drifted to Y/N and he knew that with her around, there was never anyway he could be lonely.

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NEXT CHAPTER COMING JULY 4TH @ NOON CST

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tae-cup · 3 years

Text

Old Money and Brooklyn Babies

Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader

Summary: “Those summer nights seem long ago. And so is the girl you used to call The queen of New York City. But if you send for me, you know I'll come. And if you call for me, you know I'll run” - Lana Del Rey (Old Money)

Genre: Modern/Realistic Au, Angst, like Fluff if you squint, rich people au??

Warnings: Yandere-ish themes, LANGUAGE, drinking, sexual tension (but no smut!), unhealthy relationships, heavy topics, maybe at the end if you think about it maybe depression?, Pathological liar (s?) are involved, your brain has been warned #trust no one.

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 7.3k Words

A/N: Ahhh this was such a challenge for me to write but I hope you guys enjoy it! PS I’m sorry. And I’m really nervous to post this because I don’t know how it will turn out askldfhsalkdfh

Other: Masterlist

Loving him was intense, a whirlwind of emotions that could only be compared to a hurricane, a tornado. There was a time when loving him was explosive, a train on its way to be wrecked. The feeling hadn’t disappeared.

You knew it when you saw him standing on the staircase, a new love around his arm. You felt the room buzz when he saw you. Now, standing in this bar of sweat and alcohol where you could barely pay for your next drink, you wondered how things went so wrong.

Just a few weeks ago, you were the queen of New York City, the heiress everyone was talking about, and now you were a nothing, just another nobody in a sea of other nobodies.

Did he see it in your eyes? Did he see the desperation? The same look you had given him a few months ago, the kind of look that he had described as beautiful and exhilarating. Now he turned away in disgust. You tightened your grasp on your glass.

It was your fault.

You had ruined it all. Like you always did.

Six Months Ago

1 A.M. wake up.

Obsess over what you were going to do for the day and plan it meticulously in your mind.

3 A.M.

Get out of bed.

make yourself a cup of coffee and stare in the mirror for a while.

You stood tall, you knew you were a beautiful woman. After all, everyone had been telling you this since you were little. You could easily pass for royalty, that’s what you always thought and you wore it well.

You jutted your chin out, running a hand along your jawline. Then you made sure to put every hair in place, perfectly positioned. The mirror had a small crack in the corner, you made a mental note to buy a new one.

You put on your dark shades sunglasses so that you could barely even see inside. Nonetheless, you stumbled around your apartment like a model, refusing to look unfashionable even in the cold abyss of your living room. Who knew if someone was peering through the windows? That’s why you kept it as dark as possible.

You tripped over the couch. Since when was that there? You asked yourself angrily, as if you hadn’t been living here for the past year, a pretty bubble world built up carefully over a year of work and dedication.

Reality couldn’t catch you here. You stumbled around blindly for a while and then found the door handle.

5 A.M.

With a decisive click, your day had begun.

Astteria Jewelry, a company your father had invested in dearly when he visited the states. You hadn’t been there, but you’d heard a lot about the visit from the newspapers.

“Hello?” You cleared your throat, tapping on the top of the glass counter until someone came over, looking a bit annoyed. The woman’s face was twisted uncomfortably before she plastered a kind smile on her face.

“How may I help you?”

“Yes, yes, I need to try those on.” You pointed to the chunkiest rings in the case. They were encrusted with large and small diamonds, all glittering beautifully.

The woman shot you a skeptical look. You just peered down at her through your dark shaded glasses. She was really straining for that pleasant smile now.

“Of course.” She said tightly and reached under, unlocking the case, and bringing the rings out.

“Ah, I quite like this one.” You gasped happily. The rock on your finger was hard to even hold up, but you liked it well enough. “I’ll take it, as you probably know, my father will be quite happy with this gift.”

“That will be $247,000.” The woman pursed her lips as she removed the ring and placed it back in a box.

“Perfect.” You declared.

“I need your card.”

“Nonsense! Do you even know who I am?”

The woman shook her head, her irritation visibly growing.

“That’s quite alright. You know, my father is a great friend and investor in this company. He has often bought for my mother from this very fine store. I think he even gave us a discount at some point?” You said casually. “My father is the chairman of Sinopec, I think you know it?”

The woman stilled then she looked suspiciously at the door and back at you. “I’ll give Mr. Betta a call.”

“You better.” You snapped back, your patience wearing thin. You were the daughter of Sinopec’s chairman. Everyone knew you, obviously.

The dial tone was especially loud in the quiet store. A few rings and he picked up.

“Yes?” You heard the muffled voice.

“Sir, there’s someone here claiming you gave her family a discount?”

“Who?”

“From Sinopec.” The woman turned away, whispering furiously. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea. Okay okay, I will.”

“Well?” You turned to her, looking every part the agitated socialite,

“Mr. Betta seems to be under the impression...that you should be allowed this ring and we’ll charge your father.”

“Of course.” You said quickly, taking the box out of her hands and striding out of the store.

Your heart was racing. You felt a weight on your chest and it wasn’t the ring.

Heather was rich. You knew her to be Old Money, everyone did. You always expertly placed yourself next to her in class. She didn’t seem to mind. She was beautiful, maybe even more beautiful than you, but you would never allow that thought to come to fruition.

Heather held herself like a commoner, to put it lightly. She got her morning starbucks, waited in line, ordered and waited patiently, got on a bus, commuted to school and got to class early. You realized a big part of being a ‘normal’ person was waiting around.

“Heather, I was also at that party the other night.” You said to her as she scrolled through her photo album.

“Oh? Really?” She chewed on gum, the sound smacking across her lips. You felt an itch of irritation, but pushed it away.

“Yeah, really.” You drawled.

You carefully placed your ringed finger close to her line of sight. She glanced down for a second then back at her phone, then back at the ring. She put down her phone.

“Where did you get that ring?” She inquired, suddenly very interested in you. She picked up your hand and surveyed the ring from several angles.

“Astteria.” You said nonchalantly. “My father is a good friend of Simon Betta.”

“Who’s your father?” She glanced upwards with a confused look.

“Zhao Dong.” You said easily.

“The chairman of Sinopec?” Heather looked up, confused. “I’m surprised I didn’t recognize you! You’ve changed since I last saw you.”

You smiled and nodded at her words.

“I know. I spent some time away.” You looked nonchalantly at your nails.

“Well you look great, Y/N.” She continued with a small smile.

“Thank you, I know.” You tossed your hair. “Tell me, Heather, are we close? Would you consider me a close friend?”

“I…” She stuttered awkwardly. “N-not close close, but I know your father and...your mother?” She interlaced her fingers and looked away, embarrassed. “Truth be told, I haven’t been keeping up with Sinopec as of late.”

“That’s perfectly alright.” You assured her. “Now, I’ve been looking for a charity to donate to. My dad has been bugging me about the yearly donations.” You said the words so easily, like water out of a waterfall.

“Oh really?”

“Yes, I was wondering if you know any because...well, I know you’re into those charities and non-profits.”

The sound of pages being turned filled the room and you turned back to your work. You didn’t even bother reading the page or taking notes, you had another mission at hand. Heather turned back to her work and after a while, she cleared her throat slightly.

“There’s actually...a gala for an organization that helps fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Would you like to come? I could get you an invite if you just send me your address.” She lowered her voice.

You glanced around. Everyone was focused on their work so you nodded.

“I’m really into helping out when I can, you know? Here I’ll give you my number-” you stopped, thinking it over. “Actually, give me your number.” You prompted.

“Oh? Alright?” She recited her number and you typed it into your phone. You felt her heated stare on the old phone in your hand.

“It’s a friend of mine’s old phone.” You said. “My father has yet to send me the latest one.”

“I see.” Heather narrowed her eyes and went back to taking notes.

You sent her a quick hello and smirked, going back to write down notes. Columbia College had been quite pleased to hear about all the non profit work and extracurriculars, not to mention your straight As in school. It was what you deserved.

“Y/N!” Heather waved you over and you descended the stairs with a smile.

There stood Heather in the middle of this grand ballroom. You tried not to look impressed.

“Heather.” You greeted her with a smile.

She pulled you into a quick hug and then grabbed two champagne glasses. Gold rimmed and bubbling with clear yellow liquid, she handed you a glass. The room was decorated lavishly with red drapes covering dark alcoves and chaise lounges positioned in the corners. These lounges were occupied by men and women all dressed to the nines. This type of luxury was what you deserved.

“You look gorgeous!” She complimented as she took in your appearance.

You had borrowed a dress from your much richer friend, though you personally believed that you pulled off the look better than her. You were the most beautiful after all.

“Ah, thank you. You look exquisite as well.” You brushed a stray hair from your face.

“Ah, Ms. Y/L/N.”

You turned to the voice and were met with a familiar face. You were shocked to even see him at a place like this. He hadn’t struck you as this kind of person.

You had first met Park Jimin in a club. The lights were dim and you could barely make out his face, but you knew he was beautiful, just like you. The club was a world of beautiful people, all pressed against each other and sweating.

“How old are you?” He asked, looking you up and down as you sat at the bar. You smiled slyly, swirling your drink to the pounding music.

“Probably too young for you.” You shouted over the music.

His hands went to his hair. “Listen! My hair looks gray but I can assure you I am a 25 year old man in good standing!”

You laughed. He seemed nice, genuine. It was a breath of fresh air. His entire aura screamed that he was important, yet his personality quite opposed this notion. You looked him up and down.

He was a man of stature, standing tall and proud amongst the crowd, his hair was a silver gray, his eyes of a similar shade. Jimin was either high society or had no idea how to have fun. You were a perfect match.

“I believe you.” You replied happily, setting down your drink. “Want to get some fresh air?”

He smoothed down his coat and you wondered why he was dressed so formally to go to a nightclub.

“I’d like that very much.”

“Jimin.” You greeted him happily. He gently took your hand in his and kissed the back.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He said cordially, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

“And you.” You bowed your head gracefully.

The music of the gala swelled and Heather cleared her throat. Her eyebrows were raised as high as the bronze arches that hung above you.

“You two...know each other?” She asked, eyeing Jimin.

Jimin nodded. “Yes, we met, achem, a little while ago.” You were grateful he didn’t mention the club.

“Well, Jimin is actually performing tonight, aren’t you?” Heather turned to him expectantly.

“Oh? Performing?”

The man seemed embarrassed by the sudden attention on him. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ah, yeah, well, I’m just singing-”

“Jimin is an excellent singer.” Heather nodded and you followed suit.

“I’m not that great. My mom just had enough money to bribe the manager.” He joked and you chuckled along.

“Yeah, I get that.” You agreed. “But I’m sure you’re an amazing singer, Jimin.” You looked him up and down, a smile growing.

“He is!” The other girl chimed in before Jimin could protest. The clock chimed 8:00 P.M. and you glanced upwards.

“I think that’s my cue to go.” Jimin announced, waving off a waiter who offered him a glass.

“Alright! Best of luck, Jimin.” You bowed your head politely and he did the same.

Heather watched the interaction intently. Once he was gone, she started laughing which caused you to look over at her sharply.

“You guys really just eye fucked each other for a whole five minutes. I didn’t think it was possible after seeing Anna’s reaction to him. At least it was mutual this time.”

“Anna?”

“Yeah, the daughter of the guy who made Adobe or whatever.”

“Oh, of course, I remember her.” You said easily, grabbing another glass of champagne.

You were going to need a lot of alcohol to make it through this night, but these luxuries were what you had always wanted.

“I would be careful, though, Y/N.” She glanced around. “He doesn’t have the best track record with women, though he attracts them like bees to flowers.”

“Oh I see.” You followed her eyes. “But from the way you look at him, I can assume you’ve been one of those women?”

She narrowed her eyes and then chuckled, though the sound was a bit strained.

“Me And Jimin? No, no. I can admit he is handsome, but we would never make a good pair.” Heather was quiet for a moment and then she crossed her arms, her gaze growing distant. “He’s too caught up in himself. You remind me of him.”

“I beg your pardon?

“Forget I said anything.”

The music began to swell and you looked up from your conversation as the curtain on the stage began to lift. The din of the room died down. A man with a rainbow pin and black tuxedo stood center stage. He held himself with confidence.

“Thank you, everyone, for attending this charity event for the Audre Lorde Project. Today, we are so grateful to be able to present Mr. Park Jimin as our entertainment for the night. If you donate, he will sing a song of your choosing!” The MC leaned in. “Just don’t be inappropriate, folks.” He winked.

“Now presenting….Park Jimin!”

You watched as the familiar man walked on stage. He looked quite dashing, sporting a rainbow tuxedo and white shoes. You were sure they must have cost a fortune. His rings alone must have cost at least $21,000. Then his shoes, oh, his shoes. They were perfectly clean, so white they could reflect the dim lighting.

People were quick to go up and pay for a song. The songs started at $1,000 and you pursed your lips, checking your wallet. Did you have enough? Yes, of course you have enough, you’re the daughter of Sinopec.

You set your mind on deciding a song. Heather began chatting to you about school, but you were hardly paying attention. You started drifting towards the box that held the donations. Heather moved along with you, unknowing to your next move. You straightened, holding up a hand, which quickly silenced Heather, and zeroed in on the box.

Withdrawing your money, you wrote a quick check for $1,000. Then you haphazardly tossed it into the box. Then you wrote your song on the sign up sheet and went back to the center of the room. You waited, tapping your foot impatiently. You wanted everything now, but you could try to be patient for once.

Heather continued talking about...whatever she was talking about. Halfway through her rambling, a familiar tune began to play. Your eyes shot up from where they were resting on your drink to the stage. You could feel Jimin’s heated stare.

“I think I'm too cool to know ya. You say I'm like the ice, I freeze. I'm churnin' out novels like Beat poetry on Amphetamines.” He sang and his voice was a perfect tune.

You felt your toes curl pleasantly as his sweet voice tingled your eardrums. Brooklyn Baby by Lana Del Rey. You eyed him up and down, taking note of a particularly expensive looking Rolex watch.

As you made eye contact with him through the crowd, your heart thumped an untimely beat. Mine.

Jimin left hand in hand with you. What a sight to see. A couple that no one had expected, one out of the blue. You giggled, shifting over in the back of the cab to Jimin’s place.

His hand slowly inched its way over to your thigh and gave it a light squeeze. Your eyes stayed trained on his face. The dark city streets casted eerie shadows over your figures, but you felt calm nonetheless.

Your hand reached out and touched his cheek. A wordless communication. May I? To be answered with you may. And he leaned in, diving into your arms, melding his lips against yours like you were meant to be. You both gasped for air, but it was a battle for dominance and neither of you were about to back down.

You bit playfully at his lips, devouring his strawberry lip balm like it was your last meal. He pushed against you so your back thumped against the door. His hands found your hips and he pressed into you tightly.

Your hands gripped his hair and you refused to part from his lips, the cold metal of his Rolex dug into the fabric of your dress. You wanted that watch.

The taxi slowly pulled up to the apartment complex and you both hurried out. Jimin haphazardly overpaid the driver and you both took a break to get your bearings before walking into his high end apartment building.

“Hey, let’s try to look like we didn’t just make out like animals, okay?” Jimin patted your arm.

So you went about smoothing down your hair, pulling down your skirt a little lower, and patting your cheeks gently to try and, in vain, dispel the light flush.

You both stumbled your way inside, laughing drunkenly. He helped stand you upright, a strong arm wrapped around your waist. There was a jingle of something falling to the ground, but you paid it no mind. He helped you all the way up to his apartment where you leaned against the wall while he searched for his keys.

“Shit!” He cursed, sinking down beside you, his back thumping against the wall. “I lost my keys.” He grumbled.

“Ah, that’s fine.” You laughed, “Just my luck.”

“You seem pretty lucky, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I’m lucky, I guess, but I want a lot more than luck, you know?”

“And what do you want?”

“You.” You answered quickly.

And that was the first time a lie had registered in your addled brain. Because that wasn’t true, no, not at all. Jimin was wonderful, handsome, smart, but you wanted something more material than these flimsy emotions.

You wanted money. As you watched his expression melt into a lustful haze, you flexed your fingers and clenched them over and over. You could play his game of emotions, you could do it. You thought as he went in for another kiss.

It was a cold morning. Jimin had black out curtains. You could hide from the world very nicely here. You were awake at 1 A.M.

After a long night of searching and making out, the searching part of which you found far more enjoyable, you found his keys. He had dropped them in the lobby on the way in and the desk attendant had grabbed them. You went through your routine, replacing yourself with a pillow in his arms.

“Huh. I always thought that only worked in movies?” You tilted your head and went back to your routine. After a while of getting ready, you sat beside the bed, watching him.

He breathed steadily. You glanced around, finally deciding to explore. You stood, picking up discarded clothes and observing his apartment. It was big, bigger than yours.

There were expensive things everywhere. You could guess he was old money. A glint of gold in the morning light caught your eye. You walked over, carefully not to disturb the floorboards. On his bedside table was the Rolex watch.

“You can keep it.” His gruff voice said. “It’s not important to me, but you’ve been eyeing it all night.”

“Why would you give this to me?” You asked, lifting the watch to look at it in the slim sliver of light that cracked through the curtain. You wanted to applaud his awareness and observation skills.

“There’s something about the desperation in your eyes, Y/N. It’s exhilarating, beautiful, new. People are so...complacent, so okay with their situations nowadays, especially when you’re in positions like you and I. I’m giving it to you as a promise that this wasn’t just a one night thing. I’m serious about this.” Jimin rolled over in bed. “I like people like you, Y/N. I fall in love with people like you.” His words were soft, his expression was stone cold.

And you knew what game he was playing at with extravagant promises and carefully chosen words, you were playing the same game. So you simply let him win.

You could do that, for him, because as much as you were using him to help yourself gain a boost, your heart was beginning to lead you astray. And you could not let that happen. Still, that scent of cinnamon and the taste of strawberries would likely always remind you of him.

Perhaps it was obsession that took you back to his place over and over again. It wasn’t so much him, but the idea of him. Maybe it was the idea that he was rich, that he had money, that he was handsome, but all that aside, you were perfectly incompatible.

Jimin was old money, old money that was long gone. For as long as Jimin remembered, his father had worked very very hard to run his company into the ground. Whether it be with the drinking or the extravagant parties, his money was gone.

He had an unquenchable thirst for money. Some could call it an unhealthy obsession. So when he met you...oh boy. You exuded this confidence, the kind only old money could have. He wanted it.

Call him cruel, but he didn’t mind stepping on a few toes to get where he needed to be. He didn’t mind crushing some woman’s poor dreams. He really didn’t mind. You were another stepping stone. You were supposed to be just another tool for success.

In his alcohol induced state, probably drug induced state as well, he came to the conclusion that you two would make quite a pair indeed, a power couple. But he needed you to become more powerful. It would be a mutually beneficial relationship.

“I don’t know, Jimin, I can get pretty nervous at interviews.” You had told him in response, but there was a gleam of excitement in your eyes, he didn’t read too much into it.

“I think you’ll be fine.” He patted your back with a smile.

Looking back, he never should have gotten you that interview with the New York Times. It was a poor decision on his part. Maybe if things had gone better, if he still remained ignorant of his situation and drank himself into debt like his father, he would be able to continue living his fantasy world. However, this would not be the case. He was not someone who was afraid of getting his hands dirty. And oh how dirty they were to become.

“Thank you, Miss Y/N, for joining us.” The reporter settled down across from you.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure.” You smiled. The woman smiled back and prepared her notepad.

She was a hardworking woman. She wore flats and a nice outfit for this interview, but as you analyzed her posture and position, you knew she would most likely prefer something more comfortable. She slumped ever so slightly, her lipstick was well applied but her nail polish was cracking and half peeled.

“I’m Anna and I’ll be interviewing you.”

“Anna? As in Anna, Adobe Inc’s daughter?”

“Yes!” She nodded happily. “I’m glad you remember me! You know, I only met you once really and we were children so I’m not surprised to see you’ve grown into a beautiful woman. Let’s see here…”

The interview began.

“What was it like, growing up with Zhao Dong as a father?”

“Well, Anna, he was absent a lot.” You said without a second thought, thinking back to your childhood sadly. “But he tried his best. I think I get a lot of my outgoing nature from him. He’s really a role model for me.”

“And do you have the same goals and aspirations that he has for the company?”

You chuckled lightly at the question.

“Oh dear, oh no.” You said, like it was some preposterous question. “Honey, he is all about the money. I am nothing like that. I’m all about human connection.”

Anna seemed pleased by this. Her eyes lit up and she hurriedly went to write down notes.

“You seem like such a nice, down to Earth, person, Y/N, how do you get this mindset after being raised so...well, rich.”

“I’ve gotten used to a lot of luxury, yes, but this does not take away from the fact that my father was always strict on discipline. He put a huge emphasis on respecting others and respecting situations we cannot comprehend. It is a valuable lesson I take to heart.” You nodded seriously, your hands gently folded in your lap.

Anna was, once again, pleased by your answer. You seemed to be telling her the right things.

Soon enough, your face was on the cover of every newspaper. The rich heiress to Sinopec is here in New York City! Or Y/N Dong, the future of the wealthy and elite.

You could bathe in the attention all day. In fact, you bought about 15 copies of the story and spread them around your apartment. You meticulously cut out each and every sentence that called you beautiful, complimented you, or even mentioned you and pasted them to the blank walls of your home. Even bad press was still press. After you were done with your hard work, you collapsed on the sofa.

“Knock knock!”

You jolted upright. You looked around your apartment. The curtains were drawn over the windows, just like they always were. You looked around. Your apartment was a mess.

The floor was littered with pieces of paper, the fridge stood open and there were expertly placed scissors just lying on the ground waiting to be stepped on. You blinked wearily. It was a disorientation akin to being hungover but not quite.

“Knock knock?”

Your neck almost snapped with how hard you looked at the door. Shit. You immediately stood up, groaning in pain as you ripped your hand from the couch. You had somehow managed to glue your fingers to the fabric and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

You started madly sweeping the paper, quite literally, under the rug. Then you threw open your windows and were reminded of why you kept them closed. They faced a brick wall. A lovely sight to see.

You frowned, but rubbed your eyes and carried on in your cleaning frenzy nonetheless. The knocks sounded once more and you finally answered.

“One sec-” You cleared your gruff voice. “One second!”

You tripped over the coffee table and you withheld a scream of frustration. Instead you threw your hands up in anger and let out a silent shout.

“Everything alright in there?”

“Yup! Just- give me- a moment-” You held your stubbed toe and every curse you knew flew through your head.

You then ran to the mirror and quickly brushed through your hair. Finally, you made it to the front door, looking as presentable as possible.

When you opened the door, two familiar people shoved their way in.

“Ah, this place is smaller than I expected.” Heather announced, setting down a gift bag, Jimin entered after her with a shy smile. His face conveyed Heather’s words.

“Yeah, sorry, it’s only temporary. I used to live down at Wall Street but then there was a pipe problem with my neighbor and you know...water damage is a real problem.” You clicked your tongue unhappily and they nodded sympathetically.

“That’s completely understandable.” Heather said, moving to get a closer look at your walls. “Interesting decorations.”

“I like words of affirmation to hang around my apartment. It helps build self confidence.”

“Looks like you already have enough of that from the article I read.” Jimin chuckled, fingers brushing over a sentence plastered on the wall.

“Oh, you read that?” Your cheeks heated up. “It was nothing, really.”

“You’re practically everywhere, Y/N.” Heather pointed out. “It’s like knowing a celebrity.”

“But I’m no celebrity.” You said humbly. “I’m just a normal person.”

“My normal person.”

Possession. It was a common theme in your growing relationship with Jimin. You quite liked it. Your heart would always thump. A smile grew on your face and you gave him a quick kiss, one he returned gladly.

“You guys are disgusting. Get a room.” Heather huffed. “Anyway,” She turned and grabbed a gift bag as you and Jimin parted. “I’ve got this gift for you. Call it a congratulations for being on your first ever cover. I was only 15 when I was on mine, but whatever.”

“You didn’t have to.” You exclaimed, but happily took the gift. You threw out the tissue paper like an animal. “Oh! Earrings! I love them!” You exclaimed, surveying the expensive earrings. You assumed they must be at least $30,000.

“Well, it’s just a little thing. Also, I forgot to mention it, my birthday party is next week and I’d love for you to come! I’ll send you the invites!” Heather interlaced your fingers with hers and you shot her a wry smile.

“Of course, we’ll be there.” Jimin answered for you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

“Oh! I forgot to ask, has your father seen your article?” Heather inquired, it was a simple ask, one that had you twisting your hands nervously.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure he has.” You said softly. “But he’s very busy as you know, so he just hasn't gotten in touch yet!” You assured her and when she nodded, you breathed a sigh of relief.

You didn’t want to know much about Jimin besides his family, his money, and how he looked. You just wanted him to be yours.

Jealousy. Yeah, that was definitely the green monster, as green as a freshly mowed lawn at bucking-fucking-ham palace. This feeling in your stomach was definitely jealousy. You told yourself you couldn’t feel jealous of Heather.

Heather even explicitly said she’d never fall in love with Park Jimin, but that was a real trick, a trap, because everyone fell for Park Jimin. There was something about the way she held onto his arm that had you transfixed, how she casually brushed his side when reaching for something.

You were seeing green and red. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of her fucking hand for one second, even when other people were trying to get your attention. The party was high caliber, celebrating the birthday of said woman. But you could care less that it was her birthday, that man was yours.

You were like a predator, stalking the perimeter before swooping in for the kill. You puffed out your chest and walked straight into their little conversation.

“Jimin, Heather.” You greeted them with a warm smile, but inside you were screaming. It was a primal urge.

“Y/N! I’m so glad you could make it!” Heather pulled you in for a hug and you both balanced your champagne in one hand while doing the awkward one armed move. “Jimin and I were just discussing the latest actions of the Audre Lorde Project.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful.” You smiled slyly, all teeth and no glimmer of joy in your eyes to be found. “I just wanted to personally deliver my gift to you.” You thrust out the package.

“Oh no no, you don’t have to! Besides, if you do, then suddenly everyone will want to come over and I just want to talk to you guys for now.” She lowered her voice and smirked.

You nodded, though your fingers clenched around the handles tightly. You trudged over to the gift table and haphazardly threw the bag among the other gifts.

It wasn’t anything special, just the ring you had gotten from Astteria. You had wanted to get rid of that old thing anyway. You glanced at the two, still talking. You gritted your teeth and stormed away to the bathroom.

You and Jimin did many things together. You learned his favorite color, his mother’s name and her favorite song, you learned about his life, his backstory. However, your favorite thing to do with Jimin was to make out.

Now, this might seem shallow, but making out with Jimin was like heaven on Earth. He knew how to move his lips, touch just the right spots, to get you melting.

He was the sun in a New York City heatwave and you were a popsicle melting below. It was truly a sight to behold, although Heather would disagree. As your hands would play a game of untying ties with his suit, your mind played a different game, a far more deadly one.

“I love you.” You reeled him in. He followed you like a moth to a light. “I love you a lot.” You declared and he simply fell away under your grasp.

You had always enjoyed the sight of people falling beneath you as you stripped away their exteriors to find what made them tick.

“You’re mine, Jimin, all mine.” You breathed heavily, gasping for breath as he moved to your neck.

He made quick work of the clean skin, littering it with purple marks, delicately crafted by his skilled lips. His teeth grazed your ear, making you suck in a breath. Your, his, rolex watch pressed into his warm skin.

“Tell me, Jimin, tell me you’re mine.” You said desperately and he groaned in delight.

“I love it when you talk to me like that.” He peppered kisses along your jawline. “I love that sound, begging for me like a dog.” He gripped your jaw, pulling you closer, but you didn’t mind. “I’m yours, baby, but only if you’re mine.”

“I’m all yours.” And he dove back to your lips like an animal.

“I’m madly in love with you, Y/N.” He murmured. “And you’re all mine.”

It was a perfect fairytale, but all fairytales need a villain.

I have no idea who this woman is, posing as my daughter. She is an imposter for sure, or delusional. The subtitles on the T.V. read as you flipped through the article that just landed outside your door.

You seethed, feeling your heart sink as one by one, the article undid your many lies. You almost wanted this destruction, because with it came release.

The release of pressure on your chest, from the weight of all these lies. They were carefully built, framing you in the perfect light, but you didn’t want everything to be undone.

“What’s going on?” He picked up the phone. Your hands were shaking. “Y/N? Are you alright?”

“I-I...don’t read the news, meet me outside my apartment door.” You said quickly, your voice quivering. You heard him roll out of bed.

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

You sent the same sentiments to Heather. You needed to explain this before they found out. You needed Jimin to understand your side of the story. Jimin was yours. No one else should have him. Ever since you’d set your eyes on him, you had known he was to be your newest obsession.

“Y/N?!” Heather’s screeching voice echoed up the stairs and you knew it was too late for her.

“I know what you think about me, Y/N, but I don’t feel the need to flaunt my riches. I may seem like a real stupid bitch, but I’m not.” Heather snapped, slapping the newspaper down in front of you while you waited with Jimin. He picked up the paper before you could stop him.

“Y/N? Is this true?” He asked cautiously, his eyes scanning the page.

“Y/N? How could you?”

“Y/N?” Y/N Y/N Y/N. The chant was dizzying. Everyone wanted a piece of you, damn it.

“Shut up! Shut up!” You cried, breathless.

They both stopped. Heather’s eyes were pure anger, but Jimin looked confused, lost. He abruptly stood and you went along with him. Heather turned on her heel, storming out.

“Don’t talk to me again, freak.” Heather said, her words bitter as she exited into the cold morning air. Mornings were always cold it seemed.

“How many things have you lied about? Are you even Y/N? Is that even your name?!” He questioned, the buzz of anger growing.

“I can’t...I can’t tell you that.” And you couldn’t. You’d lost track a long time ago.

“Jimin! Jimin please! Wait!” You grasped his hand desperately. He turned around furiously, sharply.

“What do you want? You wore your little disguise so well and I, like a fool, fell for it.” His voice cracked.

“I know I’ve lied about-about a lot of t-things, but I know one thing that’s the truth,” You pleaded. “I love you.”

His gaze hardened. “How do I know that’s not a lie?”

And you couldn’t tell him that either.

A pathological liar. Your mother would have been heartbroken by the label placed upon her precious daughter. You would have been offended as well if it weren’t for the objective truth.

Even when Columbia University expelled you for not only lying about grades and extracurriculars, but also just for being an awful person as they tried to lightly put it, everything still hadn’t hit home.

You were beautiful, fit for a queen. It was such a shame, then, when people also found out that you had no money. It made you hungry for the stuff. Now, the trick was to make sure they didn’t find that out.

Your mother had always been a good woman, but your father had easily gambled away all the money saved. Perhaps you got this carefree, flamboyant personality from him?

A narcissist. Not what you had expected as a new label either, but if it was in the papers, it must be true. In the end, all your little escapades had gotten you in a lot of debt, but the banks had just kept loaning you money. You had no idea why. Maybe it was like Jimin said, you had worn your disguise so well.

“Wow, a narcissist, huh?” You studied yourself in the mirror.

Your apartment was always dark, but you felt a particular chill today. You spoke to yourself, everyone else having had abandoned you.

“I don’t think that’s right.” You argued back to no one. “I’m...Y/N...the daughter of Zhao Dong. that’s me.” You said over and over, but you were no longer convinced and deep down you knew it was all a sham, a lie.

One thing had built on another and another until all the lies piled up and you could no longer dig yourself out. Your head was often spinning trying to remember everything everyone had ever told you.

But the thing was, at a certain point, it had no longer been a fib, a disguise. You had become Y/N, the daughter of Sinopec’s chairman Zhao Dong. At a certain point, you had become someone else, and that was all you had ever wanted.

Then you started laughing uncontrollably before sweeping your arm across the counter, sending various beauty products tumbling to the floor. Your body shook.

“No, no, no. It was all a lie.” You giggled. “It was just a lie, you’re just Y/N Y/L/N from a goddamn backwater town.” You slapped your cheeks, hard, as if that could erase all that was done.

It seemed that you were the villain of this fairytale, but you couldn’t quite believe it. As you looked in the mirror, the darkness of the bathroom slowly closing in around you, you could see yourself clearly.

There was no doubt in your mind that you were the evil queen and there was no snow white, just you and your shitty castle. And you were alone. Not even Jimin wanted a thing to do with you, having called your reckless actions disgusting. You had assured him you weren’t a psychopath.

You remembered the conversation on the phone after calling him several times.

“I’m sorry, how can I make it up to you?” You had asked. He had simply laughed bitterly and shifted his phone .

“You’ve already stolen everything from me, Y/N, and I fully intend to take back most of it, but you can keep the watch.” and then he hung up.

1 A.M. wake up.

Obsess over what you were going to do for the day. Fall back asleep.

3 A.M.

Get out of bed.

make yourself a cup of coffee and stare in the mirror for a while.

5 A.M.

Take a deep breath.

Start your day.

You didn’t have a home to return to. You didn’t have anyone who loved you and you most certainly didn’t have a reputation. With your face staining every front page of a newspaper, you had nowhere to hide, but you were just one person. You needed some fresh air, and where to best do that except at the top of the Empire State Building?

You were surprised to brush past Jimin on the way up to the top floor, but you should have guessed. You supposed his mother worked there. Either way, he followed you, asking if anything was wrong. Like a fucking psychopath.

“STOP!” You cried, turning to him as you reached the top floor. There had to be roof access somewhere up here.

“I want to know if you’re okay?” His eyes were kind and you were reminded of how everything had been before.

But you had already hurt each other, the past was past, there was only forward in this meaningless space of nothing.

“Haven’t I hurt you enough?!” You shouted, tears finally making their way down your face.

He pulled you back as you started to search the top floor, which was deserted save for two workers filing out for the night.

“Why are you doing this?” You whispered.

His eyes were furious, a volcano, a matchstick ready to ignite. It caught you off guard.

“Because, even though I hate you right now with every bone in my goddamn body, I would stop you from doing something stupid, like what I think you’re about to do, over and over again. No matter what.” He stopped, words stuttering, jawline clenching as he searched for the words.

“And maybe that’s what makes me the fool.”

He stepped back into the elevator and the doors slowly closed. You couldn’t bring yourself to join him, simply standing in shock at his declaration. And then he was gone. You saw him once more at a club with Heather on his arm, and after that, you never saw him again.

You would sometimes think you saw him; the flash of his silver hair, his figure ducking into a shop, the smell of him when you woke up, the taste of strawberry on your lips but he was never there. You didn’t need the money anymore. You realized...you had just wanted him.

Loving him was electrifying, like a hurricane at times and calm waters at others. You were a train on its way to be wrecked, and you had finally...run off the rails.

Fin

Blue hydrangea, cold cash divine Cashmere, cologne and hot sunshine Red racing cars, sunset and vine And we were young and pretty

Taglist: @thereaderstea , @sadboibts, @ditttiii

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years

Text

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 04 (second part)

(Masterpost) (Episode 04, first part) (Episode 05, first part)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes

Continued from the first half of this very long post!

Lets Go! Gusu

Wen Qing is lovingly exploring the magical wards of Gusu. She tries a little digital penetration on the ward at the waterfall, but gets the hard nope.

Note: Here at Canary3d we don’t ship Wen Qing with any cultivator ladies because we’re too busy shipping her with modern-day infosec-pro ladies, if you get what I’m saying and/or have read my bio.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is fishing with Nie Huaisang, using the method of sneaking up and grabbing fish with his bare hands. This actually works, because he is good at literally everything. His “I’ll be the prodigy” speech to Lan Xichen, isn’t actually arrogant.

Aw, Look at Xiao Zhan pretending this fish isn’t already dead.

Nosy Parker Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian goes to chat up Wen Qing and none of his crap works on her.

If I want to admire a pretty face I’ll go look in the mirror

His interactions with Wen Qing help to mature Wei Wuxian quite a bit over the months and years. Initially she’s a mystery to him, and he wants her attention and esteem. And can’t get either.

Look how stunned he is to encounter a boundary when she won’t let him touch her needle. “Wards are made to be broken” but she’s not going to let him past any of hers.

Jiang Cheng, Insecurest Boi

Oh you beautiful sad angry boy.

(More after the cut!)

Jiang Cheng is angrily waving the laundry around practicing his angry sword moves without a sparring partner, which is noteworthy partly because it shows how dedicated he is, but also because it shows how much he depends on Wei Wuxian for social interaction and cultivation practice. There must be 40 or 50 kids he could go practice with, but he’s by himself.

Camera Operator: Why you gotta take it out on me?

When he bitches to Yanli about his Dad preferring Wei Wuxian, she gaslights him.

Yanli is so gentle and kind, and she’s been the real mother for both of these boys when she didn’t have to be. But she ain’t perfect.

Yanli found this soup recipe on youtube. The ingredients are: water

Jiang Cheng has such a complex about Wei Wuxian he won't take the fish from him directly. He just looks hungry until Yanli grabs a stick and passes it to him.

Look, Jiang Cheng, we know you have reasons to be upset, but you need to get the fuck over yourself.

Aw, look at Xiao Zhan pretending this fish is cooked/palatable. (note: it is not)

Xiao Zhan deserves multiple awards for this performance. With bonus points for gratuitously eye-fucking Wang Zhoucheng into next week.

Wang Zhuocheng is an amazing actor who plays an incredible range of emotions, but selling the “delicious fish” lie exceeds his abilities. Look how he steels himself before he opens his mouth.

Yanli tells Wei Wuxian to be good starting tomorrow, and WWX gives her his patented lying-motherfucker salute.

This one has 4 fingers, unlike the 3-fingered boy scout salute he gave Lan Wangji on the roof in the previous episode. The extra finger is for extra lying.

Lan Lecture: Goofing off

Wei Wuxian is bored and spends the lecture time goofing off or sleeping like any other smart kid with ADHD.

Eventually he draws a bunny while Nie Huasang tosses him a nut wrapped in paper and he eats it. It’s the same kind of nut he eats at the beginning of his second life, when he remarks that they tasted better 16 years ago.

Don’t mind me, just putting Nie-Xiong’s nuts in my mouth

It’s cute how WWX and NHS are so vaguely gay for each other without bothering to be seriously gay for each other.

Several of the rules that are read out during this part of the lecture are things that Wei Wuxian is doing during this part of the lecture, or will become known for doing in the near future.

sitting improperly

causing noise

teasing others

ignoring others and being undisciplined

borrowing money

being late

Lan Lecture: Showing off

The question & answer part of the lecture arrives, which is when Wei Wuxian gets to show off his gifts.

He is that classic kid who already knows the essence of the material, does not need stuff explained, and is super bored at rote learning.

Lan Qiren makes Lan Wangji show off his skills to the whole class, which would guarantee an after-school ass kicking for the teacher's pet except that LWJ is basically the most aggressive person in the entire Lan clan (thanks Mom for those "I'm going to kill you now" genes!) and is unbeatable.

Lan Lecture: Going off

Next, Wei Wuxian introduces an idea for sustainable energy.

He starts off challenging Lan Qiren's hypothetical scenario, and as Lan Qiren draws breath to answer him, Lan Wangji starts speaking. LWJ has been listening very carefully and is speaking out of turn instead of letting the master speak, which is...probably not how he usually conducts himself?

From Wei Wuxian’s perspective, this is just the run-up to his next outrageous suggestion, but for Lan Wangji, this has to be an enormous moment. This boy who is unexpectedly a good sparring partner with swords and words is also an intellectual sparring partner - someone who can give Lan Wangji an actual chance to debate something.

Wei Wuxian’s answer "it's such a waste" is directed to Lan Wangji, not to the class as a whole. Lan Wangji, Gusu’s loneliest boy, is suddenly in a relationship with an equal. The relationship is adversarial, but it's EQUAL.

Wei Wuxian carries on explaining his idea: How about digging up and desecrating corpses? No no no Not for fun, but in order to have massive, unthinkable power?

Seems like a waste to just leave the dead to their rest when you could be using them for something.

Lan Qiren: I can see we are going to have to kill you eventually, aren't we

Jiang Cheng: oh my god Wei Wuxian you can't just ask about decapitating corpses

Jiang Yanli: perhaps my unwavering loyalty to Dad's methods with my baby brother should be reexamined

Nie Huasang: my dude, conceal don’t feel, seriously

Lan Wangji: hmmm he’s not exactly wrong

Lan Wangji was a LOT more horrified at Wei Wuxian sticking a note on Lan Qiren’s ass than he is at this whole demonic cultivation thing. Lan Wangji is really really attracted to Wei Wuxian’s talent and intelligence, even when it's completely heterodox. You can see it much later when Wen Ning gets his personality back; Lan Wangji is impressed and congratulatory, unlike literally everyone else in the cultivation world.

Punishment

When Wei Wuxian gets sent to copy a chapter 1000 times, Jiang Cheng and Yanli are both horrified, whereas Wei Wuxian’s reaction is totally chill.

Basically he knows that he has reached the part of the classroom discussion where he is inevitably sent for punishment, because he is totally used to that being how things go in his education.

Similarly, kneeling doesn't bother him because Madame Yu made him kneel for everything. Wei Wuxian is the mascot for too-smart bored kids everywhere.

On his way out, Wei Wuxian hits Lan Wangji with this troubled look of yearning. In this moment where Wei Wuxian is sparking Lan Wangji’s interest and tentatively seeking a path toward Lan Wangji’s heart, he is also mapping out the unorthodox path he will follow away from him as they grow up.

Lan Qiren in his rage does the dumbest and, frankly, most irresponsible thing the parent of a teenager can do in this situation; he sends Lan Wangji to supervise Wei Wuxian’s punishment.

"This terrible WWX is a one-man bad crowd. Let me send my deeply conflicted, stubborn, intensely private, teetotling, abstinent and abstemious newphew to spend several days in a private location with him, being bored together."

Lan Wangji responds to this order with 100% calmness, not even an eyebrow furrow.

I'm sure no cussing, pornography, romantic portraits, flirty ink grinding, or changes in forms of address will happen.

Lan Lecture: Blowing off

Wei Wuxian meanwhile has fucked off to go make more friends, and is hanging out with Wen Ning. Wen Ning demonstrates his archery by hitting the worlds slowest falling rock in midair and Wei Wuxian earnestly praises him and offers to trade skill pointers.

I love how sweet and kind WWX is to this younger kid who is obviously a little different.

When Wen Qing shows up, Wei Wuxian takes another opportunity to get into her business, but he skips the charm this time. He also 100% correctly deduces what she is up to.

Swords by the Waterfall

Then comes another sexy sword fight as Lan Wangji sneaks up on Wei Wuxian and almost get his face sliced open as a reward.

Now that the swords are out it’s time for...homework, sigh. Summer school is the worst.

Outro

Writing Prompt: Lan Xichen’s letter to Nie Mingjue after meeting Meng Yao

Episode 05 Restless Rewatch is over here!

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #the untamed gifs #chen qing ling #the untamed stills #restless rewatch the untamed #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wen qing #lan qiren #weilan #the untamed spoilers #restless rewatch #the untamed meta

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zeppelin-and-unicorns · 3 years

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Fanfic recommendations part six: 100% Alternate Universe stories.

Hey! It took me a while to post this and I’m sorry, got too caught up with, well, you know, life (ew). But I’m back!

All the stories listed in this are stories are 100% AU (yes, I’m including the Soulmate AU’s in this category). I’ve read and enjoyed them all.

Accidentally In Love by the bohemian flow.

Rachel Hyde was a witness to a strange romance that blossomed between her twin brother, Steven, and Jackie Burkhart, of all people. Her and Steven weren't the biggest fans of Jackie, but now, he loves her. How could Rachel possibly put up with her brother's girlfriend?

AU where Hyde has a sister. Not 100% focused on J/H, since it’s from Hyde’s sister POV, but it’s still pretty good.

This story is a WIP and it’s being updated constantly.

109k words, 28 chapters so far.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, OC/Kelso, OC/Eric, Eric/Donna.

A Different Start Could Lead to a Better End by SoftBubbles

Instead of Hyde meeting her as Kelso's annoying girlfriend, what if he met her as his annoying English partner, whom he quickly learns is more than she seems.

This story is not complete, it was last updated on July of 2020, and I pray for the author to come back to it one day, it’s a really good story.

Trigger warning for child abuse.

13k words, 14 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Bad Moon on the Rise by Badfanfic

Set around season 2. Jackie starts to develop feelings for Hyde, even though its the last thing she wants. Hyde is just trying to survive but is having difficulty controlling himself, especially around a certain cheerleader.

Hyde is a werewolf in this story. And THIS IS GOOD Y’ALL, I’ve read this like 10 times already.

Unfortunally, I think this story is abandoned, the last time the author updated was in June of 2020, but I still have hope, it’s really good and I’m DYING to read more. I absolutely adore stories with supernatural elements, and it’s so hard to find good ones in this fandom. Please read this.

13k words, 9 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Focus by Jenny7

After a metaphysical awakening, Hyde develops the ability to telepathically connect with a single stranger. What he doesn't expect is that the girl that he shares the connection with, a rich cheerleader with a complicated past, will forever alter his views on life and love.

SO GOOD. It’s complete and it has a sequel (that’s not complete but still worth the read), called Darlin, Walk Awhile With Me.

2k words, 19 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde.

History Rewritten by kezztip

What if Hyde got his Season 1 wish and stole Donna away from Eric? And then what if Eric had turned to a certain tiny cheerleader instead?

This story is complete, and if you have a soft spot for Eric/Jackie, than you might like this a lot.

81k words, 25 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Jackie/Eric, Hyde/Donna, Eric/Donna.

(I absolutely hate the Hyde and Donna pairing but it’s temporary so it’s okay).

Playing Pretend by isnotme

Caught up in her teenager concerns – and some wounds to heal, Jackie didn’t realize that her parents' marriage was crashing down for real, causing a major turnaround in her world.

In the edge of seventeen, Hyde had too much on his mind. With graduation coming so soon, he knew too well he was about to be kicked out of the Forman's home. But when Bud’s illegal activities came to knock on his door, Hyde saw his plans falling apart once again.

An AU where Jackie and Hyde get themselves in one of those fake relationship situation and somewhere along the way, they find somethings in commun. Highly inspired in every cliché Rom Com ever made, including Netflix's most recents TATBILB and Isi and Ossi.

This story is a WIP and it’s being updated often.

33k words, 13 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna

Pretty in Wisconsin by BelleBae

Jackie Burkhart has a lot to deal with. Her dad is in prison, her mum can't get it together and one of her best friends is in love with her. Will she be able to sort everything out by Prom? Inspired by Pretty In Pink.

Cute and complete.

20k words, 23 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Rock You Like a Hurricane by zeppelinandunicorns (yours truly)

Alternative universe where Donna met Jackie before meeting Eric and the rest of basement gang.

Jackie and Donna are 16 and 17 when they finally met the four basement misfits after a Fleetwood Mac concert.

This story is a WIP, and I do not plan on abandoning it, I love it too much to do that.

77k words, 15 chapters so far.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna, background Red/Kitty and eventual Fez/Laurie and Kelso/Brooke.

Also Available on AO3

She Belongs to me series by QueenBookBuff

A universe where Kelso cared a lot more about Jackie and Hyde getting together and implications of a deeper background for both Jackie and Hyde and Kelso and Jackie.

This got me hooked, it’s really good, please read it.

It’s complete and there are sequels! They are called All Our Tomorrows

and The Scarlet and SJ Chronicles.

27k words, 7 works in total.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Summer Music Series by Wickedfetch

What if Hyde and Jackie didn't meet until 1985?

Complete.

7k words, 3 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

That 70s show by Zenmaster21

What if Jackie had dated Hyde from the beginning instead of Kelso? This is simply a re-write of the episodes had Jackie and Hyde always been together.

One of my favorites stories from the entire fandom.

Not complete, but please read it, it’s worth it.

Trigger warning for child abuse.

152k words, 37 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna

The Fifth Forman by BlueZeppelin

What if it wasn't just Eric and Laurie? What if they had another sibling? Like...Jackie? What would happen with Hyde? Would Eric be happy with his sister dating his best friend? Would Red like his daughter to be with one of the basement dumbasses?

This story is complete!!

52k words, 18 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

The One Where Jackie Moves In by Floweerchild96

Jackie has been living in New-York with her family but after her father goes to jail and her mother abandons her, she is forced to return to a town she thought she was done with for good. How will Jackie's reemergence in the basement effect the gangs lives?

A really good story, but unfortunally, it’s not complete. Still worth the read.

103k words, 20 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna.

Wall Around Your Heart by ourinvisibleink

Jackie Burkhart-Forman was adopted at almost ten years old by Red and Kitty, after her parents flee the country for drug trafficking crimes. Laurie grapples with addiction, Eric is messed up because of Red’s verbal abuse, Steven’s arrival is brought on by Jackie, Kelso is neglected, Fez is victim to racism, and Jackie befriends Jason, the new kid who happens to be gay.

This story is really good, but it deals with some serious stuff. I still love it.

Complete and it has a sequel called Plastar and Mortar.

52k words, 26 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna, Fez/Laurie, Red/Kitty.

One-shots:

A Little Less 70s, A Little More Modern AU by fairytalesandfolklore

A modern AU where the characters from That 70’s Show grew up in the 90’s x early 2000’s instead.

Cute as hell!!! Worth the read!

1k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

found a wife and a home (and a family that matters) by blackorchids

Hyde’s been part of the Forman family for years before they make him move in.

I placed this in the AU category because apparently Jackie and Hyde always dated, it doesn’t specify much.

1k words.

Rated G.

Pairings: background Jackie/Hyde and background Red/Kitty. This is not focused on the couples, but on Hyde’s relationship with the Forman’s.

Lady and The Tramp by soobeans

'See, I, myself, don't like you. I find you abrasive. But if I didn't know you, and I'd never talked to you, I'd think you were totally hot.'

In Point Place, Wisconsin, there are only three distinct areas. The Western area consists of the burnouts, thugs, outcasts, hopeless dreamers, poor people, and overall, tramps. The Eastern area holds the classy, rich, and more fortunate ladies and gentlemen. In between is where the two are forced to intermingle, but of course, they found a few ways to separate themselves.

8k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, some minor background Eric/Donna moments.

That Disco Episode: Zenmasters Style by springsteenicious

What if Hyde had learned how to dance to impress Jackie instead of Donna? And what if Jackie hadn’t been dating Kelso?

That Disco Episode, rewritten for Jackie and Hyde.

2k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Bonus: Soulmate AU’S:

I am so in love with Soulmate AU’s that I’m currently writing one, I wanted to make a special post just for this category but it would be too small so I just included it in here.

Finders Keepers by nannygirl

It's said that before you find your soulmate you will find one of their lost items first, so what happens when Hyde finds a gold bracelet in The Formans' backyard? Will it lead him to his soulmate, someone who he's sure probably doesn't even exist?

This story is not complete, but worth the read.

5k words, 2 chapters.

Rated K+.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, some background Red/Kitty

It Takes Time to Fall in Love by yabookreader96

Jackie can't wait to meet her soulmate, but a dire mistake on her part leads her to mistakenly identify him as Michael, while Hyde watches his soulmate clock hit zero and immediately knows that it's Jackie. Years pass, Jackie with Michael, Hyde saying nothing as he knowingly watches from the side. Will this dynamic be permanent or will destiny bring the true soulmates together?

This story is complete.

18k words, 12 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, temporary Jackie/Kelso.

Mistaken Messages by MistyMountainHop

Jackie longs for her soulmate to accept her, and Hyde hopes his will leave him alone because he's in love with someone else. A stack of mystical index cards lets them communicate with their as-yet unidentified soulmates. But the more their soulmates write, the less control Jackie and Hyde seem to have over their fate.

This story is complete.

23k words, 5 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna

Also Available on AO3

Until We Get There by poetdameron

Running away from their own wedding is the craziest thing Hyde and Jackie have ever done together. But the tug he feels at his heart when realizing she doesn't want to marry him? The worst.

This story is complete.

39k words, 8 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

Voodooized by mc_1

Eric’s been noticing something weird going on between Jackie and Hyde. At a party one night, all of Eric’s suspicions are confirmed when the two become love-marked- an event that occurs when soulmates are ready to be together, resulting in a mark on the skin that bonds them together for life. The unlikely couple puzzle over how they could possibly be paired together as they struggle to understand each other.

This story is a WIP.

14k words, 4 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde. Eric/Donna

Where It Wasn’t Supposed To Be by moved-ao3

Jackie thinks it's a blessing, Hyde a curse. Set in an alternate universe where characters receive a list with their soulmate's worst qualities, Jackie and Hyde struggle to navigate their feelings for each other when everything else seems pitted against them.

Not complete, and it makes me want to cry, but it’s really good.

15k words, 5 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

One-shots:

all i need by orphan_account

"When he is six years old, the words 'Pudding Pop' appear on his wrist in the curliest, loopiest handwriting he's ever seen. There's even a little heart dotting the 'i'."

1k words.

The author didn’t rate this one, I would rate it as T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Blush by springsteenicious

On a person's eighteenth birthday, they swap bodies with their soulmate. Hyde doesn't have high hopes for his soulmate, but when he wakes up in a very pink room with posters and painted nails, his life is changed for the better.

4k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

I believe this is all!

I’ll repeat this at the end of every single post (seriously, I literally copy and paste this every single time): Speaking as someone who writes, it would be really cool if you guys decide to leave a review (or a comment, if the story is on AO3) in the stories you read, especially the unfinished ones. It really motivates the authors, and receiving a compliment is always a mood lifter. I’ve seen some authors updating stories after years because of nice reviews, so… yeah, this is just an idea.

Feel free to reply to this post if you think I left out a good story!

Next category: Christmas fics!

#jackie x hyde #jackie and hyde #zenmasters #fanfic #fanfic rec #that '70s show #that 70s show #alternate timeline #soulmate AU #fanfic recommendations

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