#the 15 year slowburn

[barren-heart]

WWDITS said

Vampire Love Triangle

but make it these guys

[stanfordsweater]

258: out back is where the toes are.

[deus-ex-mona]

happy juri day~~~

[tempestclerics]

rereading tâm's character sheet. my girl is genuinely a disaster but i love her anyway

[kflixnet]

Check out our member Autumn's oneshot!

what we could’ve been

fluffy enemies to lovers New Year’s Eve slow burn. merry christmas @jaesqueso :) thank you to lovely beta @theonlysoph <3 warnings: mentions of cheating @kflixnet

You love your little hometown. As silly as it sounds, you truly do appreciate the life your parents built for you here. You love your house, your spacious and lush backyard, the mailman who knows your name, and the coffee shop a mile walk down with the best cherry danishes you have ever eaten.

There’s few things you don’t appreciate about your hometown. The icy winters, the big city transplants taking over the roads with their fancy cars.

The fact that you had to leave.

“You had a choice, you know.” Your best friend Joohyun says through the phone as you walk through the air bridge. The chilling air shocks you as you step off the warm airplane, goosebumps rising immediately.

“No, I don’t think I did.” You hold your phone between your face and shoulder as you readjust your bag on your other shoulder.

You can hear her roll her eyes in the pause she takes before speaking again, “Nobody forced you out. He didn’t force you out. You decided to go. That’s on you.” You stop in your tracks in the busy terminal and take a deep breath. You can’t afford to piss anyone else off.

“What was I supposed to do? Stay and watch the rest of the world fall apart around me? I left before it got worse, and you know it was already bad enough.” You whisper, aware of the listening ears around you as you step onto the escalator taking you down to baggage claim.

She pauses and you can hear another eye roll. “Whatever. I’ll see you soon.”

It’s been 3 years since you’ve last seen him, your last interaction was less than peachy. You had never seen him so angry, definitely never that upset with you. You wince at the memory of how loud he was yelling. The man you were imagining a future with turning so sour towards you. You didn’t even know what you had done until after he had finished laying in on you, but by that point you had no more skin in the game with him. You were done and so was he.

So you picked up and left town 3 weeks after your last fight, growing tired of avoiding the coffee shop near your house because the eyes of Taeyong’s massive friends group were always on you.

You wish you could convince yourself that it is truly whatever, but there’s a part of you that still hurts from the words Taeyong spat at you that night. You know you will have to face him eventually. And that’s fine. Sorta.

–

You’re both relieved and weighed down when you step out of the airport and see your mom standing by the boot of her car. She lets out a squeal when she spots you, arms opening wide waiting for you to travel over to her. You can’t help but let out a giggle and smile wide, walking at a faster pace than before to meet her in a hug.

“Hi, my baby.” She says into your hair as she holds you tight, rocking side to side. You no longer feel cold in her arms.

“Hi mom.” You whisper into her shoulder.

She loads your bags and you’re on your way home. It’s freaky being back here, watching the town you used to know like the back of your hand zip by. Like an old friend, your hometown feels familiar but distant.

“So, it’s been a while since you’ve been back.” She says and you hum in response.

At your lack of a response she continues, “What happened with Taeyong was heartbreaking for you I know,” but she doesn’t, she doesn’t even know the half of what truly went down between you two. “but running away like that was— it was hard for us Y/N you have to know.”

You stop following the trees with your eyes as you squeeze them shut at her words. You know you hurt a lot of people by leaving, your family the most. But you don’t really want to hear it, you can’t. Your heart can’t take any more. Coming back was hard enough.

“I know, mom, I do.” You whisper, still avoiding her eyes.

“I have something to tell you.” She says after a beat of silence. You whip your head towards her.

“What is it?” She grips the steering wheel tighter and your heart rate rises.

“Listen, you’re not going to like this but— Y/N, trust me I did my best to avoid this but there’s just so much to do and not enough time to do it. And you both are just sitting around for now. So-“ she babbles and as she goes on and on you groan, interrupting her.

“Mom, please, what is it?”

She lets out a sigh. “The Lee’s are co-hosting the New Years party this year and we need you and Taeyong to work together to pull a couple of things together.”

Your stomach drops and the unmistakable cold feeling from before is back, “Are you joking?”

—

She wasn’t joking.

unknown number: hey i just picked up the rental truck. we need to go pick up the balloon arches. when r u free?

you: who is this?

unknown number: wow.

unknown number: damn.

unknown number: didn’t know u were like that.

you: ????

unknown number: its taeyong.

you: oh.

you: im free at 4.

taeyong: can’t do any sooner? i want to get this over with asap.

you: that disappointed to be around me huh?

taeyong: sorta yeah.

you: fine

you: 3:30

taeyong: see u then

you: see u then :)

taeyong: don’t do that

you: don’t do what

taeyong: whatever

-

Seeing him again for the first time doesn’t hurt the way you thought it would. He had texted you a charming, “here” when he arrived in front of your parents house. It made shameful butterflies dance up your belly when you realized you hadn’t given him your address, but he knew. He remembered.

Being here now, though, those butterflies have disappeared. They burnt to a crisp when the fury began to flame. It began with his blatant ignorance of your presence, not even a hello as you hopped up to the seat in the U-Haul. Then he turned the radio all the way up to drown out the sound of your voice as you attempted to make conversation. The trap music he chose to play to drown you out did the opposite of what you assumed he had expected it to, the thumping bass just frustrating you more as your ears pounded with a growing headache. It doesn’t help that he’s chosen probably the most beat up road to the workshop, the big rental truck absorbing almost none of the shock of the potholes.

The frustration comes to a head at a particularly rough pothole he hit straight on, causing you to nearly hit your head on the roof.

You bumble forward, turning the music all the way down, leaning in his line of sight and shouting, “Do you have to keep doing that?”

He doesn’t respond, just glances at you over the frame of his sunglasses with a scowl. His eyebrow is arched as if to say, “what’s the problem?”

“Hitting the potholes like that, goddammit!” You reply, unfortunately reading the question off the face a little too easily.

He doesn’t respond verbally again, just by rolling his eyes before pushing the sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and looking back to the road and turning the music up louder this time.

You lean back into your seat with a humph. There goes that attempt.

–

Where your ability to read Taeyong has seemed to stand the test of time, apparently your teamwork skills have not.

“Goddammit, who knew balloons could be so heavy?” You groan, gripping the heavy steel base of one side of the 7 foot wide balloon arch you’ve just arrived to collect. Your knees are burning and your fingers are sweating so much you’re about to slip your grip. Taeyong, always the gentleman, allowed you the honor of being the party to walk backwards.

Just as you’re wondering the next step, you feel the ground slip out from underneath you as you stumble off a step you hadn’t anticipated being there. You yelp out a puppy like bark in shock, thankfully not dropping the arch.

Taeyong is just as helpful as ever as he bursts out an inappropriate laugh before adopting his straight face again, “Sorry, forgot to tell you there’s a step there.” He says monotone. Your feet are shuffling awkwardly behind you as you attempt to take careful enough steps to not drop the heavy balloon arch on your foot or worse, eat shit and fall on your ass.

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” You act coolly in response to his snarky comment, “you were too busy planning our next near suicide mission.” You learned from your past lesson, as you whip your head around trying to navigate your next step. Thankfully, the truck is close.

It takes him a beat to respond as he focuses on his own steps, “What?” he groans out, stopping to allow you to pivot onto the catwalk up to the body of the truck.

“The car drive over.” You stop walking to roll your eyes at him, “You tried to kill us both?” You say just as your ring finger slips out from under the metal base, nearly dropping the balloon arch off the side of the catwalk.

“And you’re still so mad about it you tried to murder the innocent balloon arch.” He snarks, barely allowing you a moment to adjust your grip. You roll your eyes once more and groan, continuing your careful steps backwards.

Once the arch is safely secured in the bed of the truck, you and Taeyong push it off to one side and step back to take a look at the damage. Thankfully, there is none and before you have time to catch your breath he’s looking at you. It’s a blank look that doesn’t last long but it makes another shiver come up your spine.

His hand raises up to your face and before you can ask what for, you realize he’s asking you for a high five. Apparently you’ve been looking at him for too long because he brings his other hand up to clap his own hand and give you an oddly funny look.

A beat passes as you both just look at eachother in the bed of the warm truck, no longer looking at the balloon arch. You aren’t sure what face you’re giving him but if it’s anything like the face he’s giving you, you’d be nervous.

“Let’s go get the second.” He whispers, no attitude or snark this time in his voice.

He’s skipping off the truck before you can analyze what he’s said.

Fuck. Okay. This is gonna be weird.

–

“How’d it go with good ol’ Yong this morning?” Joohyun says as you lie on her sofa, head in her lap. There’s something about time that you just can’t seem to get used to. No matter how much of it passes, you still seem to be just as close with her as before. A part of you wishes the same would be true for Taeyong.

You chuckle a dry laugh, “He tried to murder me.”

Joohyun, the friend you’ve always relied on to understand your humor, replies with just a shrug, “Sounds about right.”

That makes you laugh for the first time since you’ve arrived back as you sit up, choosing instead to set a cheek on her shoulder and direct your focus towards the TV quietly playing a rerun episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. You feel at peace with her here. You didn’t realize how many hearts you had broken with leaving until you came back and saw it on everyone’s face. Joohyun was hurt the most unsurprisingly.

She was a strong girl, choosing boldly to act as coldly as she could to everyone, but you know her better than that. You can read her almost as well as you can read Taeyong. She was never this cold with you before when you lived here, but her attitude now that you’re back is similar to the way she acted around your other friends.

She’s placed a wall up with you. She knows you’re leaving her again so she’s set distance with you. Unsurprisingly, that hurt you the most.

“I have to go pick up champagne with him tomorrow.”

She hums again, patting your head, “Don’t murder him. He’s too handsome to die.”

You bellow a loud laugh and scoff at her, slapping her shoulder as she bursts into giggles.

It’s good to be home with people who make it that way, you think.

–

The liquor store is busy with New Years approaching in just a day. You’ve had to weave in and out of crowds of people and couples. You aren’t sure how you feel being one of the many couples of people in the liquor store, yet probably being the only one of the bunch who’s here as exes being pushed together for errands. Exes who hate each other, at that.

From your left side as you round the corner to another aisle, you hear a chipper voice call out to you both, “Wine tasting for the happy couple?” a smiling salesperson stands with two small plastic cups of red wine in her hands.

“We aren’t a couple.” You say, both sickened by her assumption and a little hurt by having to say it so.

“Oh,” She looks surprised before collecting her composure again, “well, wine tasting for the good friends?”

Taeyong interjects this time, “we aren’t that either.” and your eyes roll again at the attitude in his voice. Why does he feel the need to include the poor saleswoman in this mess by being rude towards her too?

She chuckles awkwardly, a blush creeping on her cheeks and she shrugs, “I’m not quite sure what else to say then.” She admits awkwardly.

“Have a good day, ma’m.” You whisper, pinching Taeyong’s forearm dragging him on.

Thankfully he’s waited until you’re out of her line of sight before reprimanding you for your pinch.

“Fuck was that for?!” He whisper yells at you.

You act on your new favorite habit by rolling your eyes at him, “Do you really need to involve everyone in our mess? It’s bad enough that you and your friends think I’m the devil, I don’t want a random saleslady to hate me too.” You say, folding your arms and pivoting on your heels to face the champagne.

“Oh,” He whispers at your sudden vulnerability, “sorry.”

You don’t respond, a little shell shocked he apologized. If you had allowed yourself to

“This one looks good.” You say instead, picking a pink bottle up.

“What?” He yells out, slapping the back of your hand, “That’s Moet and Chandon, it’s $70 a bottle.”

“And?” You say, picking the bottle up again, “It’s the New Year’s party.”

“No way in hell.” He says, grabbing your wrist this time and directing your hand back to the shelf, “I know you like pink but there’s no way.”

You scoff and roll your eyes at his offensive comment but allow your fingers to loosen around the neck of the bottle.

“This one is good. Half the price too.” He picks up a bottle of Perrier Jouet. “It’s not pink, but I think you’ll survive.”

–

At least you’ve gotten your sweet revenge this time, allowing the salesperson to stack both cases of champagne on top of one another to carry out into the car. You know Taeyong well enough to know he won’t allow himself to appear feminine enough to have you carry the cases.

“A little help? This is really heavy.” He barely musters out once you’re out of earshot of anyone else from the public. His voice is strained.

“Oh! Sure.” You say, pressing the button to release the trunk lock before sliding into the passenger seat of his sedan.

You can hear him struggle behind you as you sit, flipping through radio stations with a smug smile on your face waiting for him.

Yeah, you sigh, revenge is sweet.

–

The next time you see him he seems to have warmed a little to you. You can’t seem to admit it if you've had the same change of heart but it is nice that he’s driving a little easier, visibly swerving out of the way of the potholes as you sit in the U-Haul once again. The jerking back and forth from the swerving is jarring, but you can tell he’s making an effort that you appreciate.

There’s no bickering this time as you get your jobs done quickly to move the many vases of flowers in and out of the shop in record time. Before you know it, only 8 minutes have passed since you’ve arrived. Your previous errands with Taeyong took close to 2 hours a piece. Turns out that you save a lot of time when there’s no fighting involved. Go figure.

“So, uh, see you tonight?” He says as he stops in front of your house. That’s new too, he’s not said a word to you in the car so far since you’ve begun running errands with him.

“I-uh-yeah.” You try and not let the shock show on your face, “of course I’ll be there.”

He nods, avoiding your eyes and you step out of the truck.

–

The party turned out great as you had hoped. At only 9:30 PM the dance floor was crowded with bodies of old and new friends, the liquor was flowing like a river, and the decor spruced up the ballroom nicely. Your parents had been close friends with the Lee’s far before you and Taeyong ever got together, so their ability to work together to pull off the biggest and best party yet isn’t surprising.

Speaking of Taeyong, he’s not here yet it seems. Checking your grandmother’s old watch on your wrist, you notice the time is 11:45, nearly midnight. Though you aren’t sure why you care.

You bought a new dress for the occasion, an intricate embroidered gown with a high cut slit on your leg and a low cut bust. It’s adorned with a white chiffon stitched at the bias to create a beautiful drape over half the bust and to accentuate the skirt of the floor length gown. It’s designer, but from a couple of seasons ago to save a couple bucks. Still expensive, still beautiful. With Joohyun by your side you two make an impressive set with her choosing to go a little more modest with her dress, but still stunning. It’s a simple black gown with one strapped shoulder and an asymmetrical hemline. Her red lipstick and blonde bombshell curls pull the look together.

She’s already a little tipsy, having been one of the first to arrive along with you at 9. She began drinking the moment she realized that very few attractive young people would be attending– resigning to spend her evening down a bottle rather than in someone’s face. She’s giggling into your shoulder the moment you notice he’s walked in.

He didn’t just walk in, he made an entrance. In his head to toe cherry red suit with no undershirt to hide from his solid form, you can’t seem to peel your eyes off of him.

Joohyun gasps just a moment too late and slaps your shoulder repeatedly to get your attention, “Look! Look!” she whispers, pointing in his direction. You frown and grab her wrist, pulling her hand down.

“What is it?” you say and she blushes before giggling again.

“He’s hot!” she bursts into a loud bellow that catches the attention of the people around you over the loud music.

Her laugh caught someone else’s attention too, and you aren’t sure if you’re relieved, happy, or terrified that he’s walking over.

“What’s so funny?” He asks Joohyun who composes herself quite quickly, adorning her signature blank stare the moment she realized that someone has caught her outside of her regular composure.

“Hi, Taeyong.” You say in an attempt to distract from Joohyun, who has let her mask slip again once more to trail her eyes down Taeyong’s chest.

His eyes flicker to yours, then down at your dress, then up at you. “H-Hi, Y/N.” He stutters, and for the first time you can’t read it. You aren’t sure if he’s shy or still feeling the awkwardness from before.

Not a moment too soon, the song changes to a slower beat. A 90’s romance song your parents played for you all the time. It’s a cheesy song, but brings a small smile to your face as you recognize the electric guitar intro. Flashes of watching your dad twirl your mother around your home to this song flare behind your eyes, the sound of her laughter at his romance in your ears. Taeyong notices and remarks,

“You know this one?” his eyebrow raises at you.

You chuckle before replying, “Yeah, my parents played it all the time dancing around the living room together.”

Taeyong’s face flashes an emotion you can read too well as he breaks eye contact before coming back to you again. “Well,” his hand comes up, reaching out to you, “care to dance?”

You aren’t quite sure what to say. You know that this is the man that hated you so much you left town to never have to see him again, but that you also once upon a time was so desperately in love with this man that there wasn’t a thing on planet Earth that you wouldn’t have done for him.

The man who believed the first rumor he heard about you is the same man in front of you now asking you to dance.

You smile, nod, and grab his hand. As he’s leading you out to the floor, you accept that you’ll deal with consequences later.

It feels like warm fire when his hand lands on the small of your back to pull you in closer to sway to the beat. The butterflies have awoken, flurrying around as you dance. You aren’t quite sure how your feelings about Taeyong will catch up to the new infatuation you’ve seemed to grow for him, but you’ll just excuse it as nostalgia.

It’s not all perfect, he’s a little stiff and your moves are slightly awkward. In many ways, you and Taeyong used to be completely and perfectly compatible, but time has not been a friend to you two. With one, two, three slight steps on his toes he groans and leans back to stare at you in disbelief.

This is the first time he’s looking at you with disdain, but you can tell his heart isn’t behind it. You giggle, leaning slightly into him as you let out a sorry through your giggles.

“What ever shall I do with you, huh?” He says, pulling you in closer and placing his cheek on the side of your head. You giggle more, letting go of his hand to wrap both arms around his neck. He does the same and holds you close with his hands on your hips. Now you’ve fallen into more of a sway than an official dance but you don’t care, he doesn’t seem to either.

It’s familiar yet strange being here and being held like this by him. You feel like crying at how much you missed being held by him, but also feel like running away when you remember what caused you to leave. You’re conflicted, two sides of your being at war with one another.

So you decide to do something about it, “Why did you act that way?” you speak softly into his shoulder, your heart rate beginning to rise at the implication that you’ve done it. You’ve officially opened the old wound, and you’re not quite sure what blood will flow out of it.

“Act what way?” He asks, and it’s a good question. Taeyong’s behavior isn’t something that he’s necessarily proud of, so he’d like to know which of his transgressions you’re referring to.

“Three years ago. When we broke up. Why did you yell like that?” You lean back to look him in the eye at the last sentence. He can see the heartbreak behind your eyes but wishes he couldn’t. He’s crumbling, speechless, and for some reason, scared.

“Come on.” He grabs your hand after a beat and leads you out to the deserted smokers balcony. It’s chilly outside and your dress doesn’t cover much, but it’s a beautiful evening. The Christmas lights on the banister twinkle offering some low lighting as you stare at him. You lean into the rail and look out to the night sky. You’ve always appreciated nighttime for its quiet peacefulness you can’t seem to find anywhere else.

You wish you were calm, but you aren’t. Your heart rate is going a mile a minute at the awareness of what is about to happen. A part of you regrets that you even began this conversation, but you quickly forgive yourself. You need this, and by the look on his face he might need this too.

“Look, I don’t know what’s happening here.” He says after a moment.

“What do you mean?”

He sighs and looks away from you, “I was planning on avoiding you this entire time. I knew you were coming back and I knew we’d have to work together but I wanted to avoid this exact conversation.”

You don’t speak and he continues, “You broke my heart.”

That gave you whiplash, “wait,” you feel the familiar fury heat up in your belly, “I broke your heart? You’re the one who left me.”

His head whips around to look at you, frown set deep in his brow as he raises his voice slightly, “You cheated on me!”

You scoff, “There you go again with the cheating story. No I didn’t!”

He makes an attempt to interrupt you, but you raise your voice and stop him, “No, it’s my turn to speak.” He lowers his hand and shuts his mouth, looking at you shamefully.

“I did not cheat on you. That was a malicious and baseless rumor started by someone who wanted me but couldn’t because I was with you and was faithful to you. And if you had made any effort to investigate the rumor you would have realized that the day he claims we slept together I was with you.”

Now Taeyong really looks shameful, jaw dropping slightly and a blush creeping up on his cheek. He doesn’t try to speak so you keep on your rant, finally free to speak your mind and your heart from 3 years ago.

“You didn’t trust me. You believed the first rumor you heard from a random person about me and ended what we had because of it. We were so good together and you ruined it. I didn’t do anything but sit there. You don’t like this mess we’re in now?” You scoff, standing up from the railing and walk towards the door, “Well too bad. You made your bed, lie in it.”

“Y/N, wait.” He scrambles and grabs your wrist, pulling you back into him. He looks desperate and embarrassed, a look you haven’t seen on him in years.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers out after a beat with sincere eyes. Something changed then, you’re not sure how. The flames from before have simmered as you stand, still as a statue. You aren’t at peace, but you do feel more relaxed.

“I’m sorry, I was insecure and scared because I had never loved someone the way I loved you. I never should have believed him but I was so scared, like the most terrified I had ever been in my life. So I blew up on you without thinking. I regretted it the moment after it was done but you were already gone.”

Your heart softens at his words. He had betrayed you, that wasn’t a secret. But he’s here now, offering his penance. You aren’t sure if you want to accept, but hearing his apology truly helps.

“Spending time with you over these last couple of days have been so weird because I wanted to hate you for what you did,, but for some reason it just felt right being with you again.” You whisper, catching his eye in a glance.

“Yeah,” he whispers back, stepping in closer to you, “me too.”

The air is thick between you both as you stand avoiding each other's eyes. It’s awkward but not how it used to be. Now it feels more like something new is beginning that you don’t know how to handle. It’s exciting but extremely nerve wracking. Do you forgive him? Do you want him?

“Look, Y/N,” He turns to you and grabs your hands in his. You gasp, eyes widening and heart rate rising as you stare down at your intertwined fingers. Tiny sparks shoot up your arms to make your heart beat faster as he stands toe to toe with you.

“I want this.” He says and you look up into his eyes finally with a confused look on your face.

“I didn’t know it until now but I do, I want you back.” He says and your heart beats at a mile a minute.

You stand, stunned and confused– too lost in your own head and in the stars in his eyes as you hear the roaring hum of the crowd indoors counting down 10… 9… 8…

You look down at your hands again tied with his and up at his face as he stands and stares with pleading eyes you can read too well.

7… 6… 5…

You realize he means it, and that you want him back too. A smile spreads on your face.

4… 3… 2…

“Me too.”

1.

Before you know it, your lips are crashing together. The sparks from before are child's play compared to the fireworks you feel spread through your whole body as your arms fling around his shoulders to pull him close. He grabs you by your waist and pulls you in close, closer, closest as your lips slowly move together under the fireworks flashing in the sky and the cheers of those indoors ringing in the New Year.

You lean back, nose red from the friction and stare at his own starstruck face and giggle out a laugh that only comes when in the arms of your lover. He laughs back at you and everything feels alright.

“Happy New Year.” He says into your hair before you move your head to stare up at the fireworks still shooting off in the sky.

“Happy New Year.” you whisper back.

You two stand there under the glittering sky in your own private world with no thoughts of the past or the future, just your hearts beating with contentment in the present.

[jayflrt]

yours forever in 786

PAIRING ▸ private investigator!jay park x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ social media au (smau), smut, fluff, angst, mystery, drama, enemies to lovers au, college au, rich kid au

SUMMARY ▸ after being blackmailed into accepting an assignment, jay park, a young private detective, is thrown back into college. this time, though, he’s at an ivy league and tasked to follow you to uncover what dark secrets your old money family is hiding. in doing this, jay must fraternize with your inner circle by joining a secret society called the "order of kryptos.” what he doesn’t realize is that the deeper he gets into his mission, the more he starts to lose himself.

WARNINGS ▸ profanity, slowburn, alcohol/drug consumption, portrayals of addiction, sexual jokes, sexual content, betrayals!! backstabbing!!, toxic relationships, order of kryptos isn’t a real secret society but heavily inspired by the ivy league secret societies, emotional cheating (BOOOO! not from mc or jay tho), jay and mc have a small age gap (2 years), most of the characters are pretty toxic so please note that this is not attune to their real life personalities at ALL

UPDATE SCHEDULE ▸ every day

PLAYLIST ▸ fatal trouble by enhypen • still sane by lorde • this is what makes us girls by lana del rey • too good by troye sivan • paparazzi by lady gaga • old money by lana del rey • i was never there by the weeknd, gesaffelstein • prisoner by the weeknd, lana del rey

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ hello !! i’m back with another smau but this one’s less lighthearted and more heavy ? sort of an experiment let's see how it goes, but hope u enjoy and lmk what u think !! ♡

CHATROOMS !

TEASER

PROFILES ONE | TWO

ACT ONE: THE TRANSFER

01. skip tracer to millionaire pipeline

02. besties with testes

03. who the fuck is princessyuna

04. the world of the elite

05. please don't the tom nook

06. standing on business (vlog boycott)

07. friend (noun.) not heeseung

08. boo boo the fool

09. professional haters debut

10. 21 jump street for nepo babies

11. how to not bleed to death

12. jay/n train

13. leather jacket

14. no goodbye sucks or fucks

15. ugly truths

16. girlfriend but the girl is silent

17. justice for stress shitters

18. alcohol shortage when

ACT TWO: THE INVITATION

19. attention seeker

20. and there was one bed

21. every boy for himself

22. rhymes with loona

23. out-testosteroned

24. white lies

25. heart-to-heart

26. the athenaeum

27. sock sock shoe shoe

28. group ass fucking

29. post defamation dinner date

30. final verdict

31. do you have time to talk about our lord and savior

32. tap to get tapped back

33. mad as fuck (the remix)

34. in too deep

35. change my world

36. provisional fight club

37. go piss girl

38. girlhood won

39. we can't do this

40. pledge week

41. babygirls with daddy issues

42. they must be really good friends

43. hot jay summer

44. dangerous entanglements

45. the fifth interview candidate

UNCUTS !

TBD.

ONGOING 7/29/24

[drvscarlett]

About You Series Masterlist

Pairing: Sebastian Vettel x Webber!Reader

Summary: Everyone knows about the history of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. But there's a well kept story within the paddock about Sebastian Vettel and another Webber. This is that story.

Part 01:

Two strangers that seems to be drawn with each other aka the humble beginnings of Y/N Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

Part 02:

Its the first year that Sebastian moved to Red Bull, what could go wrong?

Part 03:

The one where Jenson Button is a shit stirrer.

Part 04:

Tensions on track and tensions off track are escalating one by one. Which one of them would be the first to crack?

Part 05:

It is clear that the Red Bull garage is picking a side between the two drivers but everyone's wondering what Y/N is up to.

Part 06:

Sebastian Vettel's first championships and a series of events that happened before that.

Part 07:

Mick and Jenson is ready to protect her all the time but Sebastian is willing to commit war crimes on track for her.

Part 08:

A turbulent family relationship that causes Sebastian to keep his feelings hidden (for the mean time).

Part 09:

A little perspective about the thoughts of other people when it comes to their slowburn relationship.

Part 10:

its been a long time coming. lets enjoy the calm before the storm.

Part 10.5

The storm has arrived in the form of Multi21

Part 11:

Sometimes we make mistakes and we can say sorry. Most of the times, mistakes cannot simply be corrected by an apology.

Part 12:

selfless decisions and selfish decisions makes everything peaceful or complicated?

Part 13:

sometimes we have just to enjoy and live the moments we are in right now. we never know what will happen next.

Part 14

should we talk about things or should we leave things as it is, aka the consequences of the truth

Part 15

break-ups happen everyday you don't have to lose it. can anybody move on from this?

Part 16

and i promise to be there with you through good or bad or as long as you'll have me around.

Part 17

can anybody please change the prophecy?

Part 18

Say your goodbyes now. Its really going to hurt to love someone.

Part 19

A love lost yet still felt is a kind of love that is one of a kind.

Part 20

Closing the chapters, will love be worth it this time around?

[ A/N: Finally created a general masterlist for the About You series. I have plotted it already and we will be having 20 chapters in grand total. Let me know if you want to be tagged for this fic ]

[whocaresstillthelouvre]

Elks

Pairing: Jackson Joel Miller x Female Reader Summary: Life in Jackson is quite comfortable and simple for you. You love teaching your students and running your library, you love the comforts of living here, perfectly complacent with the company of your two cats, guitar, tattered CD book, and a few friends. You like comfortable and simple, though the feelings you feel whenever you see Joel Miller are quite the opposite. Once you meet him, it seems like he needs you in his life as much as you need him. Reader Background: Reader is in her 30's and comes from Colorado. No physical descriptors besides having long enough hair to put up. Rating: Explicit. 18+ (Minors DNI) Warnings: soft jackson joel, joel and ellie do not leave jackson, timeline editing for coping, somewhat of a slowburn but it's a short fuse, eventual smut, friends to lovers, 15 year age gap, no use of y/n. Each chapter will have further individual warnings.

Playlist Masterlist

Chapter 1 See The Road You're On | Joel's POV

Chapter 2 No One Here Is Alone | Joel's POV

Chapter 3 The Middle & What's In Between | Joel's POV

Chapter 4 Enigma | Joel's POV

Chapter 5 Stay Awhile & Listen | Joel's POV

Chapter 6 Hear It In The Silence

Chapter 7 Promised Land

Future Smut Glimpses: Golden Walkway - Smut filled introduction (of sorts) to prove to you things end up very well for Joel and reader.

Green - Joel gets slightly subby in this 4/20 installment.

Harvest Moon - Joel gets a birthday celebration he deserves.

Painting Credit: Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius, Elk in the High Country, 1936

[coffeetank]

Writing ROMANTIC TENSION!

When you're writing romance, you need to have TENSION. Your characters need to pull your readers into the story with not just their dialogues, but also their chemistry. What is tension, you ask? It's quite simple. When two people are attracted to each other, or like each other, or are in love with each other, it causes a certain shift in the air. When these two people come together, they seem to outshine everyone else in the room and make it just about themselves (in a good way ofc). This shift in the air which hooks you into the scene is called tension. The chemistry that your main characters carry, will infact carry the whole story --- if you're writing romance, i.e.

How do you write this romantic tension? Well, as someone who's been writing romance for 4 years now, here's a few things I do to show the chemistry between my characters.

Show, don't tell: This is probably the most common advice you'll ever receive. And spoiler alert: IT IS TRUE. Any scene that includes an emotion will require you to show it, visualise it for the crowd instead of just writing it down. Romance, love, is a sensitive emotion. The readers need to SEE it happening, instead of just reading about it. Eye contact, long stares, switching their gaze from the eyes to the lips & back to the eyes, coming close for a few seconds, banter-turned-flirting are some ways you can show the chemistry.

Intimacy is key: Proximity. Closeness. Coming together. Put your characters in situations where they have to work together. Show their differences/similarities in handling tasks and make them argue or slightly quarrel if there's any differences and show them rejoicing if there's an agreement. Intimacy lies in more than just the body, bring out a quality in your characters, preferably a good one, in your characters when they're together. Make that quality their strong suit that drives them closer.

Words are sexy: Dialogues can create tension better than anything else (in my opinion). Notice how every time your ships/pairings are bantering, one of them ends up saying something sexual or romantic in a frisky way and we end up blushing like crazy? Yep, that's the goal. We absolutely love it when the guy says "oh yeah?" or ends up calling the girl a cute nickname while bantering. Dialogues can reach out to readers in a more personal way because they are the direct interactions between your characters. Make your OTP interact and have fun (pun intended!)

Add restraint: Sometimes, when the characters are almost about to kiss and someone interrupts them, we feel like throwing the book away. But at the same time, we want more because we want to see our characters kiss, or confess, or even get down dirty ;). You have put your characters in each other's close proximities, given them a driving force and added a razzle-dazzle with the dialogues and flirting! Yet, something is missing and the romance feels too....predictable? Put a constraint. This is especially important for slowburns. Personally, I love me a slowburn - it creates higher tension, emphasises on a foundation between characters and makes the kiss/confession/sex even more hot (again, my opinion). I suggest, a hint of a barrier won't do any harm. When you've reached the level of tension where it's normal for your characters to kiss or make-out, your readers are more focused than ever. Adding a restraint will make them crave the romance more and hence, stay hooked into the story. HOWEVER, DON'T STALL THE PROJECT. Just because your characters got interrupted in chapter 7 doesn't mean they can't kiss till chapter 15 or something. If they don't kiss in this chapter, they kiss after maybe 2-3 more chapters. You want to delay the romance only by a tad bit, so that your readers are still interested.

That's all I have for today! I hope these help you guys! - ashlee.

[bellaxgiornata]

List of Installments for All These Years

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Warnings/tags: 18+ for this series; contains emotional hurt with no comfort until the final installments, angst, pining, friends to lovers, slowburn, and eventually smut [Comfort now exists in this series!!]

Summary: You met Matthew Murdock unexpectedly at Columbia University and you couldn't deny that there was an instant attraction–for you. But for Matt, you became as close of a friend to him as Foggy did. As the years pass by, your feelings only grow for your best friend, but all you can do is watch as he dates and sleeps with every other woman on campus and eventually in New York City but you.

Installment List

Part 1: "Saturday Night"

Part 2: "Of Drinking and Dishonesty"

Part 3: "Betrayal"

Part 4: "All the Broken Pieces"

Part 5: "Graduation"

Part 6: "The White Whale"

Part 7: "So Close Yet So Far"

Part 8: "Planting a Seed of Thought"

Part 9: "A Truth Revealed"

Part 10: "The Weight of Grief"

Part 11: "Last to Know"

Part 12: "Considering the Offer"

Part 13: "Breaking the News"

Part 14: "Day Late Friend"

Part 15: "What If...?"

Part 16: "The Death of Miscommunication"

Part 17: "Bridging the Distance"

Part 18: "A Series of Firsts"

Part 19: "Coffee, Brunch, and Hotel Rooms"

Part 20: "This Isn't Goodbye"

Part 21: "The Sound of Your Voice"

Part 22: "Declarations and Desire" {Coming Soon}

[sheeple]

Miracles don’t exist | Masterlist

Genre(s): Riddle!reader / Slytherin!reader / kinda slowburn / little happy moments Fandom(s): Harry Potter Pairing(s): Theodore Nott x Riddle!Reader / Harry Potter x Riddle!reader Summary: Being the Dark Lord's daughter and raised under the strict supervision of the Malfoy's is no easy life. Especially if you start crushing on your father's arch-nemesis, Harry Potter. And that while being engaged to one of his follower’s sons. Warning(s): Shitty parenting in capitals / torture / murder / the whole shebang A/n: This is going to a pretty long story. It stretches from year four to after Hogwarts. So beware, there are going to be a lot of chapters!! [Masterlist] [Playlist] [Trailer]

Chapters Year 4: Chapter 1: The Quidditch World Cup finale | Chapter 2: Nice Slytherins | Chapter 3: Well-mannered friends | Chapter 4: The tri-wizard tournament | Chapter 5: The first task | Chapter 6: Christmas is in the air | Chapter 7: 12 Grimmauld Place | Chapter 8: Friends? Friends | Chapter 9: Something fishy | Chapter 10: The greatest nightmare

Chapters Year 5: Chapter 11: Home not so sweet home | Chapter 12: Innocent defiance | Chapter 13: An eventful summer | Chapter 14: A DE in the DA | Chapter 15: Like hot coals | Chapter 16: Mother knows best | Chapter 17: Exploding hippogriffs | Chapter 18: I'm on her side | Chapter 19: The Department of Mysteries | Chapter 20: Just like the lot of them

Chapters Year 6: Chapter 21: Bliss | Chapter 22: Protection | Chapter 23: The Greatest Gift | Chapter 24: Popcorn, sandalwood, and tulips | Chapter 25: Floating snails | Chapter 26: Heavy heart, truthful words | Chapter 27: Teddy | Chapter 28: Without you, my heart doesn't know peace | Chapter 29: Sectumsempra | Chapter 30: The Battle of the Astronomy Tower

Chapters Year 7: Chapter 31: Important tasks | Chapter 32: Love | Chapter 33: Heavy silks | Chapter 34: Stay and leave | Chapter 35: The cellar | Chapter 36: Extreme security measures | Chapter 37: Heartbroken and vengeful | Chapter 38: The day I lost you | Chapter 39: Till Death do us part | Chapter 40: As the world caves in

Epilogue

Extras: Nott v Harry

Edits: Le Monde | Harry x Reader

Taglist (bold means I couldn’t tag you): @the0doreslover @lqndkxlmqma @st4rrry  @choppedpartymuffinwinner @ledtassoo @literallyobessed @lestat-whore​ @vanishingcherry @harrysnovia @pietrobae @ireallywannasleep127 @yeolsbubbles @fruityfrog505 @fluffybunnyu @theroyalmanatee @shinrjj @hegdus @kermits-bitch @m1kasawps @noah-uhhh-what @mypolicemanharryyy @fals3-g0d @decapitated-coffee @thatgirljas13 @slytherinambitious @raineisms @mastermindmiko @timmytime17 @regsg18 @supernatural-lover @bubybubsters @lafrone @hermionelove @the-sander-fander @akengii @aliciacat20 @unstablereader @burns-in-the-sun @rachelnicolee @damagelove @mqndrqke @llpovi @clairesjointshurt @222244445555 @jolly4holly @padf00ts-l0ver @fandom-life-12 @prettyb1tchsblog @pari-1 @f14ever @nopedefe @randomgurl2326 @rinalouu @yazminetrahan @ellen3101 @comfyvic

[deliciousbasementtrash]

Playing Nurse for the Batfam

From Injustice Gods Among Us Year 5 #15

Summary: you are a nurse working for Gotham General Hospital. Batman has offered you a job. Will you take it?

Pairing: Slowburn Jason Todd x reader, (maybe a why choose with Dick Grayson as well?? Idk tell me what you guys want)

Warning: Adult language, parental abuse, parental neglect

Word Count: 1.6k

Note: These characters are not my own they belong to DC. The only character that is 'mine' is the reader. I am going to be as nondescript as possible for the reader as well for physical attributes. This is a continuation series; I’m not sure how long it will be. Also for some reason, my replies to comments are not showing up. I’m not ignoring your comments Tumblr won’t let me respond :( But please, please comment I live for it 

Part One, Part Two

Part Three: Skip-Bo and Chess

My mind raced as I went over the contract. Everything seemed too simple, too easy. The only terms and conditions I had to abide by were that I wouldn’t reveal his identity and that I would need to essentially be on call from the hours of 21:00 to 7:00, but roughly 24/7. The pay was a ridiculous amount. The insurance was crazy good. I didn’t realize it was possible to get that much coverage. But this went against everything I have represented in my life. Would I be betraying the people of Gotham, my patients, and my fellow coworkers, by taking this job? Would I be betraying myself and my past history? 

Gotham City: 16 Years Ago 

My father and I stood over my mother’s grave. It was strange. My mom was a woman who breathed life into everything. She never wore a dull color, she danced whenever she could, and she sang horribly and off tune. She wore her hair in two long braids with colorful ribbons. She wore sweet perfume. She wore red lipstick. She wore so many necklaces and bracelets she jingled when she walked. She snorted when she laughed. And now when I looked at her all I saw was dirt and a gravestone. Her colorfulness, her loudness, her laughter, her joy, all of it was gone. I knew I couldn’t cry though. Not in front of Dad. He got so much meaner when I did. Sometimes I wonder what my beautiful, colorful, caring mother saw in this cruel bleak man. But I guess his bitterness was supposed to balance out her sweetness. 

But without her, it felt like I was choking on the disgusting taste of my reality. We were grieving. We had no money. And the debt just seemed to be getting deeper and deeper. I tried selling homemade cookies at school to help out. I raised about 22 dollars. I came home with a smile on my face and handed my father the money. He pocketed it without another word. It was almost worse when he was like this.

It felt like he was a teapot that was brewing and I was just waiting for the wrong thing to set him off. 

Some days when I came home from school he was home. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look at me. Other days he wasn’t there. I had to scavenge the house for food or walk to the convenience store with what little money I had scurried away. 

It felt like my life had become black and white without my mom. Everything seemed so hopelessly bad. Then one day my dad came home with a smile on his face. My first instinct was to tense my body and avert my gaze. I didn’t know what he was going to do. 

“Sweetie, come with me. I have an idea,” my father said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out the door with him. 

He drove like a maniac and pulled up towards a seemingly abandoned building. My blood ran cold with anticipation. 

My father practically ripped me out of the car and dragged me inside. Inside there were about twenty men all pretty beat up. All of them looked at me. I picked at my hangnails and looked at my father. 

“Y/n, these gentlemen need to be healed. Be a doll and heal them.” My father’s words were clipped, and my pulse raced. I merely nodded and healed man after man. It became clear to me, even at my young age, that these men were a part of a gang. Who’s? I had no idea. 

That was until a fat man in a tuxedo and a cane walked up to my father. He handed him a bundle of cash, they whispered some hurried words and the grotesque man leaned down towards me.

His short fat finger booped my nose, and the man tilted his head back and laughed at my reaction. I wanted to bite his finger off. I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom. 

For the next two years, my father did business with anyone that could pay him. Our life went from living by the penny to living in luxury. All due to my power. The richest of the rich, politicians, businessmen, criminals, and villains, all used my services. And eventually, they tried to buy me. 

That’s when I decided to run away. Or die trying.

Gotham City: Present Day 

I sat across from Sam, my best friend, and nurse colleague. “What do you think I should do?” She was the only one that I trusted enough to tell everything to. Of course, I left out the whole, ‘My boss would be Batman thing.’ 

“Girl, if you don’t take this job I will kill you,” Sam said, taking a large bite of her pasta. 

“Do you think I’m betraying my younger self? I promised I would never be bought. I would never work for a corrupt man.” 

“Maybe you should discuss with Mr. Wayne, that you would like to remain a nurse part-time. That way you ease your conscious about everything but still live in a fucking MANSION and make BANK, you dummy head. And this way you’re reclaiming your past. You get to choose. You’re not trapped.” 

I mindlessly pushed my food around my plate, lost in thought. “That’s not a terrible idea.” 

“Of course not, I never have bad ideas. Take one more night to think about it. But I think you have your answer.” 

That night I tossed and turned in my bed. I grabbed my phone, the bright screen making me blink. 

[I accept your terms, but I do have a few remediations to the contract. Signed, y/f/n y/l/n.] 

One week later. 

 “How are you taking to your new living situation, Miss y/l/n?” Alfred asked as he expertly julienned an onion. I not as gracefully diced several cloves of garlic across from him. 

I looked up at him, smiling, “I’m still getting used to it, to be honest.” It had become a silent routine over the past week. When I wasn’t working at the hospital, or patching up Batman, I got bored. So, I started helping Alfred with cooking. 

He taught me how to play chess. I taught him how to play Skip-Bo and dominos. I had grown quite fond of the man over the short period. It most definitely was my daddy issues clinging to the first nice man I saw. But Alfred Pennyworth seemed truly kind to me. 

I hadn’t met any other members of Bruce’s family, but supposedly they were all meeting for dinner tonight. For some reason, my pulse spiked at the thought of meeting them. My past gave me anxiety when meeting new people I didn’t know. 

As if reading my thoughts Alfred asked, “How are you feeling about meeting everyone tonight?”

I cut a piece of garlic a bit harshly, “I’m– I’m fine. Do you know if I am to meet them after the dinner or before?”

Alfred’s eyebrows quirked, “What do you mean? You most probably will meet them at dinner. You are attending are you not?”

“I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to eat with the family or not,” I stated, hesitantly. 

I heard a twang of metal as Alfred set down his knife. He gave me his full attention as he said, “Master Wayne may seem abrasive, Miss. But I assure you, he would never have to eat separately unless that is what you wished.” 

Abrasive was one way to put it. He often reminded me of a feral cat when I tried to heal him. He would practically hiss that he was fine. I had to politely remind my employer a few times that this was what I was here for and to let me heal him. 

We cooked in silence for a while, when out of the blue I asked Alfred, “Alfred, are you happy?”

Alfred always holding his poise answered calmly, “Happiness is something that fluctuates in my life, Miss. I will say that knowing that Master Wayne and the rest of the family are in your capable hands is reassuring me as of late. I also have been enjoying your company, no matter how many times you beat me in Skip-Bo.”

I laughed, a true genuine laugh. “Hey, you win every time we play chess!”

Alfred smiled softly, “Miss I have been playing chess since I was five years old. If I lost I think I would have to revoke my Englishmanship.” 

After my laughter died down, another question popped in my head, “What are they like? Mr. Wayne’s family?”

Alfred smiled, “Those children are loud, argumentative, loyal, funny, stubborn, etc. I love those children with everything I am. You will too, Miss y/l/n.”

An unfamiliar sense of warmth bloomed in my chest, “Thank you, Alfred.”

“Thank you, Miss y/l/n.”

As I was getting dressed. I could not pick out what I wanted to wear. Did I want to go casual with a tee shirt and jeans? A bit more formal with a dress? Semi-casual with a skirt and sweater? I decided on the last one, with some tights on underneath. I wanted to make a good impression. It felt like the first day of school. I made my way down the stairs. No one had arrived yet. I took a seat next to Alfred, my leg bouncing. 

Alfred patted my shoulder when we heard the door open, “It will be just fine.” 

The loud oncoming footsteps mimicked my thundering pulse.

[stop-talking]

You're his ex, but he's desperate for a babysitter. (pt. 1)

Mike Schmidt x fem reader

2.5k words

Tags: 18+, mike x reader, no use of y/n, exes, enemies, enemies to lovers, slowburn? sassy mike, sassy reader, pet names, banter, angst, so much angst, flashing mike, fluff, spending time with Abby (because everyone always forgets her??)

Part 2

─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

Mike holds his breath as the phone rings. He's already gone down the mental checklist of people who he could possibly call for help right now, and is currently scraping the bottom of the goddamn barrel.

*click* "Hello?"

He speaks hurriedly into the dingy landline phone, praying you won't immediately dismiss him.

"Hey, it's Mike. Please don't hang up."

You're tempted to hang up on him then and there, just to prove a point. You guys broke up nearly a year ago, and hadn't spoken in... what, six months now? But the tone in his voice... he sounded desperate.

"What, drunk and lonely again?" You scoff, unable to resist taking a jab at him. You two hadn't exactly ended things on good terms, his lack-of-sleep induced grumpiness and general unpleasant disposition making it hard for him to take criticism without it turning into an argument. It wasn't your fault he never made time for you. It wasn't your fault he was so emotionally unavailable.

"No." He grits his teeth, already regretting calling you. "I need a favor. Please." He chokes the word out, his stomach in knots from having to resort to this.

You pause for a few moments, chewing on his words. It must really be serious if he'd called you, after all the things you'd said to him last time you spoke.

"Well... lets hear it, then."

"I need you to watch Abby tonight. My usual babysitter isn't answering the damn phone, and I have to leave for work in an hour. I can't leave Abby home alone. I just can't."

In an hour? You glance at the clock, it's already 8:30. What ungodly hours is he working?

"I thought you didn't work nights? I swear to god, Schmidt, if you're making me watch her so you can go get laid-"

"No. Nothing like that. I swear." He sighs, sounding genuinely exhausted. "I'm working as a security guard these days. Night gig. Long story. It sucks ass, but I need this job. Can you watch Abby? I'll owe you one."

You bite back the urge to scoff at him. He's not even going to pay you? Figures. Oh well. Holding a favor over his head might be fun.

"Ugh. Fine. I'll see. What time will you get back? I have work in the morning."

"6:15. Maybe 6:10, if I drive like a maniac."

"Shit. I'll have to get ready for work at your place. If I go home first I'll be late."

"Yeah, sure. Anything. Just please stay with Abby. She goes to sleep at 10, you can crash on the couch. I just want someone in the house with her."

You let out an audible sigh. Are you seriously going to go crash on your shitty ex-boyfriend's shitty couch on a work night?

...Yeah, yeah you are.

"Damn it, Mike. You'd better kiss my fucking feet when I get there."

Mike almost laughs at that. Almost.

"Sure thing, Princess." He cant help but taunt you a bit, using an old pet name he used to call you way back when you were dating. It probably wasn't the best decision to irritate the last person he could rely on, but he wasn't in the right headspace to make good decisions right now. These days, he mostly runs off of coffee and self-hatred.

"I'll be there in 30. You'd better be on your knees and groveling when you open the door." You slam the phone down before he can answer. Michael fucking Schmidt. Still the same jackass you broke up with all those months ago.

・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・

When Mike opens the door to greet you almost exactly 30 minutes later, he reluctantly drops to his knees. He'd hoped you'd forgotten the silly request, but the unamused look you gave him said otherwise.

"Fucking witch." He grumbles, hanging his head as you brush past him into the house. Were you wearing... pajama pants? He stares at you as you set down your things, a purse and what looks like an overnight bag of some sort.

"Stop gaping. And stand up. You look pathetic." You shrug off your coat, revealing an old t-shirt underneath. Yeah, you were in pajamas, so what? Its late. And you couldn't be bothered to put in extra effort for Mike, of all people.

"Excuse me for doing as her majesty commands." He groans and stands up, brushing himself off. As if that'll make him look any more presentable.

Abby tentatively pokes her head out of her room, watching you and Mike argue. Shit. Did she hear all that?

"Hey Abbs." You wave to her, deciding to ignore Mike's comment. "It's gonna be just me and you tonight, sound good?"

She looks to Mike for approval, who nods and gives her a tired smile. The only kind of smile he's been able to muster lately.

"...Will you play with me?"

"Yeah, 'course I will. Let me have a chat with your brother real quick." She seems to accept that answer, closing herself back off in her room. You sigh and follow Mike into the kitchen.

"There's leftovers in the fridge, and a lasagna in the freezer. Probably have something edible in the pantry. I think there's popcorn." He explains, pointing out a few different measly options for a quick meal. "Look, she probably won't, but just try and get her to eat dinner."

You watch him lean back against the counter and rub at his temples. God damn, he looks... exhausted. His hair has grown out a bit since you last saw him, dark brown curls hanging low over his forehead. His eye bags seem to hang even lower.

"Yeah... I'll try and get her to eat."

An uncomfortable silence lingers in the air as you both run out of things to talk about, so he fills the void with an insult.

"You really had to come over in that?" Mike scoffs and gestures at your frumpy t-shirt and pajama pants.

"What? Were you hoping for something slutty?" You cross your arms and give him a smug look.

He turns his head, unsure what to say to that. Maybe part of him did hope to see you dressed in something a little more revealing. Or maybe just undressed. God damn it, was he blushing?

"Fuck you." He mutters, making his way to the entryway and slipping his shoes on.

"No thanks. Been there, done that." You respond dismissively, watching him leave with a smirk.

Mike slams the door on his way out. Not hard enough to startle Abby, hopefully, but hard enough to make a point he's not in the mood to play your little games. Still, the whole drive to work, he can't help but wonder what if...? What if you had never broken up with him? What if he had been a better boyfriend? A better provider for you and Abby? A better man?

"I fucking hate her." He grumbles, but the words are hollow.

・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・

"Mike told me you stopped coming over because he found out you're a witch and you curse children. Is that true?" Abby finally musters up the courage to ask the question that's been on her mind ever since you walked through the door.

"Did he say that?" You chuckle, a little shocked that this is what she chose to ask after ten minutes or so of silently coloring together.

"Yeah. He said you cursed him, too. And that's why he can't color anymore. He'll explode, or something." She babbles, not looking up from her paper.

"Hmm... well, if you're really worried about your brother, I'll cut you a deal." You do your best to keep the anger from your tone as you continue to color beside her at the table. That asshole doesn't color with Abby anymore?

"...What kind of deal?"

"I'll lift the curse on your brother so he can color and draw again... but you have to eat dinner. Ten whole bites."

Abby seems to consider this for a moment, turning and eyeing you suspiciously. Mike likes to mess with her like this. Were you messing with her too? Probably. But, well, if it would make Mike spend time with her again...

"Fine. What do we have?"

You smile at her. This babysitting stuff is a breeze.

・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・

When Mike stumbles in the door the next morning, he spots you fast asleep on the couch. He flops down in the recliner and just watches you sleep for a minute or two. You look so pretty when you're asleep. Serene. Peaceful. Not at all like when you're awake, giving him that attitude he's so familiar with. He sighs and makes his way over to the couch, knowing he should probably wake you for work.

"Uhh... wakey wakey?" He mumbles lamely, unsure what to really say. Definitely not good morning, beautiful. He scoffs to himself at the thought.

"Mmm... Mike?" You blink up at the man gently shaking your shoulder, your eyes adjusting to the morning light.

"Yeah. Who else would it be?" He shakes his head in amusement and goes back to sit in the recliner.

"I dunno. A hookup?" You sit up and rub the sleep from your eyes, then stretch out.

"A hookup? Still being passed around, then?" He responds with a scoff, trying to hide just how much that answer bothers him. Even after nearly a year of being broken up, he doesn't like to imagine you with other men. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth, even if he's not into you anymore. Actually, you don't look half-bad right now, stretching your arms over your head like that...

"Can you blame a girl? Had to make up for all the unsatisfying nights with you."

Mike reeled at that little quip. The smug look on your face, god... He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to shut you up with a kiss or a punch.

"Just fucking go home." Nice one, Mike. That'll show her.

"Hey, you agreed I could get ready here. I'm gonna go use your shower, and then I have something to talk to you about."

Something to talk to him about? He scowls as you walk off towards his bedroom. Why couldn't you just leave him alone? Why did everything have to be so complicated? He groans and goes to lie down in bed. Maybe he could get in a quick nap while you shower. Maybe.

・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・

You emerge from the dingy bathroom connected to Mike's bedroom fifteen minutes or so later, steam trailing in behind you.

"Three-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash? Seriously, Schmidt?" You scold him, crossing your arms as you stand before his bed wearing nothing but a towel. At first, he seems annoyed when you pull him out of his brooding, but when he takes in your current state of undress, he sputters.

"S-so? Its economical." He scoffs, irritated, but unable to look away as you make your way around his bed and out the door.

You return a minute later carrying your overnight bag. "Forgot my clothes." Mike just nods, still unable to tear his eyes from you.

"Stop staring."

"Stop waltzing through my room naked."

"This isn't naked." You gesture to the towel wrapped around your body, drawing his attention back to you.

"This is naked."

Mike watches in complete shock as you let the towel fall to the floor, completely baring yourself to him for a few moments before finally locking yourself in his bathroom. You hear him mutter a few curses on the other side of the door, and smile as you get changed.

"Was that really necessary?" Mike scowls at you when you emerge from his bathroom a few minutes later, now fully dressed.

"Calm down, Mikey. Not like you haven't seen it all before." The old nickname you used to call him by doesn't sound endearing anymore. It sounds taunting. Mike looks like he cant decide between kicking you out of the house or pulling you into his bed. Good to know you can still get under his skin. And maybe his bedsheets, if you wanted.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" He finally asks, sighing in defeat.

"C'mon. I'll tell you."

・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・・・・・・○・

Mike sits in the recliner, watching you set up a bunch of unnecessary crap on his coffee table. Did you really have to do your makeup right in front of him?

"A witch, Mike? Seriously? You told her I'm a witch, and then left her alone with me for the night?"

Mike swallows. Shit. He honestly forgot about that, it was just some lame excuse he came up with right after the breakup back when he was still distraught.

"Am I wrong?" He tries to brush it off with a sassy comment, but folds when he sees your intense glare.

"I mean... uh... I'll tell her you're... not a witch..." Real smooth, Schmidt. Mumble and stare at the floor.

"It's not even about that, really. Feed her all the lies you want. What I'm upset about is that she told me you don't color with her anymore."

Mike finally meets your eyes as you apply yet another random powder he doesn't understand the purpose of to your cheeks with the swipe of a brush.

"I'm busy. And it's none of your business. I asked you to come be her babysitter, not her mom." He snarls, hands clenched into fists.

"I'm not trying to be. It just breaks my heart to hear that stuff from her, Mike. I told her I'd lift the 'curse' off of you if she ate her dinner, and she did. So consider yourself un-cursed."

Mike grits his teeth as you put air quotes around the word "curse". He knew you were right, and that bothered him more than the fact he was being a shitty brother. The worst part was, you weren't even being snarky, you just sounded genuinely concerned for Abby. God damn it.

"...Yeah. Fine. Un-cursed. Got it." He grumbles in agreement as you finish up your makeup and swipe the assortment of products into your purse.

"How do I look?"

He wanted to tell you that you looked gorgeous, that he missed having you around, attitude or not. But in this moment, he couldn't do it. He was too tired. Too angry.

"Like a whore."

"Someone's jealous he doesn't get any."

"Like I'd want you."

"Oh yeah, the raging boner you had earlier when you saw me in a towel was because you don't want me. Totally."

Oh, now you're just taunting him.

"I'll have you know that didn't happen till after you lost the towel." Mike scoffs as he follows you to the entryway, unlocking the door for you while you slip on your shoes.

"Don't lie to me, Mikey."

"I'd never dream of it, Princess."

Mike has to resist the urge to pull you into his arms as you leave for work. Maybe if you didn't look so goddamn smug, he would. Instead he just shuts the door and locks it, hating himself for how much he enjoyed this whole interaction.

─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

will probably write a part 2 (with smut??)

edit: here is part 2

(no smut. part 3 tho...??)

idk this was my first fanfic ever so enjoy

[biconickyoshi]

Mannn can y’all imagine if NAtLA had just aged up the characters to all be around their late teens (like the LoK characters)? Because IMO there’s no reason for Aang and Katara to be as young as they were in the show when so much else has been altered.

If they had aged Aang up to say like 15-16 (and probably Katara as well bc I think Zuko and Sokka’s NAtLA ages are fine) I not only think the story would work better for the gritty live action they want, but this would make things a lot easier for shippers in general lol.

I’m making this post specifically in response to the amazing chemistry Zuko and Aang have in NAtLA. Like these two have much more chemistry in one episode than Aang has with either Sokka or Katara in the entirety of the rest of the show.

Like imagine all the Zuko and Aang interactions from NAtLA, but Aang is only a year or two younger than Zuko. Two young men who are on opposing sides of the war, but who are also two halves of the same coin, yin and yang, whose destinies are intertwined?? The amount of Zukaang shippers that would bring about would be astronomical!

Anyways if y’all are interested in reading a slowburn enemies-to-friends-to-lovers rewrite of the original series in which Zuko discovers Aang in the iceberg right after he’s banished at age 13, check out my fic The Avatar and the Fire Prince on ao3 (28 chapters currently posted, most recent being The Siege of the North, Part 2)

[onakomiyaki]

just a silly crush (not) pt.3

pairing : daniel ricciardo x childhood friend-brabham!reader

summary : turns out you're not as stong as you think you are, and you were sure that you've made a mistake. or are you?

warning : unedited and rushed work, harsh words, slowburn.

a/n : GOSH THIS WILL BE A LONG ONE IM SORRY-

masterlist

there is nothing better than to be able to sat on your own bed, any 5 stars hotels will never beat the comfort of your own bed and you know it very well.

"finally." you said as you plopped onto your bed, falling head first to your king-sized mattress.

you inhale deeply as you close your eyes before exhaling slowly through your mouth.

"no one can ever replace you..." you mumble to your pillow as you close your eyes.

you always love your own bed. the familiar lavender scent, the lovely satin pillow, and most importantly your navy blue hand-made knitted blanket that you got for your 17th birthday.

it was one of those chunky knitted blanket that everyone obsessed about back in 2017. and you're proud to say that you did it first in 2007, ten years before that thing even trending. well, actually, daniel gave it to you so he did it first.

you remember how adamant you are about him buying you gifts for your 17th birthday. you knew he would spent lots of money because he was is that extra, and you knew money is not a problem for him.

"c'mon (y/n), let me buy you gift for your birthday before i move to italy."

and you can't say no to that. but of course you gave him a budget and told him no expensive shit because it won't be special (since you can buy it also) and daniel happily agree.

so when he gave you a huge blue box, you'd expected something like a huge teddy bear. but you remember telling him that you hate teddy bear.

"open it, open it!"

and when you open the box you let out an audible gasp as you pull the blanket out of the box. the soft merino wool engulf you, and you squeel in excitement as you put yourself in a cocoon of the blanket. daniel watch in amusement as he ruffle your hair.

"i asked one of my friend's sister to make it for you. i paid her don't worry!"

and now back to present day, 14 years later, the blanket still there with you. although its not as fluffy as it used to be, you still snuggle with it when you having trouble to sleep. but of course no one knew about that, not even daniel himself.

the navy blue blanket is draped over your sofa, sitting there snuggly. you always put it on your sofa since the accident that almost cost you that blanket. it was 3 years ago and you remember you're about to cry when you saw that the threads is coming lose because you accidently pull the blanket too hard when you were having a 'guest' on your bed while doing the devil's tango.

the phone on your back pocket vibrate and you relucantly take your phone out and answer the call. must be important.

"hello?"

"(y/n) this is lando norris."

you sat down now, sitting with your legs pulled close to your chest. why the hell lando would call you at this hours? its 1 past 15 a.m right now.

"oh, yeah. what's up bud?"

"we're in budapest right now and daniel is wasted... and i heard that you live here, can you pick him up? i can't take him back with my car since i'm here with my plus one, and calling uber at this hours seems dangerous–"

"god i am not a good driver, when did it all went wrong??"

'– daniel don't go there its dangerous! daniel– oh god i have to go he's about to walk to the pool!"

"what? lan–lando? hello?"

your exhaustion seems to gone instantly, make you shoot up from your bed. you grab your purse and car key as you running to your garage, almost tripped when you descent from your the top of the stairs.

thanks to baby jesus you're still in fairly 'decent' clothes so you don't have to worry about changing it. what you didn't think about was grabbing a coat, and boy the cold weather bite your skin.

but you could care less about being cold. daniel is your top concern. him being drunk is something you rarely see because of his high alcohol tolerance, and you know the situation is bad if he is wasted. you don't know what happen, but maybe it had to do with the hungary grand prix. you have not watched the race so you don't know what happen.

you drove out from your garage as you fumble with your bluetooth connection. your aston martin dbs roar in the almost silent road as you finally able to connect your phone.

you clicked a call button from your car, quickly calling lando again as you drove like a maniac. budapest is almost two hours drive from your place in szeged, so you have to turn yourself into an f1 driver.

"lando, drop your location i'm on my way from szeged."

"szeged? you don't live in budapest? (y/n) its two hours drive, will you be fine? should i go order uber instead?"

"yes i'll be fine lando, just drop the location."

"okay i'll send you the location."

"i'll be there as fast as i can, you keep an eye on daniel okay?"

"okay, will do. thanks (y/n). drive safely– daniel get back here!"

you cursed under your breath as you maneuver through the quiet road. thank god the tram is already stop working in this wee hours and the street is fairly quiet.

beads of sweats starting to form on your forehead as you watch your speedometer. god you really drove like a robber who got chased by the police.

you watch your navigation and gosh it still 1 hour and 20 minutes despite you driving like your life depends on it.

"fucking hell..." you said as you accelerate your car, hitting your record on the fastest you ever drove a normal car.

lando bit his lip nervously as he hold daniel, basically hugging the man from wandering away. daniel sobs quietly as he slump against lando, eyes half closed and the younger man watch in sympathy.

the reason of the man drinking carelessly was his race result today. p11, not even scoring for the team after his p5 at silverstone. lando had dnf-ed so he understand the frustration, but deep down he knew that its different for daniel.

he remember how daniel had avoided everyone like a plague, including him. so when daniel invite him to go to the club he immediately agree, only to find him already drinking and half drunk on the bar.

"where i went wrong lando?" daniel asked for the umpteenth time that night.

lando sigh as he softly rub the older's arm.

"its just one race daniel. you're not wrong at all." he said.

lando's plus one had gone to buy some mineral water as him and daniel sat down on the curb. he watch as the older man start to aggressively hit his own chest, lips pouting. the sight of drunk daniel is a little adorable. a little.

"its my fault... i'm sorry i can't score for us lando. sorry i finish empty handed."

"lan, i got the water." luisinha give the cold water bottle to lando.

"thanks lu, sorry you have to run i need to keep an eye on this baby."

luisinha laugh as she sat down beside lando, watching how daniel mumble incoherent words. "its all good... beside, he need you right now." she said, fanning daniel's face with her hand.

"what he need is (y/n) honestly," he said as he wipe the sweat on daniel's temple. "daniel, drink this." he said as he sat daniel straight, bringing the bottle close to his mouth.

daniel grumble as he open his mouth, taking the bottle of water from lando's hand and slowly emptying the bottle. some trickles of water slide to his throat.

there is a screech of tires not far from them. lando turn his head at the noise as he watch you half running to their direction. his eyes widened at the sight of you. just how fast you drove here? its only been an hour and fifteen minutes since he sent you his location.

you were wearing a white camisole and some black sweatpants, a white nike air force and hair in messy bun. lando was sure she saw you shivering a little from the cold and he watch in awe as you kneel down in front of daniel.

"is he okay?" you asked, voice trembling.

"well see it for yourself." lando said.

there are some tears stain on daniel's cheeks and your heart ache at the sight of him. you slowly caress his cheek and he lean into your touch, eyes still closed.

"you've been driving only in those? aren't you cold?" lando asked pointing your decent outfits

"yeah, it is cold. and yeah i am driving basically topless. i also run past few red lights." you answer, huffed as you lightly tap daniel's cheeks.

"what?!"

"i'll be okay. i'll pay for the fine if they caught me," you shrugged. "do you know where he stayed?"

lando nods his head as he stand. "same hotel as me, i'll lead the way. just follow my car. how fast you drive?"

"mate, you don't want to know."

"fine... i just want to know if you got that racer blood in you."

"just-help me with daniel, please." you said as you put daniel arm around your shoulder, ready to hoist him.

"hey, let me." lando said, stopping you before kneeling in front of daniel, back facing him. he swiftly move daniel arms around his shoulder.

lando hoist daniel on his back, and the sight is so bizarre. lando grunts as he walk to your car and daniel's legs drag lazily since he is significantly taller than him.

you and luisinha walk side by side ahead of the briton in comfortable silent. she had offer you lando's jacket which you politely refuse since she is also in sleeveless dress.

"sorry for ruining your date." you smile apologetically to her and she just wave you off with a smile.

"its not a big deal, really." she smile.

"(y/n) open the door–ugh–quick! he is so heavy." lando grunts and you open the passenger door.

he drop daniel down slowly before strapping the seatbelt on his body. his chest rise and fall in rapid motion as he slowly close the door of your car.

"well that's a workout." he simply mumble, hands on his hips.

"thank you lando... you don't have to do all this but you still did, i appreciate it." you said, pulling lando to a hug.

the young briton laugh as he reply your hug, patting your back gently. "no problem y/n. now, lets go before you get hypothermia." he said.

you drive slowly pass the empty road, following lando's car in silent. every now and then you stole a glance to your friend, who is sleeping rather soundly. you slowly stroke his hair since he lean towards you, almost falling from the seat.

"y/n..." daniel softly calls your name.

you stop your movement as you watch how his face seems to contort in sad emotion. he looks so hurt.

"i'm here big guy." you whisper as you return your hand to his hair.

after another help from lando, you manage to somehow put daniel on the bed. you had bid you a goodnight with luinsha before entering the building with a hug. lando, who originally insist on staying, give you a concern look.

"you sure you want me to go?" lando asked one more time as you lean on the door, hand folded in front of your chest.

"c'mon now, i've known this man even before you learn your a b c, norris." you answer, rolling your eyes at the him.

"we're not 20 years apart, y/n. in fact lewis is older than you and daniel. stop treating me like a kid." he protest.

you give him a ruffle on his hair, messing his already messed up curls. "i'll be okay, i can handle him. now go, don't make lui wait even more."

lando give you a nod as he walk away, waving at you before jogging down to his car where his date is waiting for him to return her to her hotel. you waved back at the briton, waiting for him to dissapear. as lando took a turn and gone, you close the door as you walk to daniel–who currently sprawled on the bed.

you slowly starting to take of his shoes along with his socks. carefully, you turn his body so that he lay down on his back. you take a deep breath as you carefully unbutton his tropical shirt, and you had to close your eyes for a bit.

"can i bite you instead?"

you stopped your hand as you reach the last two button of his shirt, opening your eyes to watch daniel and how his chest rise and fall slowly.

goddamit control yourself, y/n.

you bit your lower lips as you continue your task, finally manage to unbutton his shirt. you slowly move your hands, slowly undressing the man and hoping you won't disturb him.

but your breath hitched when you feel a steel grip on both of your wrist, and your eyes widened. daniel had open his eyes, staring directly into your soul with half-lidded eyes.

and you are basically on top of him, jerking your body back so you won't fall on top of him.

"y/n?" he sofly call you.

"hello big guy."

"wha- i'm-"

"you're sobering up. lemme get you some aspirin and water." you said as you slowly taking both of your hands from his grasp.

daniel drop your hands as he sat down, rubbing his eyes and and holding his pounding head. he stare down at his-now unbutton-shirt, before shedding the cloth opting to go shirtless. he aimlessly throw his shirt then laying down again, this time massaging his temple.

you took the aspirin from your bag and then walk towards daniel, not forgetting the cold water bottle.

"drink this. and please put on some shirt." you said as you rolled your eyes, handing him both the aspirin tablet and water.

"why don't you put on shirt first?" he answer, sitting down once again as he drank the tablet and washing it down with water.

"well, thanks to you, dickhead, i forgot my coat. i had to turn myself into a f1 driver just so i can get you here." you said as you sit down on the sofa, right across him.

he feel his soberness coming back to him slowly and he feel how his stomach churn. so he walk towards the bathroom, washing his face with cold water.

"you've been driving in those?" he asked, half shouting from the bathroom.

"yeah." you answer, eyes on your phone as you let out a small yawn.

"who called you to pick me up?"

"lando norris. and also what the hell man, i thought you're wasted."

"my head is still pounding y/n, i am wasted."

"well, you're sober enough to nags."

daniel took a small towels from the shelf as he look at his reflection, noticing the redness of his eyes and his tears stain. he wash his face once again, making sure he got rid his tears stain. then he make his way to your direction.

"y/n its... 3.25 a.m, aren't you cold?" daniel asked, small towel on his hand after he pat his face dry.

"m' fine." you said.

when you finally look up from your phone, your eyes instantly widen. daniel is standing in front of you, still shirtless as he look up at the ceiling. he seems to not noticing how you're struggling to look away from him as he close his eyes to flex his sore muscle.

"gosh i'm getting old, a little drink got me wasted." he said, still unaware how you are a flustered mess.

you slap his stomach, earning a grunt from your friend. he touch his stomach, shoulder hunched as he dramatically fall to the floor.

"you hurt me, i can't believe this." he said with overexagarate tone.

"just put on some goddamn clothes, ricciardo." you said as you lay down on the sofa, ignoring the dramatic aussie.

and so he did. he rose from the floor and walk to his suitcase, and taking a random t-shirt. he also taking his flannel shirt (that he didn't know he have) and throw it at you. you swiftly catch the flannel before it hit your face.

"what is this?" you asked as you open the shirt.

"its a shirt, dumbass" he said as he wear his t-shirt.

"and why you throwing this at me?"

daniel, who currently struggling with his jeans, looking at you silently. "wear that. and also turn you body, i want to take off my pants."

you rolled your eyes as you turn your body, facing at the head of the sofa as you drapped the shirt daniel gave you over your body.

"what you're hiding behind your pants anyway. its not like i'm gonna stare and oogle at your body or something, you won't affect me." you said.

"well turn around and face me then. see if i dont affect you." he challanged.

"no! what? i won't do it you creep."

"face me yourself or do you want me to flip your body myself?"

"i am not gonna face you, you bogan." you said with a huff.

truth be told you are scared of what gonna happen if you turn your body to face him. you don't know if you can see him in the same way you've seen him for this past 20 years.

but you felt his hand on your shoulder, and before you can react daniel already turn your body. you let out a gasp as you dumbly stare at daniel who is hovering you, trapping your body on the sofa.

daniel look so hot from this angle. has he always looked this good? 20 years of friendship and you just see how good-looking this man is when he hover over you?

he give you a smirk as he inching closer to your face. you can smell his perfume mixed with whiskey and you can feel his breath fanning over you.

"you said i won't affect you. but you are as red as a tomato now, y/n." he whisper, hand cradling your jaw.

"its hot in here, move away." you said, looking away from him.

red alert, this is dangerous.

"really? because i believe it is cold in here. i saw your body shivering y/n." daniel said, inching closer to your ear. you can feel his nose ghosting over your skin.

"daniel..." you called, trying to warn him.

"y/n..." he reply.

"danny you don't want to do this, you are drunk."

"but i want to. for a long time." he whisper as he nuzzle to your neck.

okay, you really need to get out of here before its too late.

"y/n, please?" he beg, lips almost attached to your neck.

he sound so desperate, so wounded, and you almost choke on your own spit.

ah screw this.

you turn your face, hands grabbing his face as you lean in for a kiss. daniel grunts as he slowly lower his body, hands immediately went to your waist. he kissed you back, finally tasting your lips after what felt like eternity.

you tilted your head when you feel his hand at the back of your thigh. he guide your leg wrap it around his waist as your body pressed together.

oh you're so screwed.

you both finally let go of the kiss, staring at each other with that mixed feeling. and with last ounce of sanity left in your body, you jerked your body up, pushing the poor daniel aside.

daniel fell with an oof, and you quickly stand up.

"this is wrong this is wrong." you mumble as you walk to the table, grabbing your purse and key.

"wait–y/n wait!" daniel said as he struggle to stand on his feet. "don't go–i'm sorry."

you basically run towards the door, opening the door harshly as daniel chase you. he calls your name but you ignore him, as you close the door behind you and immediately went for the elevator.

when the elevator door open you quickly enter and pressing the basement button. daniel was about to get you but the door is closing in.

"y/n–"

as the door finally closing, you lean on the wall before sinking to the floor. you hide your face in your hands, breath ragged from all the adrenaline rush.

"what the hell." you muttered.

as the elevator finally reach the parking lot you bolted out, quickly running towards your car. its not hard to find your car since its the only aston martin there. you quickly enter your car, revving the engine.

there is a ring from your phone and you believe that it's daniel. so you decided to ignore the call and just drove away from the hotel. you nervously bit your bottom lips, contemplating on what just happen back then.

this is not good.

prev || next

[cooking-with-hailstones]

The Legend of Zelda: stats of the kingdom

A Statistical Analysis of Popular Fanfiction in the Legend of Zelda Fandom on AO3

I like numbers and stats and for some unfathomable reason I find it calming. So over the past couple weeks, I’ve been making this spreadsheet!

DISCLAIMER: This is not a judgement of the quality, value, or merits of any of the fics on this list. It's just me being curious about what's popular with the Legend of Zelda fandom on AO3.

Feel free to go explore the spreadsheet. My own observations and analysis under the cut.

TL:DR, Link has a lot of kinky sex. Sidlink and Zelink are vying for who’s the most popular ship. Also, this fandom has a shit ton of sub categories that are truly islands unto themselves and have their own conventions.

Methodology: I'm including all fics from the first page of AO3 results (20 fics per page) sorted by:

Hits

Kudos

Comments

Bookmarks

Anything tagged under the Legend of Zelda and Related Fandoms tag that was in the top 20 most hits, kudos, comments, or bookmarks made it into the spreadsheet. This ended up including 51 fics in total.

I put all the fics into one single spreadsheet in order to compare the differences between fics that are really high on the kudos count but not the hit count, or what has a lot of comments but fewer hits. Basically, I'm throwing a lot of things together to observe what gets engagement and looking at patterns that emerge!

Popular fandom subcategories:

Botw (41 fics tagged as such)

Linked Universe (9, including one mostly set in the world of BOTW)

OoT (2)

(I do wonder what it would be like to run these numbers on other fanfic sites, given the popularity boom of ao3 over the last 15 years or so. But also, Botw was an insanely popular game even by Zelda standards, so… who knows?)

Tags:

Character tags: Obviously, Link was by far the most popular character, but here are the characters that had a minimum of 3 appearances per category. Yay champions!

Zelda

Sidon

Mipha

Urbosa

Revali

Daruk

Story tags: Again, just going by sheer numbers, here are the story tags that appeared at least 3 times in every category:

Slowburn

AU – canon divergence

With honorable mentions to fluff, angst, double penetration, anal sex, amnesia/memory loss, and mute or selectively mute Link, who all cracked above 3 instances in 2 separate categories.

Relationships:

This was a tight race, but shoutout to Sidlink for eking out the win for the most highly rated ship in the Zelda fandom with 13 fics qualifying in my ranking. Zelink is close behind at 10 fics. (That being said, Zelink takes it by volume: 7,797 fics tagged as Zelink vs Sidlink’s 2,193)

Other popular ships:

Revalink (8) (this one surprised me! I didn’t realize my beloved birb was so popular)

Miphlink (3)

Link/Monsters (2)

Sidon/Reader (2)

Ganzelink, Ganlink, Malink, Miphzelink, and Miphzel all made single appearances.

(Pls don’t start ship war discourse in the notes kthanx)

All right, let’s deep dive into the numbers!

Fics in all 4 categories:

Interim - starkraving

Sands of time -tirsynni

Congrats you are officially the most popular Loz fics across all of ao3! at least according to my particular scope of analysis.

Fics in 3 categories:

Displaced - socksock

Drown In Me - bacchanalia

Alone We Fight - SilvermistAnimeLover

Blood Moon Rising - MarquesGillette

Popular authors (people who show up more than once in multiple categories sorry comments georg)

MarquesGillette

MaryDragon

SilvermistAnimeLover

ObakeAri

Hits:

Top 5 most popular fics by hit count:

Displaced - socksock

Interim - starkraving

To Save Hyrule - orphan_account

Sands of time - tirsynni

Drown In Me - bacchanalia

First page by hits:

Min: 117,917 – Sidon’s Epic Pining Adventure (ObakeAri)  

Max:  189,622 – Displaced (socksock)

Average: 145,385

Average wordcount for fics with the most hits:

140,909

Kudos:

Top 5 most popular fics by kudos count:

Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy - Icka M Chif

Interim - starkraving

To My Dearest Friend - surveycorpsjean

26 Minutes and 42 Seconds - T_5Seconds

Blood Moon Rising - MarquesGillette

First page by kudos:

Min: 4917 – Finding Link (Umbreonix)

Max:  10321 – Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy (Icka M Chif)

Average: 6981

Average wordcount for fics with the most kudos:

41,136

Comments:

Top 5 most popular fics by comment count:

Carlos from MarvelandZeldaFan's Children of the Heroes - KR5

This is an Adjuration - notfreyja

My Art - KR5

Sidon's Epic Pining Adventure - ObakeAri

Priestess of War - KR5

Woohoo! You all get to meet KR5 aka Comments Georg. Comments Georg has long conversations and RPs in the comments of their ao3 posts, which are usually fanart. TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS TOTALLY FINE AND COOL! I think it’s quite delightful! However, it does completely bork my ranking system because outside of comments, these posts do not have a lot of engagement (like, less than 100 hits and less than 20 kudos) and I don’t think they count towards my analysis of “what is popular in the Zelda fandom writ large”. But they qualified based on my criteria. Which I think speaks to the weakness of my criteria more than anything else tbh…

Anyways, shoutout to Comments Georg for truly showing off what it means to be a statistical outlier.

First page by comments:

Min: 1568 – The Quiet River Rages (MaryDragon)

Max:  43808 - Carlos from MarvelandZeldaFan's Children of the Heroes (KR5)

Average: 4131 (which goes down to 2042 if we exclude KR5’s impressive max, which is a full order of magnitude more than notfreyja in second place with 3470 comments. Very much demonstrating the power of a statistical outlier!)

Average wordcount for fics with the most comments:

275,593

Bookmarks:

Top 5 most popular fics by bookmarks count:

Interim - starkraving

Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy - Icka M Chif

Sands of time - tirsynni

To My Dearest Friend - surveycorpsjean

Alone We Fight - SilvermistAnimeLover

First page by bookmarks:

Min: 973 – Expatriate (thehoyden)

Max:  2984 – Interim (starkraving)

Average: 1468

Average wordcount for fics with the most bookmarks:

70,027

Fic Ratings:

G: 3 (literally all fanart from KR5)

T: 22

M: 8

E: 17

Unrated: 1

Observations:

I ran this twice. Once including crossovers, and once excluding crossovers. This filtered out a lot of large drabbles and things like “flash fiction fuckings” which, no judgment, you do you, they just weren’t super relevant for what I was looking for. If you wanna see these stats including all the multifandom stuff that shows up, here’s the link for that:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DXDKXutIzVC-Iac93fFSDohAkphrn67yV-DmRt9xXmU/edit?usp=sharing

(I’m going to break academic professional analysis here and get on my soapbox for a sec – please don’t post big multifandom one shots where you tag like 20 different fandoms and every single kink that gets written about across 103 different chapters. This is literally what series are for. These kinds of things just clog up the tags, and it also makes it harder for people to find the things you’ve written that they want to read! I know this was a convention on ff.net, but this is not ff.net! We can make authors' lives and readers' lives easier!)

There were 38,427 fics in the tag “Legend of Zelda and Related Fandoms” (including crossovers, that goes up to 41,634). I manually added one back in though because it was entirely a botw story, just loosely inspired by another game.

Linked Universe fans comment a LOT. Strong correlation between high comment and Linked Universe fandom subsection. Y’all are very involved and active, and you show support to your authors. I salute you!

Sidlinkers, y'all are horny and I respect it.

Zelinkers, dear god we do love a slowburn.

All the most highly kudos’d fics are very low in the comment count. It’s almost an inverse correlation.

Excluding crossovers increased the correlation between hits and kudos quite dramatically.

There were not very many au’s other than canon divergence. Only one modern au as far as I could tell from a cursory examination of tags.

Lots more clustering, far less disparity between min and max numbers than when I ran this with A:TLA numbers.

Far less consensus on a vibe. Way fewer big writers, but lots of little writers doing their own thing.

Truly a lot of E fics. We are horny bastards.

We need more stuff written for games other than BOTW!!

There aren’t as many fics that are like “oh everyone in the fandom has read these fics”. There are probably those fics in each subcategory of the fandom, or within the specific ships, but there aren’t as many general fics that have entire fandom-wide appeal.

Thank you for reading! This was a lot of fun, and I hope you found it interesting. Shoutout to the Hateno Hangout discord for helping me refine this mess :P

Further shoutout to my partner who helped with writing some SQL to help with tag analysis. Truly partner of the year.

If you want more of this kind of egregious nerdiness, I did this with the top fics in the A:TLA fandom a couple weeks ago: https://www.tumblr.com/cooking-with-hailstones/751749202663669760/statistical-analysis-of-the-most-popular-atla