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zodiactalks · 4 years

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Love Life with Scorpio Woman & 5 Brutal Truths

Scorpio women are some of the most controversial signs out there, permanently inhabiting that spot between love them or hate them.

They're outspoken, argumentative, domineering, independent, and demanding; They're also seductive, passionate, charismatic, capable, and piping hot.

Scorpios may not be a fire sign, but they're still perfectly capable of burning you, which is one of the reasons why this controversial sign can be so misunderstood.

A relationship with a Scorpio woman may be an incredibly tempting thing, but it can also be a very challenging experience.

However, there is good news. A solid and healthy relationship with a Scorpio woman can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. You just need to work to get it.

And how does one achieve it? By knowing these brutal truths about Scorpio women.

#1. You can't control them (And they'll try to control you.)

You can't control Scorpio women, that's just a fact of life. Any attempt at imposing your will or controlling their choices will result in an argument if you're lucky, and in the end of your relationship if you're not.

You can have as many different opinions as you want, but the moment she feels like you're trying to impose those opinions on her? It's game over. Not only will you lose the argument, but you'll probably lose their respect too.

Scorpios value their independence more than most other Zodiac signs, which alone could explain why they're so opposed to being controlled.

However, that's just half of the picture. The other half comes from Scorpio's desire to control.

While some signs are perfectly okay with you doing whatever you want as long as you let them do the same, that's not the case for Scorpio, and that applies to both men and women.

Scorpios will try to be in control at all times, and more often than not, they will.

They're cunning and charming enough to know how to be in control without you even realizing it, tipping the power balance until it rests firmly on their side.

While this can sound intimidating, if not downright scary, you'll be surprised it often works for couples.

When a Scorpio woman feels secure that she's the head of a relationship, she'll pour all of her efforts and energy into making that relationship work.

Scorpios are tremendously committed to their relationships and will try their best to make them work. They just know how to do it in their own terms. Not only because they're control freaks, but also because they do their best work when they feel secure in their position.

#2. They'll leave you out of many aspects of their lives.

Scorpios are very private individuals, and they'll try their best to keep the world and others from looking too closely at their private businesses, regardless of whether they have something to hide.

Simply put, they believe that some things are better kept private, and they rarely go around advertising it to others, be it in person or on social media.

This desire for privacy tends to extend to their family and love lives; though Scorpios are more likely to share their life with their loved ones, this doesn't mean they will.

In fact, they tend to operate on a strict need to know basis. If they feel like it's crucial for you to know how their day went, they'll tell you; If they know you'd like to hear something, they'll tell you.

If they don't feel like it's something you'd care about or don't feel like talking about it, though? Then they'll keep it to themselves. Period.

This particular trait can make a Scorpio woman come off as aloof and disinterested and can make their partners feel excluded. However, it's important to recognize that this lack of sharing doesn't mean your Scorpio lady doesn't trust you or doesn't love you.

She just doesn't want to bother you with things that don't involve you, and yes, you might think that anything that involves her involves you, but they literally don't see things that way.

They'd rather save their words and energy to tell you the things they know you need to hear.

#3. They're very demanding.

Scorpio women know what they want and when they want it, and they'll never settle for less than what they've decided they deserve.

When it comes to relationships, it means they'd rather be alone than to settle.

Scorpio women have a list of characteristics they want in their partners, and will carefully go through every item with their possible suitors, who will then be quickly discarded if they don't make the cut.

Yes, Scorpio women aren't likely to waste time in a relationship and "hope for the best." They like to place their bets when the odds are in their favor.

Rest assured, however, that while it may seem like Scorpio is asking too much from their possible partners, they're more than willing to give back exactly what they're asking for.

Most Scorpio women don't fool around when it comes to dating. If they choose to date, they commit to it, and if they choose someone they want to spend their life with, they'll move the earth and the sky to make that relationship work.

Scorpio women are some of the most loyal and dedicated lovers out there. They just need to make sure their efforts will be worth it, and to ensure that they're as picky as they come.

#4. They're scarily passionate.

While Scorpios are often described as cold and aloof, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Yes, if they don't care about you, they won't give you the time of the day, but if they do love you, and they want to spend the rest of their lives with you?

You'll be in for an extremely passionate relationship.

They're seductive, they're incredibly sexy, they're sensual, and they live to love their partners.

Remember, Scorpio women don't choose their partners lightly, so when they've found "the one" for them, they tend to cut loose and become a loving, adoring, devoted person.

Of course, all that passion does have its drawbacks, as Scorpio women can come off as a little too intense at times, and they're definitely a jealous bunch, but a relationship with a Scorpio woman is one that will never lack passion.

#5. They hold grudges forever.

You know this, we know this, they know this; Scorpio women can hold grudges forever, and it even seems like they enjoy doing it.

Let's be clear, this isn't a trait exclusive to Scorpio women, this is a Scorpio trait in general, but Scorpio women have elevated it to an art form.

If you're on their good side, it can be an absolutely hilarious thing to witness; Scorpio women are sharp, sarcastic, and brutally honest, so hearing them talk about the people they dislike can be an incredibly funny experience.

If you're on their bad side, however, you better beware.

While Scorpio women tend to be happy just holding a grudge and badmouthing others, if they see an opportunity to strike, they will.

Luckily, it's very hard to piss off a Scorpio woman, but if you've managed, or worse, if you've betrayed their trust, you can bet they'll never forget it.

#scorpio #Scorpio woman #Scorpio traits #Scorpio girl #Scorpio female #Scorpio love #Scorpio zodiac

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westernchords · 4 years

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2020: a replay & reflection

so... here we are at the near end of a very long, unsettling & strange year. and at this particular moment in time, spotify has released its 2020 wrapped feature, an annual highlight for gay people everywhere (self VERY included). since the world is very large & this is a personal blog with a limited scope, i'll talk about what i know best: the view from my corner of the musical world.

i only had two songs in common with any previous year -- i wish i missed my ex by mahalia & sugar by brockhampton (... i know, the heartache is loud already,)

4 unique rain asmr audios made it into my top 15 (they help me sleep lolol)

show tunes was my #4 most listened to genre and yet not a single one made it into my top 100. (i'm pretty sure it was all of my late night waitress sing alongs)

i discovered 1,012 new artists and 162 new genres

all very fun and interesting things! however, in looking at this year, there are two things to discuss that are most important: the amount of time i spent listening to music (111,989 minutes) and my top song, fake mona lisa. let's discuss both.

on time: in short, music means a lot to me. in long, i mean that music has been central to my life for as long as i can remember. i think of my church choir and my mother singing eartha kitt and corrine bailey rae in the kitchen, my father's surprise talents at piano when he would play in chapel, and how i like to make up little ditties to sing for my dog or while i cook or to solely entertain myself. if one was to take a look at my journals, each entry is annotated with the song i was listening to or suited my mood at the time i was writing. at any moment, i am capable of revisiting the emotional landscape of old memories all set to the very soundtrack that holds that particular past closest.

i still remember plucking violin strings at 5, how i used to stack music books so i could sit up straight on my piano bench because i was too short at 7, picking up woodwinds in highschool and letting my best friend act as conductor, and now, singing endlessly- day in and day out, because it makes me feel like i am traveling home. i think of creole folk songs that connect me to my family, my diaspora. i remember the favorite songs and artists of people i don't know anymore, but still. it stays with me. my friend cj says i have a great emotional sensitivity to music, but more so, music simply connects to every cornerstone of who i am. the creation of it, the listening, the love of it. the constancy.

music is integral to my daily routine and life. since i was 13, maybe younger, i have always believed that the first song i hear in a day sets the tone so i always try to play something i love and makes me feel joyful to start off on the right foot. i will do this my entire life. every day is permeated by sound and the data shows it. 111,989 minutes is almost 3 months straight. this doesn't even count soundcloud listens or youtube tracks or music i play on my own. this felt fitting. music, this year in particular, has been a salve to both new and old hurt. and maybe i am picking at my scabs, but 2020 has amplified so much anger and shame and fear and despite that, there is so much joy in art. music is a balm for the world, it is poetry in its own right.

on fake mona lisa: so .. i am kind of obsessed with this song. fifteen hours worth of listening, i text my friends i'll join the video call soon - i just need one more replay, i got high and played this song while lying in the middle of a meadow and experienced more emotions than i had had in a very long time, my friends lovingly tease me about it so it's sort of like a character trait now, kind of obsessed. my turning to this song was the sort of romance that i didn't anticipate, but fell very hard into and, if you know me, you know that's my favorite kind. let's get into why: when dedicated side b came out, i was heartbroken. there's really no other way to put it. i was alone, back in my childhood bedroom, and harboring a reopened wound from past relationships that maybe had never closed in the first place. i was in this strange, melancholic knee-deep-in-emotions place & if you're an avid CRJ fan, you recognize that's a place she knows and sings about well.

as a song, fake mona lisa tends to be one of carly's more lyrically opaque tracks. which is fine, i'm a storyteller at heart, i'll craft my own narrative. (and honestly, there wasn't much legwork here.) without doing a full blown analysis, here are pieces that i find important to note about the song lyrically and resonate most with me -- big or small.

(transcription at bottom)

what i'm basically saying is that this song is about risk and young love and sex. its about secrets, cheap thrills, fast & easy desires, and the fantastical euphoria of a dead-end-but-still-fun “we're young so what's the matter,“ relationship. (very reminiscent of LA hallucinations, imo) and to me, someone who has been in and out of this same subset of emotional affairs, fake mona lisa stuck with me. vegas is a city of high risk, high reward- where else to chase that superficial, unattainable someone? more so, the song gives you the understanding that the relationship doesn't last, but that was not what carly ever truly wanted out of it. fake mona lisa is, at its core, about over indulgence in pleasure as a stand in for actual love + commitment, something i am oft to do myself & only did more of after dedicated side b dropped. i latched onto the slow and simmering exposition into glittery pre-chorus, starlit imagery, shiny-faraway vocals, and frankly, there was no competition for my song of the year. the song is a dream. i love it and i know what that says about me, but i stand by it.

dedicated side b, especially fake mona lisa, carried me through the healing process of heartbreaks that crystallized into many other things- indulgence, desire, risk, short lived romances, secrets, joy, kisses i should've kept to myself, spontaneous dance breaks, tears, etc., it is an album about love, recovery, and returning to the self. fake mona lisa is just my favorite stop on a long train ride to an okay-ness with aspects of romance (both with the self and others) that i am still figuring out the messy, rose-tinted, contours of.

and sonically? i just adore the key of d minor.

as a last touch point, fake mona lisa was only the tip of the iceberg of songs i obsessed over about not-exactly-ideal romances. again and again and again, heartbreak anthems appeared in my top 100, a deviation from my typical warmth towards romantic sentiments that appeared in past years. instead, there is a sense of love-at-a-distance, a painting yourself as the object of desire, a severed attachment, a not wanting to commit at all (see let's be friends, heartbeat, want you in my room, all by crj ... all appearing on the list.) however, much of what appeared celebrated love and having tremendous, special, struck by cupid, feelings. it's all there. what i'm saying is that carly rae jepsen writes music for lovestruck people- both lucky and not so much, hopeless or hopeful -- you name it. she writes about how you can fall in love with almost anyone, soundtracks for the highs of the first throes of intimacy, the first (and last) kiss, the shared moments between two people when they are each other's whole world, and the palpable distance of heartache, separation, and the landscape between.

she writes as though she is both eros and psyche, armed with arrows of cascading melodies, tipped with a salve for suppressing+healing+amplifying heartbreak, and lyrics so intimate and dreamy, you really can't help but believe in love with the way she speaks of it. love is a venture from shame, a fantasy that is more real than anything else, tender and kind, pleasurable, and escapable into. the world is better in it, the world is better because of it. in carly rae jepsen's discography, love is the defining pillar of experience. a northern star and guiding principle. it is the only thing, no matter what form. & frankly? i cant help but agree.

as a final note, in hanif wills-abdurraqib's emotion review for MTV, carly rae jepsen's public displays of affection, he says this:

thats all for now. bye 2020.

- august

///

transcription of my notes:

verse 1:

city/star light imagery

i am known for wearing a star stamp on my cheek

infatuation & attraction

paints a photo of a starlet and her lover, a fair weather affair

pre-chorus:

always waiting fro a chance the object of desire

a high from love, addictive pleasures

chorus:

sex & art & risk taking (art synonymous with beauty. + seduction)

she knows she cant handle this in a real way, but wants it

desire vs/& (in conjunction with) pain

verse 2:

an idealistic worldview, hoping for the best, always somewhere else not present.

dreamy lyrics + dreamy state of mind, cloudy even.

specifically the words fake mona lisa:

contrast, beautiful yet fully acknowledged to be unreal/superficial

a stand in for “real art“ aka “real love“

#crj #mine

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prncssparklwt · 4 years

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BACK TO LIFE | Z.M.

by: PRNCSSPARKLWT

THIS STORY IS COMPLETE FICTION. ZAYN MALIK AND NIALL HORAN HAVE NO RELATION TO THIS STORY. THEIR NAMES AND LOOKS ARE USED FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF MY STORY TELLING. I DO NOT HAVE ANY CONNECTIONS TO EITHER OF THEM. I RESPECT THEM AS ARTISTS AND AS INDIVIDUALS. THIS FANFIC INVOLVES UNDERAGE DRINKING, DRUG USE, VULGAR LANGUAGE, AND YES, SEX. IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM AM I TRYING TO PORTRAY ZAYN AND NIALL PERSONALLY AS THE CHARACTERS IN THIS FANFIC. ONCE AGAIN, THIS STORY IS COMPLETE FICTION. IT WAS MADE UP BY ME AND NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY AT ALL. THANK YOU, I TAKE FEEDBACK AND KINDLY STATED CRITICISM. ENJOY, BACK TO LIFE.

PILLOWTALK

The sun is starting to rise and the sheets are already starting to feel cold against her bare legs. The alarm clock flashes the time and maybe she's surprised that he's still here, the weight of his arm heavy and real against the bottom of her back. His hand is pressed up by the swell of her hip, she feels his nose resting at the top of her head. Moments like these remind her that time she shares with him are like sunsets, they start off so beautiful and vibrant, yet end in darkness.

She should probably get up and make it seem as though she doesn't even care that he's still in her bed as if he actually wants to sleep beside her. She should push his arm off and act as though he isn't important even when the slightest contact from him lights her up like matches long forgotten at the start of the summer. Zayn always had the power to make her feel like she was worth watching when she'd walk in the room. His eyes would always cast themselves up and down the length of her body and she wouldn't feel self conscious, she'd feel fucking august with the energy that would fill her.

"Adelina," his soft voice that raises goosebumps along her neck disrupts the silence. She knows if she answers her voice will go against her and whimper his name like it does on nights like last night. The arm that took homage on her hip snakes up her side and settles to curve at her stomach, the skin covered in delicate hair, his fingers press into the pudge and a giggle escapes Adelina's lips. "There we go, I can feel your thoughts in the air."

At least I know you can feel, she wants to say but bites her tongue. All she does is wiggle and suck in her stomach to escape the prodding fingers. Zayn takes the hint and lifts his hand away for it to change its path up to her neck, her throat being stretched when his hand angles her chin up. Her black hair cascades against the pillows as he slowly turns her towards him. His golden eyes like flickers of flame are soft. The pink of his tongue glistens in the disrupting sunlight as he licks his bottom lip. Adelina knows she should hate the man that makes her a stranger in her own bed, but that's just it, in her bed, he's in her bed. His hand loosens at her throat and the brown of Adelina's eyes grow a shade darker as his face leans closer to connect their lips. As their lips find refuge and his hands find their way to parts of her that they know so intimately, she is reminded that this is not her forever. This is his goodbye.

So she lets him and his tongue make her pliant just as the sun is kissing the sky hello and darkness that settled in her room says farewell. She tries to imagine a world where this is hers and for her to keep, a world where Zayn does not leave so he can hide just as the moon does in daylight. A life where he is hers and she doesn't have to wonder if tonight she'll see him as he knocks on her window or if she'll get to see him at the skatepark where it seems he's actually a real person.

Zayn leads his mouth down to her neck and along her collarbone, he kisses over the marks he's left just under where the collar of her shirts will end. Zayn believes she is his in all aspects physical but as he lifts himself up to start getting dressed, Adelina struggles to accept the fact that she is his, in all ways physical, mentally, and emotionally.

He picks up his sweater to pull up over his head and Adelina watches his tattoos disappear as they get covered by pale yellow. His hair is messy and stuck up in all the wrong places and Adelina lets out a small huff of a laugh and Zayn turns to her from where he's standing at the foot of her bed.

"What's so funny?" He asks and places a knee on the bed, the light purple duvet dips underneath his weight.

"Your hair is messy." Adelina comments as she pulls the duvet up to her nose to hide her smile and he mocks a frown to run his fingers through his hair.

"And yours is any better?" He laughs and Adelina's eyes go wide and her hands shoot up to smooth out the baby hairs that have decided to stand up from her scalp like stubborn weeds. "You don't look any different, really." Zayn smiles as he leans closer to her, his legs between hers over the duvet, hips pressing down on hers.

"Zayn Javaad finally being seen not looking perfect? The horror, the rarity I am witnessing is aston-" Adelina gets cut off by his lips on her neck that makes her laugh because his stubble has begun to tickle her. He pulls away from her neck and looks down at her, their eyes meeting.

"You need to get ready before your dad comes to wake you up and sees a tattooed muslim in your bed." He tells her and she rolls her eyes. Her dad would not be up for about two more hours, Zayn knew this, but she feels it's just a ploy for him so he can leave. I should be used to him leaving, Adelina thinks.

"I think he'll be more disappointed to see his son's best friend in his daughter's bed." When the words leave her lips, she can feel him detach physically and mentally. Her brother Yousef has been friends with Zayn since they could both barely crawl, their mothers were close friends when they attended university and stayed in close contact. Zayn was even more around when their mother got sick, him and his mother were over a lot to help Adelina's father take care of them. He eventually became like a brother to them and a son to their father. Zayn looked up to their father a lot for guidance as his father had left them about seven years ago. Adelina knows she's struck a nerve, she reaches up to place a hand at his jawline, her thumb rubbing along his cheekbone. "I didn't mean to upset you, it was just a joke."

"One that holds truth, if your dad ever found out about us, if Yousef ever found out." Zayn shakes his head and gets up completely and Adelina wishes her mouth waited for her mind to decide on something before saying it. The warmth Zayn's body supplied is gone and she sits up and the duvet pools around her, her chest is slightly exposed and she ignores the glance Zayn gives her.

"They won't ever know, we've been smart about this. Besides, Yousef doesn't even care about what I do." She says and she knows it's a partial lie. Her brother does care about the things she does, especially if it means it puts him in higher graces with their Baba. Yousef always wants to be the favorite, and he kind of is. She tells this lie though in hopes it'll stop Zayn's thoughts of stopping what they have, she might not be able to have him completely, but she's not going to give up what she does get.

"He might not care when it comes to you but he's always on my ass." Zayn exhales and he's slipping on his skidded up white vans. "Constantly reminding me that I need to get a job, making sure I worked out, did I eat, were my final grades at the university good enough." He finishes up his rambling by standing up and finally turning towards her again.

"It's like he's your boyfriend." Adelina widens her eyes in case of Zayn's reaction and all he does is glare at her and she laughs with her head thrown back. "I'm just saying, oh my god, what if he's gay? Has Yousef said anything to you?" She suddenly questions and thinks about how good her brother dresses and now she's thinking about the time he literally got voted the prettiest his senior year in high school.

"Adelina, he's not gay!" Zayn remarks and throws something soft at her face. It's an old shirt of his, she wears it to sleep sometimes, like last night. Though he peeled it off of her before she actually got to sleep in it.

"It's a possibility." She starts to put the shirt on.

"I think I would know if my best friend is gay." Zayn explains as Adelina gets up and pulls the shirt down over her butt. "That's not even the point here, the point is, I should not be sleeping with my best friend's little sister in the first place."

"But you are, we both agreed to it, there's nothing wrong with liking our privacy in what we do when we're alone." Truth is, Adelina doesn't know how she would react if her family found out about them. Everyone is so sure Zayn is going to marry a beautiful muslim girl and have a few kids while he sells his art and his wife becomes an actress. He may be laid back and talks gently, but he's still gorgeous and pretty people marry pretty people. They see the three of them as a trio of siblings since their mom passed and they all ended up growing together. Adelina has pictures of all of them in kiddie pools and them eating mud pies.

"I know," He says quietly. Zayn walks over to Adelina's bedroom window and pulls the soft white curtains away to slide open the glass. "I'll see you at Toni's later." Is all he says as he leaves out the window to walk home, about two blocks from Adelina's.

Adelina just smiles because the words that want to come out of her mouth are, stay, please stay. When he doesn't turn back as he walks towards the front of her house she knows to just shut her window. He doesn't ever look back, no smile to say goodbye or a wave to acknowledge her one more time. When the glow of his yellow sweater disappears she turns away from the window and looks at her room. The bed has indents from where their bodies found solace within each other, her covers thrown around. She notices his beanie on her beige carpet by the side he slept on and how there's one of his rings on the bedside desk. It's the ring he usually leaves here so he has some excuse to be in her bedroom again, she always tells him he doesn't have to have a reason to come back, he can just show up. He would just shrug and she wishes she could understand his logic about any of this because he never wants to express how he feels about anything unless he accidentally lets it slip out.

"Lina!" The sound of Yousef's voice is heard from outside her door. She doesn't get to answer before he's already rattling her door knob, as if she'd have it unlocked while Zayn is over. "Why is the door locked? You know Baba doesn't like when we do that."

She quickly yanks up a pair of grey sweats from the floor and pulls Zayn's shirt away from her chest so her breasts aren't as noticeable. She yanks open the door. "I was about to change for the day, which is why it was locked. You didn't even wait for an answer or even knock before coming in. What if I had been naked?" Adelina says annoyed and Yousef rolls his eyes.

"Baba isn't up yet and it's our turn to make breakfast." Is all he says.

When the sun is finally setting and Adelina has showered, she stands in her room and watches herself in the mirror. Her olive toned thighs touch, meshing together, her stomach has a pudge that she tends to hide with high waisted jeans, her breasts are C cups that she has a hard time fitting into the cute tops she likes, and her arms are not as toned as she'd want them. Yet she finds beauty in all of this, her long wavy black hair and thick browed big brown eyes, prominent cheekbones, even the slight chubbiness under her chin all look beautiful to her. Her Baba always tells her she is. She also knows Zayn wouldn't even waste his time on her if she wasn't. It's not like she's ugly and he's using her, she gets the same attention he does in the end. They both get the same ending.

She's wearing dark high waisted bell bottoms, black long sleeve tucked in, she's left her hair down in waves, and she's put on eyeliner along with some highlighter. She's also sprayed on her best perfume for tonight because she'll be around a lot of people.

"Alright, we have to be home before midnight, unless I say I'm spending the night at Zayn's and you're staying with Emelia next door." Yousef says as he walks in dressed in a white t-shirt, black jeans, his black hair styled up out of his face. He plops down on her bed. Emelia is Zayn's neighbor and also Adelina's best friend since freshman year, if Yousef stays out, Adelina can as well. Which bothers her because Yousef's been able to go out on his own since he was sixteen and she's eighteen while he's now twenty-one. She still needs Yousef's supervision usually if they're "going out" with friends when in reality they're actually going to a party.

"I can stay at Emelia's, she'll be at the party anyways." Adelina reaches for her jean jacket that's about a size too big but she likes that it hangs off her shoulders sometimes. Yousef gets up and waits for her to slip on her red vans. He leaves the room expecting her to follow but Adelina reaches down to her bedside table and grabs Zayn's ring and beanie. He can find a better excuse to see her.

Their father is sat at the kitchen table, auto body magazines splayed all around him, he owns one of the best mechanic shops in town. His hair is peppered black and silver, his eyes are piercing green like Yousef's. His tan face, also much like Yousef's, is adorned with a dark beard, he smiles at the both of them. "You both look great." Their father says and brings his mug to his mouth.

"Thank you Baba," Yousef smiles back. "We've decided to stay at Zayn and Emelia's tonight, if that's okay." Their father contemplates this but he agrees that it's okay, they go to him and Adelina kisses her father on the cheek and Yousef does the same. He bids them goodbye as they walk out the door with their overnight bags slung on their shoulders.

"He's so quick to agree with the things you decide." Adelina comments as Yousef starts the car.

"He trusts me." Yousef says and Adelina rolls her eyes and glances at the sky. The sky is starting to get dark even when it's already after eight in the afternoon. Summer days always seem longer.

"Baba can trust me if you're implying he doesn't." Adelina remarks and she turns her gaze to Yousef, he turns the blinker on to turn the street.

"Not saying he doesn't, Lina. It's because I'm older so he's positive that I have better judgement." Her brother tries to give her a small smile but she's already looking away again.

"It's because you're a boy, Yousef, not because you're older." The pettiness is thick in her tone and she knows it's the truth. Baba trusts Yousef more because he doesn't think Adelina can make decisions or think clearly on her own if she doesn't have a male input.

"Well if that's the case, I'm sorry, I don't think he does it intentionally. It's how he was raised too." That's the only explanation her brother can give her and for now she takes it. They've arrived at Toni's.

Toni graduated a year before she did, his parents also own a batting cage facility since his dad had the chance to go pro but had an injury in college. Since then Toni's dad invested in batting cages and coaching a little league and the high school's baseball team. It also serves as a great place to have parties when his father is out of town for sponsorship conventions. The building is lower than the streets, as it was built into a dip for the batting cages to have more height than length. The netting can be seen from the parking lot, where other cars have already parked to start the night. Yousef parks towards the entrance so they can make a quick leave if they need to. Adelina isn't the type to get black out drunk or insanely high at these sorts of things, but Yousef, he'd enjoy forgetting his name for the night.

When they finally make it to where a crowd has been formed and there's people handing out red cups by the kegs, Yousef is quick to leave her side. Adelina doesn't care if her brother drinks, he's of age, and she could care less that she definitely sees two girls who obviously are barely becoming juniors passing a blunt with a group. It's high school, the world would be lying if it said teenagers don't drink and smoke. Adelina barely did the summer before her senior year once she started hanging out with Zayn and Yousef more. They brought her to parties that graduated seniors were throwing and now she was out even more because she's eighteen, Zayn is twenty, and Yousef is twenty-one. Baba was okay with this because he didn't know they were actually parties, and he trusted Yousef and Zayn. The sleepover at Emelia's while Yousef at Zayn's was their go to plan these past months.

"Lina!" Adelina turns towards the voice and it's Emelia in high waisted shorts, a bright red bralette, and a vintage looking jacket on. Her short brown hair is curled and her pale skin glows under the batting cages' lights. "Please tell me you're spending the night so I have someone to make sure I don't drown in the toilet as I vomit all my mistakes from tonight." She comes up and throws an arm around Adelina's shoulders.

"I am at your service." Adelina smiles and Emelia cups her mouth and woo's into the air twice. "I'm guessing your parents aren't home?"

"Nope, my dads are at their three day anniversary spa with Ronnie and Kenny." She shakes her head and makes a funny face. "You think they didn't take me because they're all gonna have some sort of orgy?"

"Ugh, Lia!" Adelina shouts and they both start laughing. "I wouldn't put it past them actually... remember what we found in their closet?"

Emelia's face contorts into exaggerated horror. "Oh god, the fluffy handcuffs and endless amounts of rope, why did they need so much?"

"Your dads will never cease to amaze me at how different they are compared to all of our parents." Emelia just shrugs at Adelina and pulls her closer.

Her voice settles into a whisper. "So am I going to be sleeping alone while you and Zayn get it on in my guest bedroom?" Adelina's mouth drops and she playfully pushes Emelia at the shoulder.

"That was one time!" She laughs. "Besides, Yousef is staying at Zayn's so I hardly doubt he can make it over to yours unnoticed." Adelina doesn't tell her that he already left her bed this morning and she doesn't know if she can handle him leaving her in a bed they both don't know. Or worse, him leaving her and then going to hang out with her brother as if nothing happened.

"Bummer, I was so excited to hear the noises through my wall." Emelia fains a sad face and Adelina just rolls her eyes at her best friend.

The night continues with Adelina sipping two cups of beer and watching Emelia go through three and a few shots after she's played a game of beer pong as Yousef's partner. They won but Emelia still blames Yousef for her missed shots and blames Adelina for not being her partner. Yousef acts offended.

When Zayn finally arrives he's with two other guys who don't look at all happy to be there. Adelina watches him walk through the people who are dancing and trying not to spill their drinks more than they have already. His hair is gently pressed down and falling over his forehead, he wears a white long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up and tight black skinny jeans. He looks so soft, Adelina thinks. But the guys he's arrived with look rough, anyone paying them attention could tell they're not people you want to mess up with. Why is Zayn around those sorts of people? Adelina questions.

"You look really nice tonight." Her thoughts are cut off by a boy to her right, he's leaning against the table she's been sitting on waiting for Emelia to come back with another drink. The boy is Niall, she graduated with him and he looks at her with a soft smile. He's being genuine.

"Well thank you, Niall, how have you been?" She asks him and he decides to pull himself up on the table and sit beside her. Adelina doesn't mind.

"Good, getting ready for college. Where's Emelia?" He says and his gaze flickers around the lot to look for her erratic fireball of a best friend.

"She went to get more drinks for us, why what's up?" Adelina knows what's up. Niall and Emelia have been talking since the school year ended, they both really like each other.

"I just got here and haven't seen her." He laughs and that's when she comes walking from the keg. "Ah, there she is."

"There she is." Adelina nods.

"Here I am!" Emelia shouts.

Niall gets up to help her with the cups she's holding as she has a can of something else held to her side using her arm. By the looks of it, it's some sort of fizzy alcoholic drink. Emelia ends up taking her cup back from Niall and handing him the fizzy canned drink and he smiles appreciatively at her.

"He has to be home tonight, he can't be drinking beer, they'll smell it on his breath." Emelia says and tries not to make eye contact with Niall. Who's smiling at her all big and his blue eyes are wrinkling at the sides. Adelina tries not to be jealous over seeing others have what she wishes she did, especially Emelia and Niall. They're her friends and she should be happy for them, she is, but she can't stop the sour taste in her mouth when Niall's arms wrap around Emelia's waist while they all laugh and Zayn is only about twenty feet away drinking with her brother. They could be this, Adelina thinks, they could be in each other's arms and she could laugh with her head settling back on his shoulder. He could hide his smiles in her neck, his hands playing with her belt loops, her hands caressing his hands under hers. It's hard trying to ignore what you so desperately want when you're given more behind closed doors for the wrong reasons.

The thing about Zayn, it's easy to tell when he wants Adelina. His eyes will flicker to her while he laughs softly at something her brother says to him. He'll hold himself up straighter and push his shoulders back to make a show of himself because he knows she's watching. God, is she always watching. Adelina wants to make herself seem uninterested because even if he displays himself as someone who could care less about who's watching him, he does like knowing Adelina has eyes on him. So she turns towards Emelia and Niall as they let her into the conversation. Adelina sips her cup, maybe she should stop, but as she brings it down there's already a hand on her cup. Her eyes trail from her cup to the hand that's over hers. The rings click in recognition first and then it's the tattoos, to the long arm and lean torso.

"Zayn." Adelina looks up at him and he gives her a delicate smile.

"We're going to dance!" Emelia suddenly announces and drags Niall with her and Adelina laughs at her best friend's antics again. She looks back up at Zayn.

"Dance with me," Adelina smiles and Zayn's mouth opens to protest but she speaks again. "Yousef is occupied and he won't care anyway."

"Yeah okay," Zayn rolls his eyes and that's when he sees Yousef lead a girl away from the crowd and is starting to make his way to the sheds where they keep all the bats and helmets. "People will talk to him about what they saw."

Adelina shakes her head and laughs. "You act like we haven't danced before in front of him."

Zayn gives her a look.

"Okay yes, that's at family parties where we're trying to avoid our parents setting us up with their friends' kids but seriously, everyone is dancing." Adelina throws her arm out to reference the crowd and Zayn follows where her hand points. Adelina blames the alcohol in her system for acting this way, she wants to dance and Zayn is near her, so why not dance with him.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Zayn says and Adelina just huffs while she stands up from the table and straightens her jean jacket out and fixes the waist of her jeans. She throws her hair behind her back and stares at Zayn's expressionless face.

"'Kay well I'm gonna dance then." And maybe this is all a plan to see if Zayn cares about what she does.

"Adelina," His voice dissipates as she makes her way to the crowd of people that are all dancing next to the make-shift DJ set Toni had set up. There's a few LED lights flashing into the crowd of people and the music is echoing around the lot but no one cares as the alcohol is settling in their bones.

Adelina pushes herself to the middle of the crowd where strangers have decided to dance cohesively together. She sees Emelia and Niall's faces through the other bodies and she can tell if Niall didn't need to be home tonight, she would have needed to stay in the guest room anyways. When the music blocks out everything she can hear and she feels the beat in her chest. The colors of the lights flicker when she closes her eyes and she's moving her hips to the sound of the song. Hands find her waist and she doesn't push them off but she turns towards the body that owns the hands. She's met with a tall guy with quiffed up blond hair and he smells nice, Adelina doesn't actually mind her dance partner. There's no harm with dancing with someone, besides, Zayn didn't want to dance with her.

LIKE I WOULD

When another song is about to start she feels another pair of hands on her waist that pull her back and she almost stumbles if it wasn't for the steady hold of the new set of hands. She's about to voice her surprise when lips press up against her ear. "Dancing like that and thinking I wouldn't come here was really bold of you."

The guy she was dancing with quickly found comfort in another part of the crowd and she wants to roll her eyes because come on, Zayn isn't that intimidating. Nonetheless Adelina lets his hands snake their way to the front of her body and settle at the top of her thighs. His front is pressed to her back and her mind takes her back to the moments they're in this same position but their skin is touching and his breath is ragged in her ear.

"Thought you cared if Yousef saw us." Adelina tilts her neck to the left and lets Zayn's face rest on her shoulder. He bites his lip in thought and shakes his head after the thought has passed over his mind.

"He was occupied." Is all he says as the song reaches its chorus and he pulls her closer and she lets her hips press back into his. They're covered by the crowd and everyone around them aren't familiar faces and if they don't know them then Yousef won't. Zayn's hands have tightened their grasp and she takes it as a good time to turn towards him. Their fronts are now close and her arms have woven themselves around his neck and he settles at the bottom of her back to pull her even closer. They can't ever be close enough, Adelina thinks. His eyes are hooded and their noses are pressed together gently and meet in a eskimo kiss as their bodies move. She can't help but glance down to his lips and he wets them with his tongue. Her mouth parts as one of her arms slide from his neck and settle on his bicep. Adelina's jean jacket hangs slightly off her shoulder and exposes the skin where her neck and shoulder meet. Zayn brings his face from hers down to her neck and presses his lips there. She lets her head fall back. If anyone looked at them, they would see two bodies pressed tightly together, arms wrapped so desperately, faces hidden from the shadows the lights create. They probably look like lovers. Adelina's mind tells her and she agrees. They're never this close in public, never the way they are in her bed, late at night, catching their breath. She wants to remember this moment, keep it locked away in the center of her chest, the moment Zayn felt like he didn't need to hide her. She's in his arms and there are other people here to witness this too, the thing she wants all the time, in the refuge of her own room and in the presence of a million eyes. She wants this, she wants him, she wants everything she wishes they could be.

Zayn gets pulled from her and her heart drops for a second. Expecting Yousef to be there angry eyed and hurt, but it's the guys Zayn arrived with. Zayn looks to Adelina and then to them, his expression hard to read. Who the hell are they? Adelina wonders. She opens her mouth to speak but they whisper something to Zayn and he quickly follows them as they walk away. Zayn leaves Adelina without a word as the music suddenly gets louder and all she can feel is the ghost of his lips he's left on her neck. The ghost he always leaves.

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ofeliaslullaby · 5 years

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Fleabag Season 2: A Discourse on Love

Finally caved and watched season 2 of Fleabag. And I say caved as if I haven't been waiting for this show to come back for a solid 2 years...but I was saving it for a day when I truly needed something to rival my own stuff. I knew Fleabag would, because it had when the first season premiered in the US. The poetry of the show really has a way of putting some things into perspective. Season 1 seemed like a discourse on friendship, grief, guilt and self-worth. Season 2 felt like a discourse on love. There will be spoilers.

Firstly:

This season was a love story. Not the storybook, happily-ever-after love (There are no happily-ever-afters in Fleabagland, just there-will-be-pain-but-it-will-get-better-afters), but love in all it's grotesque complexity. After watching the season I took the "this is a love story" opener to not just be about Fleabag's ironic love for the Catholic Priest, but loving yourself (Belinda's monologue, Claire's haircut, Fleabag's new care for herself), familial love (Fleabag's relationship with her sister and father), Martin's love for Claire, and Claire's love for her work and Klare (Claire/Klare will never not be funny and cute). And the Godmother "loves" the Father and art but really I think she just loves attention and the idea of eccentrism.

The first episode hits you hard. It takes place over a year after we leave Fleabag at the end of season 1, and she's doing well, as is the guinea pig café. She is seemingly no longer blaming herself for Boo's death, no longer using sex as a form of escapism, and genuinely valuing herself. We once again get to voyeur through some of Fleabag's life moments. When it all kicks off we go from insufferable family dinner/engagement party for the Dad and the Godmother (who I didn't even remember were not married) with the Catholic Priest they got to marry them, brother-in-law Martin who we despise and the sister we haven't spoken to in over a year; to a tragic and intimate scene in the restaurant bathroom between the two sisters, and almost immediately back to the awkward dinner table where all hilarious hell breaks loose. This formula continues, as it did in the first. If you're not laughing, you're wanting to cry. Such is life, I suppose.

You get a little more context this season behind Claire and Fleabag's relationship. Like all relationships its complex (I feel like there were times when it felt like my relationship with my older sister), but there is love there. So much love. In the bathroom scene in the first episode it is obvious Fleabag is concerned for her sister, while her Claire is distraught, embarrassed, and eventually we come to find out relieved. When they get back to the table and Martin makes remarks that are clearly only hurting the Claire's feelings, Fleabag intervenes because she loves her sister and doesn't want to see her suffer anymore that night. Championing Claire to leave Martin (was rooting for this), that was love. It was obvious Martin loved Claire, he says as much in the scene, but they were not right for each other. Just because you love someone doesn't mean you're meant to be (something we get shown more than once in the finale). A defining moment in their onscreen relationship is when Claire says to Fleabag that the only person she'd run through an airport for is her. A few episodes before this scene we'd learned that what always looked like disdain on Claire's part was jealously and resentment stemming from her own feelings of inadequacy. By the finale I feel like Claire had gotten over some of those issues. When she leaves the wedding for the airport (guess there was someone else she would run through an airport for), I was cheering for her. Phoebe and Sian have so many dynamic scenes together that wouldn't work if the two didn't have amazing chemistry. I love them as sisters, and I love the characters' relationship.

Speaking of chemistry:

Of course, Fleabag would fall in love with the emotionally unavailable. Phoebe and Andrew's chemistry is so good. They played easily off each other's quirks and The Priest sees Fleabag in a way the other characters aren't able to (he notices her zoning out/fourth wall breaks). I could've watched this relationship play out for years. But alas, some things aren't meant to be.

It was obvious the two would end up together, just as obvious as it was that they were never going to last, as friends or a couple. When Fleabag breaks the fourth wall early on she says "we'll last a week". They're both a little dysfunctional, and we never fully get to hear why The Priest is the way he is (he always gets cut off when he tries to explain his past, only getting as far as "When I was a child..." and that he wasn't close to his mother). Through their relationship though, we see that even though it's been some time Fleabag is in fact still coping with the death of her mom and Boo. I feel like part of what she was looking for in their relationship was reassurance, as she turned to the Bible and prayer (something she would never have done previously, as an atheist), where she would normally have only turned to sex and alcohol or other ways to harm herself. When she and The Priest finally do have sex, we the invisible friend have our view almost immediately cut off. Has Fleabag ever done this? She usually narrated her sexual exploits. I feel that adds to the fact that this intimacy with the Priest was love, not a means of escape like the other times.

What I said earlier about the Godmother I say with a tiny grain of salt because I do realize that it's all subjective. We only see Fleabag's point of view. However, she's still the worst. She collects "friendships" like commodities and talks about them in terms of listen descriptors, most clearly shown when she introduced people in the finale. There is no real redeeming of the Godmother for Fleabag after she went from being the Mother's "best friend" to the Father's special someone. And it's hard to tell if the Father really loves her or if he's afraid of her/afraid of being on his own. Fleabag has a lovely heart to heart with her Dad (which acted also as a callback to a scene a few episodes earlier at the mother's funeral) in the finale where in a foreboding moment he says to her "I think you know how to love better than any of us. That's why you find it all so painful." Fleabag replies to us voyeurs tersely, "I don't find it painful". She definitely did. Look at the way she dealt with Boo's death. Yes, there was guilt, but she loved her. She loved her mother and having to see her Godmother with her Father, and being told snyly says she modeled the bust after her mom, her reaction...that's pain from love. We know Fleabag's love and grief for her mother were just as strong as the love and grief she had for Boo. In a flashback scene to after her mother's death, she tells Boo she doesn't know what to do with all the love she felt for her mom and how painful it is. Boo says to give it to her, she'll take it. Boo was a real one. I don't remember Fleabag breaking the fourth wall in these flashback moments (maybe I need to watch it again), but that got me thinking that we're probably taking the place of Boo. The person she lost who shared her laughter, her love, and her grief. We're her echo.

The final scene is heartbreaking to watch play out. You kind of know it's coming especially during his wedding speech, which he seemingly recited to her. The whole season spanned such a short period, but there is an immediate investment in what could be between these characters, and for the Priest this was the only real way this could end. There was no way he was leaving the priesthood. He warned her and thus we were warned, but we don't listen when it comes to the things we want. I was sad for her and him, but as Brittany Howard sings out to the credits (and The Priest's fox-foe pursues him); with a shake of the head that says "you don't need to follow me" and a wave goodbye we, the invisible friend, are reassured she's going to be alright. This was a wonderfully poignant way to end the series. It basically ended as the pilot ended, Fleabag on her way with the stolen bust of her mother in hand. I don't think it could've ended any better.

*I've had this in my drafts for maybe six months, started a new blog, decided to finally edit and post it. If you're reading this I hope you enjoyed it. -S*

#Fleabag #Fleabag x the Priest #Phoebe Waller-Bridge #Andrew Scott #Olivia Coleman #Amazon Prime #Sian Clifford #love #grief #friendship #TV

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atruththatyoudeny · 6 years

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Happy 1D Fanworks Appreciation Day!

I want to thank all the amazing authors and artists who make this fandom as special as it is.

Here are all the fics I read and loved this month: (this is going to be looong)

I don't want a taste (I want it all) || thedaggerrose (blessedfetish) || "Fuck me yourself you coward" AU - college - crack - humour - 3k

The AU where Harry tells Louis to go fuck himself, Louis tells Harry to fuck him himself, and Harry follows through.

Always || JamieJam93 || amnesia - references of past depression - 85k

Thousands, if not millions, of fans had been right. Harry and Louis had been in love and together for four whole years. They were 'the dream team'; the couple that made others sick while simultaneously envious.

But thousands of fans had been right about something else too. The pressure had been too much. The fame had been too much. The closet had been too much, and, four years after the pair swore to each other that nothing could break them on the night of their first kiss in 2010, they broke up.

Fast forward to 2018, on the night of One Direction's last ever concert, and Harry has yet to move on. It's not as sad as it seems-he still lives his life and, for the most part, he's happy-but he knows that Louis was his one true love and is trying to prepare himself for a life completely without the other when an accident erases Louis's mind of all of his memories. In reliving the moments with him, trying to make him remember, Harry comes to find that maybe he never really forgot them at all and maybe, like him, he hadn't moved on either.

Enjoy The Ride || 2tiedships2 || a/b/o - strangers to lovers - road trips - fluff - 11k

The one where Louis, an omega more than tired of being treated as lesser than alphas, is forced on a road trip by his beta besties only to meet Harry who might just be the alpha he never knew he wanted.

Whisper The Wind || jacaranda_bloom || strangers to lovers - surfing - fluff - 36k

The one where Louis rides an elevator that may change his life forever, Harry loves the ocean but is a terrible surfer, Liam proves not all heroes wear capes, and Niall might actually have all the answers.

A kiss to build a dream on || noellehenry || Christmas - social media - pining - 17k

Harry has a brief encounter with a handsome stranger at the local Christmas Fair, the romantic kiss they share changes everything.

Harry is determined to find his Prince Charming and sets up a tumblr blog with help from his best friend Niall, owner of the locally famous Steamin' mugs.

Let the challenge begin!

Enter the Rose Garden || angelichl || a/b/o - friends to lovers - 10k

Soft heats make omega Louis clingy. Enter alpha Harry.

I been feeling high when I touch your body || Anonymous || gym - boxing- 17k

Harry is a boxer, Louis is an architect and Liam is the worst cupid that could ever exist.

The Pink Ghost of Princess Park || objectlesson || PWP - humour - sex toys - established relationship - light dom/sub - 7k

The thought of the vibrator does not go away. It’s sitting there collecting dust all through January, and every time Harry and Louis have to leave town for a press event or a show or to record or what have you, they come back home, and it’s still there, the Pink Ghost of Princess Park, the fucking glittery haunting that Harry cannot stop thinking of Louis stuffing up his arse.

Leave Your Mark On Me || FullOnLarrie || a/b/o - restaurant - mating bond - friends with benefits - enemies to friends to lovers - 32k

When Chef Harry Styles’ unbonded Omega designation threatens to derail his career, he does the only thing he can, and goes in search of a black market bond.

You Can't Change The Rolling Tide || LiveLaughLoveLarry || sailing - enemies to friends to lovers - childhood friends - friends to lovers - 25k

Louis lives on a tiny island off the coast of England and runs a sailboat touring company. When Niall is sidelined for the summer after his knee surgery, Louis needs a temporary new partner. Who better to fill that role than Harry, recently returned to the island after five years away? Louis is pretty sure there are plenty of better options. They don't get along until they do.

Take Care Down By The Water || shyserious || fantasy - magical realism - celtic mythology - fluff - angst - 37k

Louis has spent his summers at his Granny's in the Isle of Barra for almost as long as he could remember.

This summer wasn't supposed to be any different, but the little Scottish island turned out to be harbouring more than just the gorgeous white beaches, the clear waters, and the town drunk scaremongering the foreign tourists.

Pray Till I Go Blind || el_em_en_oh_pee || religion - religion kink - demon - homophobia - blasphemy - 19k

Louis is (kind of) a preacher. Harry is (probably) a demon. Of course, nothing's as simple as that.

This is not a love story.

Nocturne || rosegoldhl || fairy tale - fantasy - action/adventure - pining - 36k

Harry is a goblin living in the woods, entirely enthralled with a human named Louis.

I'm still learning to love || literato || minor character death - kid fic - pining - fluff - light angst - 74k

An au where Harry has almost everything in the world except for the will to move on.

Tell Me Your Secrets || dimpled_halo || For A Good Time Call AU - enemies to friends to lovers - dirty talk - phone sex - humour - fluff - angst - 17k

A For a Good Time Call au where Harry and Louis get off on the wrong foot when they first meet. When dire circumstances forces them to become roommates, Harry finds out some things about Louis that he doesn't expect will help him discover some things about himself.

We come in line || starsinoureyes || The Switch AU - mpreg - fertility clinic - 19k

Harry decides to have a baby on his own, Louis doesn't agree it's a good idea but lets him do it anyway. It took seven years and Harry getting artificially inseminated for them to find each other. Louis has a secret he didn't tell Harry and it might affect their family. Also featuring: a pre-pregnancy party, fertility clinics and pregnancy scares.

Sugar, butter, flour || EmmyLouWho || Nailed it! (TV) Fusion - reality tv - pining - 5k

Louis watches Harry start to pour icing onto his half-raw, still hot cookie, and tries to hold in his groan. He isn't sure if they’ve ever had a contestant on the show who tried so hard…and yet completely failed at every single step.

You can’t rig the show to help a contestant, he tells himself. Even if they’re adorable.

dopamine || Only_angel_28 || collge/university - meet-cute - social experiments - fluff - strangers to lovers - 7k

Louis honestly doesn’t know how he gets himself into these types of situations.

Well, actually, that’s a lie. He’s doing this because he needs the money, and because he’s curious. And, okay, maybe because he might be a little bit lonely too. He has always had what his mother affectionately calls an “adventurous spirit.” Couple that with being a (tragically single) broke grad student and voila! here he is scrawling his signature on a release form provided by the university’s sociology department. Essentially, he is agreeing to snog a stranger on camera for the sake of science.

Shouldn’t be a problem, right? All he has to do is lock lips with a (hopefully) fit bloke, collect his money, and be on his way. Easy peasy. Little does he know, fate has other plans for him in the form of one adorably quirky art student who goes by the name of Harry Styles.

Best kind of bad something || wildestdreams || established relationship - angst - fluff - ambiguous/ open ending 40- k

A NorCal AU where Louis is the town troublemaker and everyone hates him except for Harry.

What, like it's hard? || starkidpatronus || Legally Blond Fusion - girl direction - enemies to friends to lovers - enemies to lovers - humour - fluff - 25k

In which Harry goes to law school to win back her man, but gets a lot more than she bargained for.

Tell Me This Is Paradise || QuickedWeen || girl direction - smut - 5k

Harry Styles has been lucky in love but unlucky in the bedroom with all of her previous boyfriends. When her best friend Niall finds out that she's never had an orgasm, she knows just what Harry needs: Louis Tomlinson. Niall sets Harry up to get sorted out.

Your rainbow will come smiling through || hazkaban || Cinderella Story AU - minor character death - bullying - fairy tale retelling - 17k

When harry isn't working at his stepfather's cafe, he's trying to make swim captain and trying to finish all his coursework on time. when he's not doing any of those things, he's talking to the boy he met on the oxford hopefuls subreddit. when they decide to meet, he's elated. he finally gets the chance to meet the boy he's been crushing on! when the day comes to meet his prince, he learns that his online crush is none other than louis tomlinson, captain of the football team and friend of his terrible stepbrothers. now harry has to decide whether telling louis the truth is the right choice or if it's better to just let sleeping dogs lie.

From, your secret admirer || flicker_album || secret admirer - Valentine's Day - tumblr - mentions of anxiety - 13k

The one where Louis is Harry's Tumblr crush so he sends him secret admirer messages for Valentine's Day

Every Story Has Its Scars, Ours Is a Brand New Start || Rearviewdreamer || strangers to lovers - hurt/comfort - domestic violence - angst - dubious consent - implied mpreg - kid fic - 62k

Life as a devoted husband and an amazing father turned out to be a little different than Louis had expected. Everyone tells him it doesn't have to be that way; that he's worth more and that he's so much stronger than any one person trying to keep him down. It's all just words though until he meets the one person who makes him truly believe it.

The Pain Is For Pleasure || lovelarry10 || BDSM - established relationship - 67k

Louis and Harry have been together for a few months. Everything is great, but there’s one question burning in the back of Louis' mind - why won’t Harry have sex with him?

I Just Wanna Get Back to Us || louiesunshine || soulmate-identifying marks - angst - post-divorce - exes to friends to lovers - mutual pining - getting back together - slow burn - 62k

Or, where Harry and Louis are divorced soulmates who are seeing each other for the first time in two years.

Soup Of The Day || jacaranda_bloom || strangers to lovers - minor injury - hurt/comfort - 20k

The Restaurant AU where Louis and Niall are chefs, Chicago is windy, and cracking the big time is harder than they ever imagined. But when a mysterious man starts grading Louis' soups by leaving little piles of rocks, could it be just the thing they need to get them on the road to success?

Bleeding Love || momentofclarity || girl direction - enemies to lovers - famous/non-famous - 27k

Louis is an animal rights activist who throws red paint at fur coat wearing it-girl Harry Styles. Then there's a crack in the surface and something new starts bleeding through.

Oh, Darling My Heart's On Fire (For You) || aiienharry || girl direction - fluff - angst - 33k

Two girls fall in love on a road trip that was supposed to last a week and a half, but it ends up feeling like a lifetime.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This || MrsStylinson || fake/pretend relationship - escort - angst - heartbreak - fluff - friends to lovers - 30k

Loosely based on The Wedding Date. Inspired by 27 Dresses. Basically, Fake Boyfriend AU with a twist. Louis' sister is unknowingly getting married to the ex who broke his heart. When faced with the prospect of turning up alone, Louis panics and hires a corporate escort named Harry. General chaos and epic jealousy ensues.

#28th appreciation #1d fanworks appreciation day #fic rec #my reads #my fic rec #monthly reads #1d fanfiction #larry fics

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anthrat · 3 years

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The Akatsuki members as high-school students

Has this been done before? Probably! Do I care? No, because these are my terrible headcanons and nobody can take them from me.

A/N: This has been in my drafts for a long time, probably since early February. I’ve been lacking motivation to do anything at all for months and lo and behold, I find this basically finished piece bar one character. I really, really want to start writing again but I’m struggling to think of ideas, so if you have any requests for future headcanons/one shots/etc feel free to slide me a message or something :)

He's definitely the generic super intelligent kid who gets straight A's in pretty much every subject. All of his notes are really well organised, he keeps bullet journals and everything is colour coded - mans notes are literal art. His handwriting is definitely beautiful, we're talking professional calligrapher here.

All of his equipment is immaculate, he cries if one of his books gets a crease or something on it somehow. If you accidentally nudge him or ruin his notes he will silently hold a grudge against you forever - he probably won't act on his grudge though, he just wants to blend in and he dislikes conflict in general.

Despite being fully aware of his intelligence he hardly ever speaks up in classes. He only really speaks when spoken to and so is renown as the token quiet kid. I also envision him as being super pretentious, although he doesn't show it he definitely thinks he's better than everyone else.

His favourite subject would be English because he enjoys analysing anything and everything. If you're friends with him he will make comments on how random pieces of media etc. are a representation of -insert important world issue or theory.- He'd also like art despite it being the only subject he's not very good at. All his art is abstract, he will draw a pink square and claim it represents a patriarchal society.

Doesn't have many friends because he isn't very talkative, spends most of his time at school alone doing schoolwork. Sees school purely as an educational setting and so doesn't see the point in making an attempt to be social.

All of his school equipment looks like it's been mauled by 300 dogs because its all second/third/fourth+ hand. Man would never pay full price for a textbook. He definitely steals all the faculty equipment too. You could fill an entire room with the amount of stationary this man has but he will NEVER lend it to anyone else. If he does lend you something it's because its either A) broken B) barely functional (so like pens which can write 2 letters before running out) or C) you're giving him something better in return/paying for it (even then he'll probably take whatever he lent you back without you realising)

He also definitely runs mini-shops in school where he'll sell stolen equipment and things like sweets/chewing gum/trendy items (he made bank when fidget spinners were a thing) for like triple what they're actually worth.

His favourite subject is definitely history (He's a crusty dusty old man so of course) but he will never admit this. He takes business and economics but hates them, he's already done all of his own research into the subjects and is only doing them to get the qualification. Definitely complains about how he already knows it all already and it's a waste of time for him to learn it again. His only conversation topic is him talking about how he's going to set up his own business as soon as he leaves school.

Is very intelligent but only gets average grades in most subjects because he refuses to try if he dislikes the subject or sees it as a waste of time.

Watched DeathNote once and now thinks he's an actual real life version of Light Yagame. Carries around his own DeathNote and threatens to write people's name in it.

Convinced that he's been bestowed with supernatural powers, whenever he speaks he does lots of flashy hand gestures, - think generic cool-dude protagonist poses - these change depending on what piece of media he's currently obsessed with. His personality also changes alongside the poses.

Basically what I'm trying to say is he's the over-saturated 'weird anime kid' with a touch of superiority complex. Although, he's super confident and has absolutely 0 shame in this fact.

Bless his little heart, he loves writing but is the definition of 'uses complicated words without knowing what they mean'. He's still decently smart though. His grades would probably be pretty average because he struggles to apply himself properly. His favourite subject would definitely be something like sociology where he can freely express his profound ideas, even if some of them are completely god awful. He'd also enjoy any subject which gives him creative freedom such as art or English.

Cannot see this lad as anything but a jock. He loves sports, lives and breathes them. He's probably a member of practically every single sports team and is surviving on the basis he has a sports scholarship of some kind.

Despite him being a jock he'd be the most approachable out of all the Akatsuki members. He's the kind of guy who no matter who you are he'd always be happy to crack jokes and talk with you. He definitely brings in way too much food, he's that dude who brings a whole mini banquet to school every day for no discernible reason. He's always happy to share though, he's definitely the kind of guy who if he saw someone sat by themselves at lunch he'd sit with them and offer them food.

His grades would be a little on the lower side because most of his free time is taken up with all his sports, however, he'd still work hard at his academics regardless. If anything this man is probably the most dedicated, he would hate the fact that he's falling behind all his classmates but at the same time would rather die than give up any of his extracurricular activities.

He'd be fairly popular because of his naturally easygoing and humorous nature, but people would rarely ever invite him to events as they'd just assume he was busy.

Konan is an absolute babe, the kindest and most caring person in the whole school. Forgotten your lunch? She'll buy you some or give you her own. Didn't do your homework? Bitch will give you hers to copy, if it's an essay or something she'll sit with you and help you write it. Looking a little upset? Konan's right there to try and cheer you up even if you aren't friends.

Despite how wonderful and 100/10 a person she is she probably won't have many close friends. She'll get used a lot by others who take advantage of her good nature. She's smart enough to know what they're doing but she doesn't care, she's happy to be of help to anyone even if they don't appreciate it.

She's a bit of a teachers pet though, she's on super good terms with every teacher in the school even if she doesn't take the subjects they teach. Most of her breaks/lunches would be taken up by her helping with display boards or whatever.

Her favourite subject would be geography, she'd really enjoy learning about different cultures and societies. I can see her just really enjoying learning about how rivers are formed and stuff like that as well. Her least favourite would be something like math which is only fact based, she enjoys being able to look at things from different perspectives.

Also bitch would bake all the time, literally every lesson she'd whip out a box of cakes/cookies/anything else she'd baked the night before to share with the whole class.

Carries knives around with him because he thinks they make him look cool. He can and will whip one out at any given opportunity so he can flex a knife trick on you. His knife tricks suck though, he always drops them or cuts himself, if you try and walk away he'll beg you to stay claiming that fortieth time's the charm or something.

He never shows up to lessons, he doesn't even know what one is. If you ever ask him what subjects he takes he'll look at you blankly and ask what you mean. If he ever is in a lesson it's because he was dragged there by a member of staff. Honestly, the few lessons he's actually present for are so chaotic teachers find themselves praying he doesn't show up. Being as he never willingly shows up he'll never know what subject it is, and he'll ask insanely bizarre questions un-ironically because he gives no fucks and has no idea what is happening. For example, you'll be learning about arteries in biology and he'll ask something like "What ingredients do we need?" because he'll have confused arteries with artichoke and think he's in a home economics lesson.

Despite being the weird knife kid he's pretty popular, he's so completely brain dead and unaware of his surroundings that its impossible not to get along with him. He doesn't have the critical thought to bully anyone and so even if he tries to be horrible it always comes off as though he's just trying to be funny.

Oh dear oh lord what can I say about Zetsu? Zetsu is an absolute shit show of a student. Black Zetsu I can see as being very academic focussed, with their favourite subjects being religion, politics and some form of economics. I imagine they’d be very active within school politics/religious scenes, probably the head of some sort of group for both.

Black Zetsu would also be interested in applying for positions such as Head of Year, Class Representative and anything similar. They’re a big control freak and as a result have basically 0 friends. People would find them overbearing and awful to be around. They’re the incredibly opinionated kid who dismisses anything which they don’t personally agree with.

White Zetsu on the over hand, hoo boy. Class clown obviously. The living bane of Black Zetsu. If Black Zetsu wants class representative then you know people will vote for white Zetsu instead because he’s infinitely more popular. He’s incredibly weird but in such an innocent and goofy way they’d have a large group of friends. They wouldn’t be popular per say, but they’d be friends with practically everyone.

Their favourite subject would probably be biology because sex jokes, but I also think they’d enjoy English because uhh… Sex jokes. I just can’t see White Zetsu taking school even slightly seriously.

He basically lives in the art department. If you walk near him he will tag along and start talking to you about art, it doesn’t matter who you are you will be forced to listen to his speech.

Incredibly confident and has no issue starting a conversation with anyone. He's definitely the type of person who every time you see him he'd be with a completely different group of people, whether they want him there or not.

Despite his weird constant art rants he'd be the life and soul of the party. He's always fun to be around purely because of how much energy he has. He'd be the kid who makes everyone laugh completely on accident, although people would probably be laughing more at him than with him.

He'd probably get invited to lots of places by other kids just so he could be the butt of every joke. He wouldn't mind though, he'd brush it off and probably enjoy the attention he gets from it.

Most of his friends would end up being people who know nothing about art though, all the students who participated in any artistic subjects would stay far away in fear of him starting another argument about art.

If the art class ever does clay his has to be put in the kiln separately because it always blows up. He also has a habit of 'accidentally' damaging other people's art if he dislikes it. Eventually he would mellow out and start appreciating other forms.

Nobody knows who he is, people will have sat next to him for years and won't even know his name. The amount of times his name is called in the register and people will pipe up with "who's that?" or "didn't he move to another school?" is genuinely concerning. He doesn't care though, he'd rather go through school completely unnoticed.

Excels at all subjects (besides sports, he's never showed up to a PE lesson because of 'health reasons') despite putting very little effort into academics. His favourite subjects would be biology and math. He'd absolutely hate art as a subject, preferring to do art in his free time rather than make it into a chore at school. He'd have been put in Deidara's class at least once and it would have completely ruined all enjoyment of art as a subject for him. He'd also hate any subjects which prompt discussion such as English or sociology, he doesn't have any opinions on them and he doesn't care to listen to anyone else's.

Honestly, dude is the definition of a background character at school. He just simply does not exist, and I have mad respect for him. On the off chance anyone even tried to speak to him he'd probably completely ignore them, the only communication he has at school is through emails with teachers. He has 0 interest in making friends when they have nothing in common with him.

Another character sort of hard to pinpoint. He’d probably be somewhat similar to White Zetsu, but not quite as popular. He’d be a right teachers pet, with few friends his own age. He’d probably spend spend all his breaks and lunches with teachers in their classrooms, offering to help them with display boards etc.

Despite being a teachers pet he wouldn’t be academic whatsoever. He’d always try his best but bless him, he’s terrible at every subject and ends up constantly making a fool of himself. He’s definitely the sort to raise his hand to make a really great point, but his really great point is basically repeating the lesson objective. When studying of mice of men he definitely asked “what’s the name of Curly’s wife’s husband?”

His favourite subject, regardless of his ineptitude would be drama. He’d always be the most melodramatic and over the top in every character he played, not really caring what other people thought of him. In fact, that’s probably his best feature. Despite his lack of popularity he’d always unapologetically be himself, his goofy and over the top self.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

If we’re thinking more about Obito, I’d like to imagine for the sake of this headcanon Tobi is what he’s like during lower school years and then suddenly one summer he comes back and he’s completely matured into this foreign character unrecognisable to nobody.

He’d become incredibly serious, forgoing the role of energetic teachers pet to a much more muted one. He’d still be just as terrible at all his lessons, and still spend most of his time around teachers rather than others his age but he’d no longer have that fun spark. He’d probably start caring greatly about what people thought of him so his latter years would be trying to stay under the radar completely.

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