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nctsjiho · 3 years

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Heart-to-Heart

warnings: mentions of the pandemic and about mental health, but we don’t go deep into the topic (I hope you are pulling through loves🤍💚🤍 Stay healthy!)

❀ JiHo opens up about her past and how she’s currently feeling

JiHo waits a few seconds for the comments to roll in to make sure she’s live before bringing her hand up and waving at the camera. She looks a lot more tired than normal, but that could be because it was currently 3 in the morning.

It looks like she’s sitting on a couch or maybe even her bed with her knees close to her sweater clad chest. The hood of the sweater hiding her hair and ears with the strings tied tightly at the neckline.

“Why are you awake this early?” She hums after reading the question. A smile starting to form on her lips before she answers. “I’ve been up all night playing games with Haechan, Chenle and Jeno.” She chuckles.

“Everyone. My hair has become so long.” JiHo starts to undo the strings of her hoodie and uncovers her head. Her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail, which she also undoes to show her hair longer than it had ever been (during her time in NCT at least). The strands of hair fall to her chest and she cards her hands trough it. “I would usually cut it by now, but I’m too lazy to go to the salon.” She sheepishly grins. “And I’m actually starting to like it a little, what do you guys think?”

It’s been a while since the fans had seen JiHo’s hair like this. Messy with her natural curls much more visible. “I love your hair unnie!” JiHo laughs at the comment before thanking the fan. “I like your short hair, but the long hair is also really pretty.”

“Did you celebrate Ten’s birthday?” She reads out. “There’s a lot of birthdays in February so I tried to do something for every birthday boy. I’ve already wished Ten a happy birthday and gave him his gift, but this year I could only really celebrate with the boys who I live with.” She nods to herself, hoping the fans would understand.

While reading comments on her phone a creaking noise could be heard, JiHo’s gaze moving to her side. “Is there something?” She asks, followed by footsteps that become gradually louder. “I saw the light from the hallway so I wanted to make sure you didn’t fall asleep with the lights on.” It was Taeyong’s voice. The girl nods and then looks at the screen in front of her. Taeyong moves into frame while asking if she was live on V App. “Yes, I was playing with the dreamies earlier and then wanted to go live for a little.” She explains and the leader hums in reply. “Don’t stay up too late okay? Bye everyone.” Taeyong leaves, but not before patting JiHo on the shoulder, somewhat using the girl’s shoulder as leverage to help him stand up.

“How are you today?” An English comment catches JiHo’s eye and she reads it out loud. A deep sigh leaves her lips and she looks back into the camera. “It’s not that I’m feeling bad, I’m just really tired lately. I got sick before our gimme gimme comeback because I was so exhausted. But don’t worry I’m better now. I just think the situation we’re in right now with the pandemic is taking a toll on my body and mental health. Luckily I have NCT with me and they all try to help each other feel better.” A genuine smile covers the slight frown she sported while talking. “I’m not an expert and I’m pretty bad at giving advice, but if you’re feeling down please reach out to someone. They might not be able to help much either, but just talking about how you feel is so much better than keeping everything to yourself. I also hope that NCT can be a light in your day whenever you feel down. We still have a lot of content going out on YouTube and our music is always there for you to listen to.”

The live stream had really taken a turn. With JiHo reading out a lot of comments and sympathising with the fans, every now and than trying to lighten the mood by cracking a dumb joke. The jokes were never funny, but JiHo was slowly getting sleep-drunk and everything started to seem funny to her. Despite that she couldn’t change the overall mood of the V Live, with comments still as sombre as before.

“I live with my roommates but I still feel lonely, sometimes I just miss my family.” As she reads the comment, something in JiHo’s eyes changes. Her soft expression falls into almost a frown, the word ‘family’ coming out as only a whisper. It’s quiet for the next minute or so, the fans clearly picking up on something as comments flood in about her family or asking if everything was alright.

It’s clear that the girl is trying to hide her true feelings as she forces a smile back on her face.”Don’t worry everyone, I’m fine.” She laughs softly. “I’ve never talked about my family right?” JiHo can’t even keep her eyes on the camera. “I don’t really talk to them a lot.” She realises how people could misinterpret the meaning behind those words and shoots up in her seat. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not on bad terms with my family. I’m just not really close to them either.”

“I moved to Korea on my own when I was almost 14, I spent that birthday here with some of the trainees I used to live with.” She smiles at the fond memory and the fans in the comments seem to be more at ease after seeing her smile so genuinely. “Before that I used to live with my grandparents for most of my life. So I’m closest to them, and I call them at least once a month. It used to be a lot more but now I usually just message them.”

“I have a lot of friends in France though and we video chat a lot.” She laughs and tells a story about a late night video call session where they played Jack Box together. “I do miss them a lot, so I hope I get to see them in real life after the pandemic is over.”

“What about your parents? My parents? It’s a bit complicated.” She takes a deep breath before speaking again. “I lived with them for 4 years before my mother got really sick. She needed special treatment, and my dad got a big job opportunity. The moved together because she’d be closer to a hospital where they could help her even better. That’s when i moved in with my grandparents and I could stay close to my friends and the rest of my family.”

“When I was 11, my mother was healthy again and so we all moved back in together close to my grandparent’s home. It was a little awkward at first.” JiHo brings her hand up to scratch her scalp, her head drooping down for a second. “I only lived with them for 2 more years before I got scouted, so we didn’t get really close again. But they were always so supportive of me, so they still feel like my real parents.”

“They even host parties every now and then to celebrate new albums or milestones NCT achieves, and then they’ll send me pictures and tell me that they are proud of me.” The fans who were all listening intently had resorted to spamming the comments with hearts and an occasional ‘aww’. “I sometimes think that if I didn’t get scouted I’d be really close to my parents now and I’d have such an amazing childhood. Not that I haven’t had a great childhood already.”

That last comment had just left her mouth without much thought and people started to fill the comments with questions again. “Don’t say that, otherwise NCT wouldn’t have you in it” JiHo laughs before explaining herself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I think getting scouted is the best thing that ever happened to me. NCT and Czennie are like my second family. Please forgive me.” She brings her palms together in front of her face and bows, a bright smile clearly visible. JiHo then moves her hands away from each other before twisting her fingers into 2 finger-hearts. “I love you guys.”

Though she didn’t tell the fans everything about her past and her life in France was still a big mystery, everyone seemed pleased to know more about their neo girl. JiHo, herself, even felt a bit relieved like she lifted a big weight off her shoulders by telling her about her past and how she was feeling.

She knew now that she could trust her fans with a few more personal things. What she didn’t know though, was that her roommates had also been watching her live stream and just as she was about to end the stream on a high note, 4 boys barge in her room, with the tallest and the youngest of the four launching themselves on the girl.

“Ack-” She shrieks, surprised by the sudden appearance of her roommates. “What’s going on?” “Hmm, I’m so proud of you!” Haechan had JiHo’s shoulders locked in his arms and he was squeezing her tightly. “We’re all proud of you.” Doyoung had said from behind the camera.

The girl rests her head against Johnny’s chest, acting as if she was trying to get as far as possible from her same-aged-friend who was still holding on to her. “Okay! Okay! I think we’re good now. You guys can leave.” JiHo shoos the boys away and Johnny takes the hint, ruffling the girls hair before leaving with the 2 men who weren’t trying to suffocate the youngest. “Haechan~” She whines and the boy mutters something about letting him do his thing a little longer.

She had managed to wedge her hand out his hold and started to push him by his chest and head. When she realised he wasn’t budging she just gave up, her body going limp and now she was almost leaning into his embrace. “Czennie, see what I have to live with. He only hugs me on camera, otherwise he’s only bullying me.” Haechan gasps letting the girl go. “The audacity! JiHo is a liar.” He places his hands on his chest where his heart would be and feigns being hurt. He gets a shake of JiHo’s head in response before she ends her stream by telling the fans that they should take care of themselves and their loved ones.

#jiho.video #nct 24th member #nct addition #nct fluff #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct female member #nct extra member #nct additional member #kpop!addition #kpop!oc #kpop imagines

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pretend-writer · 3 years

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Kids Of The Future (Chapter 4)

Mini-Series

Summary: After time traveling from the apocalypse in 2019, a surprise waits for Diego and Y/N as they arrive at Dallas, Texas circa 1960.

Pairing: Hargreeves x sibling!reader, Diego Hargreeves x reader

Word Count: 2k words

Warning: mention of violence

✤ · ✤ · ✤ · ✤ · ✤

Licking my lips, I stared at The Handler with curious eyes. It scared me that this woman that I only knew through Five knew my name, and wanted to make some kind of deal with me.

Five told us stories about how shady this woman can be and knowing how smart our genius brother was, I trusted everything that he said.

Being very hesitant of hearing her out, I became cautious. ‘What do you want from me?’

‘Nothing really, well nothing that is yours.’ The Handler inhaled the smoke from the cigar, smirking at me as if she was plotting something against me. The look in her eyes already made me not trust her.

It probably had been about two minutes that we just looked into each other eyes; The Handler was watching me think, seemed as if she was trying to play mind games with me.

As she exhaled the smoke back out, she chuckled lightly. ‘What are you thinking something so deeply for? I’ll give you something in exchange of course.’

‘You should’ve led with that, honestly.’ I sighed, the stress somewhat was relieved from hearing that. ‘What are you giving me?’

‘The briefcase. I know you and your family are trying to go back to your timeline.’

I shook my head and started laughing, ‘You’re kidding me right? Surely someone evil like you wouldn’t pass me something that is as important as the briefcase. You’re bluffing.’

‘Evil? Is that what Five says about me? I’m a little hurt.’ The Handler rolled her eyes, ‘Trust me. What I want from you is as valuable as the stupid briefcase.’

‘If it’s stupid why don’t you just let us go back to our own time? You out of all people know we don’t belong here.’

‘Don’t you want to earn the briefcase?’

‘No. I prefer to have it for free especially because I don’t know what the hell you want from me.’

The Handler smiled at me, ‘I want her.’

‘Who? Allison and Vanya is coming home with us, are you crazy?’

‘I don’t want your siblings. Five was a pain in the ass, I can’t imagine having you guys at the commission. I want that kid of yours.’

My heart dropped immediately, I didn’t know whether to cry or get angry. ‘W-what do you want with Bel?’

‘You give her to me, I’ll give you the briefcase. I think it’s a win-win situation for you if you ask me. You don’t have to babysit someone’s kid anymore.’

‘What makes you think I’ll hand her to you so easily for a fucking briefcase?’

‘You have Five as a brother, I know you will. And like you said, you all don’t belong to this timeline.’

I loved Bel as if she was my daughter, we’ve spent time together for nearly three years. Diego and I basically raised her, she even called us mom and dad. Why was it that all of the sudden this woman wanted her? No one tried to take her back three years ago, she was my daughter and I would never let her go.

‘What do you want with her?!’ I screamed out loud, tears slowly falling down my eyes. I didn’t mean to yell at The Handler but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t trust this woman one single bit and knowing that she was after Bel scared me.

The door to the salon opened, revealing Diego that had a worried look on his face. ‘Everything okay here?’

I turned the other way, hiding my face from Diego. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me cry and worry about this. ‘I’m fine, Diego.’

‘Who are you?’ Diego asked The Handler.

She replied with just a hum, ignoring his question. ‘Y/N, think about it.’

‘Fuck you.’

‘Whatever you say, Hargreeves. I’ll see you very soon.’ The Handler walked away into the darkness. Frankly, I never wanted to see her again.

‘Y/N, who is she?’ Diego asked me this time, placing his hand on my shoulder.

Quickly swiping it away, I turned the other way to the other side of the road. I needed time to think, time to understand why this woman that Five thought so disgustingly about would ever want anything to do with my baby.

Diego pov;

Y/N walked away from me, I could tell she was crying when I saw her cheeks were wet before she turned away from me.

I still didn't know who that woman was and it terrified me that she did or said something that made Y/N so upset.

'Can you talk to me please?' I tried a different approach, hoping that she would answer my question.

'It doesn't matter.' Her voice was shaky, staring at nothing into the dark alley.

'Something is upsetting you though, it matters to me.'

She turned around to face me, avoiding eye contact not that it mattered because the streetlight was so dim I barely saw anything.

'Come on baby, we're a team. Tell me what's wrong.' Y/N was an emotional drunk and this day determined that. She was never the type of person to express her feelings as much as she did tonight.

It made me imagine how much of it all she kept it inside; our brutal childhood with Reginald, the times when we called each other and told me she was fine. I always knew Y/N was strong but seeing how helpless she was, I wanted to save her.

Y/N rushed inside back to the salon, disappeared right in front of me in a blink of an eye. Following her, I saw the others questioning Y/N what she was doing. She didn’t respond to any of them, it was as if she couldn’t hear anything they were saying. Next thing I knew, she bolted right out the door and started to run.

All of us rushed outside and followed her, Luther calling out her name to get her attention. She continued to ignore us, continued to run away far from us.

'Diego, what did you say to her?' Allison asked as we all walked back into the salon.

'I didn't do shit! She was talking to some lady outside an-'

'What lady?!' Five jumped up his seats and screamed.

'Five, when did you get he-'

He got closer, screamed at a louder voice as he got into my face. 'I said, what lady was talking to her?'

'White hair, overly dressed with a hat on her head-'

'Was she smoking?'

I rolled my eyes.' Dude if you would have let me finish talking, you coul-'

'Diego, shut up and just answer the damn question!' I knew Five was an ass but him screaming in my face did not make me want to help him at all.

'Yes! She was, damn.'

'What did The Handler tell her?'

The Handler? She was the crazy lady Five told us about when he came back from the future, said that he had worked for her. ‘I-I don’t know. By the time I walked outside, they were done talking.’

Five groaned, rolling his eyes and crossed his arms. 'Great, now it's going to take us forever to find Y/N before we make a plan on how to get the damn briefcase.'

'Surely, she's coming back right?' Klaus said, 'Or we can think of where she might of went to.'

'You sure you don’t know where she’s off to? It seemed like she was rushing somewhere.' Luther turned to me.

'Nope. All I know is that that woman talked her and she got upset. I asked her what's wrong but she didn't tell me anything.'

'Or you made her upset when she stormed out the alley in the first place.' Allison crossed her arms.

I looked over at her, shaking my head. 'Why would you think I made her upset?'

Vanya bit her lip, 'You know we can hear your conversation right? You two were sitting right there.'

'Okay, fine. I said something so stupid, you guys happy now?'

'You're probably the dumbest person ever. You had the girl for three years and yet you two are still basically roommates.' Klaus laughed.

I stared at my brother as he chuckled to himself, not to mention others were lightly laughing as well. It wasn't my fault that I was scared to try to act on my feelings.

'Can we just try to find her, please? I'm actually worried.'

'We should probably split up and look for her.' Luther suggested.

'No, I think I know where she is. Maybe.' There was a place she would go whenever she was upset, I noticed at night sometimes she would sneak out. Y/N probably thought I didn't know but occasionally I'd follow her to make sure she was alright.

If she wasn’t looking for anything that The Handler told her, surely she’d be at her favorite spot. At least I hope she was.

'Well, I'll go. Tell me where it is.' Allison hopped in.

Five stood next to Allison, 'Same here. If The Handler talked to Y/N, I need to know what she told her.'

'Oh, how nice of you to worry about her.' Klaus commented.

'No, I'm going to go look for her. You can come with but-'

'Diego, no offense but we don't know exactly why she's upset. It'll be better if you didn't come.' Allison bit her lip, I knew she meant well but not being able to help Y/N made me upset.

y/n pov;

Angrily I threw rocks into the river, watching it go straight down into the water without skipping.

'Mama, you're terrible at skipping rocks.'

Looking over at Bel, I laughed. 'Yeah I know. I was never good at it.'

Bel took some of the rocks on the ground, trying to mimic me. Just a thought of losing her made my stomach turn, nothing will make me ever lose her.

'I'm sorry you're up this late at night, I really missed you and wanted to pick you up from Sarah's.'

'It's okay, I'm not tired!' Bel smiled, still trying to skip rocks.

'Y/N!' Allison called my name from behind, walking towards me in a fast pace. ‘Diego said you’d be here. Are you okay?’

My sister sat next to me, hugging me from the side. ‘You had us worried, you know? Something about The Handler?’

‘Yeah, Five wouldn’t shut up about it. Told him not to come with because I know he’d be drowning you with questions.’ Klaus joined in, having a seat next to Bel as he mumbled and played with her.

‘I’m sorry, I was just really angry and I had to leave.’

‘Was it Diego? He always have some shit to say.’ Klaus joked.

‘Uncle Klaus, that’s a bad word!’ Belinda gasped, covering her mouth.

His eyebrows rose, ‘Don’t tell your dad. He would kill me if he found out I swore in front of you.’

Allison and I giggled in unison, watching how great Klaus was with my daughter. ‘So where’s Diego?’

‘We didn’t know if you were upset about the lady or the stupid thing Diego said to you. So we told him not to come with.’

‘Yeah he was pis-’ Klaus looked at Bel as he paused. ‘I mean, he was really really angry.’

‘Good, that’s what he gets.’ I huffed, still upset about what he said earlier.

Allison nudged me, trying to get my attention as she muttered lightly. ‘So which one is it?’

I whispered back to her, hoping Bel doesn’t hear me. ‘She wants my baby, Allison.’

Her expression fell, immediately grabbing onto my hand. I knew that Allison felt sympathy for me as she had a daughter of her own. ‘Why? What does she want with her?’

‘I don’t know but no one is taking her away from me.’ It had hurt me to hear what The Handler had said to me but saying it out loud made me feel worse. The fact that I had to even say such thing made me sad and angry.

‘You have us, you and Diego aren’t alone anymore.’ Allison smiled, ‘We’re going to protect her and do whatever it takes. I promise you, Y/N.’

#tua fics #the umbrella academy fics #tua series #n.8!reader #number eight fic #number eight!reader #diego hargreeves x reader!reader #the umbrella academy series #hargreeves x sister!reader #diego hargreeves x reader

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sociallyawkwardfoxwriter · 3 years

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Widofjord prompt! Somewhat based on numbers 81 and 82 of that 101 ways to say i love you list. Fjord teaching himself some basic Zemnian because he knows Caleb is homesick, and it's not like he can go back to Blumenthal, so if he at least had something that made him feel closer...

I couldn’t for the life of me find the list this was based on. At least, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the one I did find...

Enjoy!

When he finally left the bathroom, he expected to find Fjord lounging in their bed or tending to his armor. Instead, he found their bedroom empty along with the sitting room and no sign of Fjord even being there. Even in the time it took him to dig out comfortable sleepwear and braid his hair, Fjord never appeared.

The soft click of the door shutting behind him echoed through the quiet tower. Everyone else had retired to their rooms long ago, which made Fjord's absence all the more confusing. That confusion only increased when he drifted past the salon on the way to the great hall-where he expected to find Fjord. Seeing him hunched over with a quill in hand one hand and the other flipping through a book as he mumbled under his breath hadn't been at all what he expected.

After a moment of simply standing, he landed on the floor and quietly moved to stand next to him so he could place a hand between his shoulder blades. The surprised jerk caused a dark line to scratch across the page that drew a laugh from him that he immediately felt bad for. Fjord's wide eyes turned to him full of hurt confusion that shifted to horror. He instantly let his hand dropped and took several steps away from him, only for Fjord to quickly rush out of his seat and wrap his arms around his waist to draw him in.

"What are you doing down here?" His head started to turn to look over his shoulder, but aborted with a jerk.

"Looking for you. I thought you would be upstairs."

"I'm sorry. I lost track of time. Go to bed. I'll be right up."

"I don't want to rush you."

"It's fine. I was just about to wrap up."

"Wrap up what?"

A blushed began to darken Fjord's cheeks as he looked anywhere, but in his eyes. "Nothing you need to worry about. Just something I've been working on."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Before he could slip out of Fjord's hold, the arms around him tightened and dragged him toward the table. "Don't sound like that."

"Like what?"

"All sad."

"I'm not sad."

"You look like I kicked you cat."

"Like I want to kill you? I don't want to kill you."

"Of course you don't look like you want to kill me."

He let out a tired sigh as Fjord continued to drag him closer to the table. "Then what is the problem? I'm exhausted. I want to go to bed. If there's nothing to talk about, I would like to do that."

"You can go to bed. It's not like-"

"Fjord, make up your mind please. I would love to hear about what you are doing, but I am not going to pressure you. If you're not ready or never will be, please let me go to bed."

"It's just... I'm not sure you'll like it."

"Why would you be worried about that?" He gently brushed Fjord's hair out of his face, only to pause when he held up a small book he remembered from his childhood. "What are you doing with that?"

"I thought I would try to learn, but I'm not very good at it. I know you miss home and this is something I could try to do to make you feel a little more connected. I've been trying for months. Beau said she couldn't even understand me because it was that bad."

"My mother used this to help me learn. It's easier with another person, and a book that doesn't require a fancy tower to exist."

"I was going to pick one up, but we haven't had the time."

"How about we find one together the next time we get the chance? Until then, we can make our own."

"I didn't want this to turn into more work for you."

He gently cradled Fjord's jaw in his hands with a soft smile. "Fjord, I love my language. The fact you are willing to learn it to make me feel more at home is incredibly sweet. I would love to be part of that."

"It would be easier with a teacher."

"Ja?"

"Ja."

"We'll work on it." With a smile, he pushed up to press a kiss to Fjord's lips that he sighed into. "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you, too."

#anon #critical role #widofjord #caleb widogst #fjord #fluff #prompt fill #fanfic

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kissestothesky · 4 years

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Some crushes just never went away |Jeon Jungkook|

Ok ... this is my first time writing here something that is not part of my headcanon universe. I hope you like it! This series will be in the style of "Skam" —if you haven't seen the series, especially the Spanish version, you don't know what you're missing, it's awesome!— so instead of chapters there will be small scenes from different moments of the day.

FRIDAY, 06:37 pm

"Red is just not my color" You said as Kijung reached down to paint the nails on your left foot.

"Shut up! It is, you're just used to your good girl white polish" She replied.

You looked at your right foot. It looked like a baby foot, all plump and tiny. Across the room, Olivia was chewing gum outrageously, flipping through an old gossip magazine. Kijung's mother had dumped it that afternoon, while she was waiting for her daughter to finish washing Ms. Keller's hair. You and Olivia had arrived early, as Kijung had requested, so that she could escape from helping her mother in the hair salon that they had in the garage. For some reason, Olivia had always been obsessed with European monarchies and could not help but remove it from the bin when she saw the princess of some country photographed with a mysterious man.

"Red looks good on you" Olivia said without looking up. "Besides, it’s sexy. You should wear red lips too. And the black dress I bought last week. You'll have all the guys drooling over you".

"You should stop trying to play dolls with me, honestly" You told both of them. "Skinny jeans and a crop top, it’s as wild as it’s going to get”

"The girl next door look was fine when we went to high school" Kijung began, pointing at you with the brush. "But now we are going to college, we are adults. You should step up your game, wear sexy clothes, hang out with guys, fuck them ... just enjoy life".

"Yep" Olivia agreed. "You definitely should step up your game, dude!"

You rolled your eyes. It was not the first time you had that conversation; at that point it was already something regular. It felt like every time you got ready to go to a party the three of you followed a bad script.

"What is it that you have to step up?"

The three of you turned your head toward the living room door. Jungkook, Kijung's older brother, leaned against the door frame carelessly and took a sip of his water.

"Geez, Jungkook!" Kijung complained "You scared the shit out of me"

"We were telling our lady in red that she should step up her game" Olivia rushed to answer. "Otherwise there will be no way for her to find a boyfriend"

“Boyfriend?”

"When have we talked about boyfriends?"

Jungkook and you spoke at the same time. His eyes met yours. He had raised eyebrows and a shocked expression, as if the possibility that you could have a partner was ridiculous. You looked down, grateful that your hair covered your ears.

You knew the Jeon family since the day you were born. It was actually one of those stories that both families explained each time they got together. Your mother and Kijung's mother gave birth to you on the same day, barely five minutes apart, and they had shared a room during their stay in the hospital. They hit it off so well that they became great friends, making you and the Jeon siblings grow up together, almost like family. Almost, almost because you had developed a crush on Jungkook in your childhood, which had continued into your adolescence and, despite having spent two years apart, apparently it would also remain during your young adult years.

Olivia started talking to Jungkook, something about bowling, but you were too busy trying to look in any direction other than towards him to listen. And you weren't in the mood to listen to your friend trying to flirt with him, not when for you that was off limits.

"Stop doing that" you said to Olivia, when Jungkook had left.

"Do what?" She asked going back to her magazine.

"Talk about me like I'm not there"

"You're so dramatic," Olivia whispered.

"No, I'm not. I just don't like you talking about my love life, that's all."

"It's just Jungkook. It's not that big of a deal" Kijung tried to fix it.

"What love life?" Olivia snapped.

“Yeah… What love life?” You muttered blankly.

Sometimes you wished that Olivia, despite how much you loved her, would choke on her own venom.

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allthefilmsiveseenforfree · 3 years

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Connie and Carla

I know nothing about this film requested by Chad other than the following facts: It was Nia Vardalos’s follow-up to the indie smash hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and it was universally reviled by audiences and critics alike. So I’m in for a fun afternoon! The plot is your basic Some Like It Hot ripoff - Connie (Vardalos) and Carla (Toni Collette) are childhood best friends who have spent their whole lives performing together, believing they are destined for musical theater greatness. After witnessing a murder, they go on the run and hide out in the last place anyone would think to look for them - as women pretending to be men pretending to be women, aka performers in a drag queen bar in L.A. Everything’s going great until a BOY shows up (David Duchovny), and Connie falls for him. Gender gags, musical theater numbers, mistaken identify, Russian mobsters, hijinks - yeah, we’ve all drunk this cocktail before. So was this top shelf, or something found in a plastic jug at the gas station? Well...

How about a mid-level ridiculous flavored vodka? Like Pinnacle Whipped Cream or something. The film’s conceptions of gender (and of straight women’s feelings of entitlement to what should be LGBTQ spaces) are not my favorite. But its heart is in the right place and overall this leads to something pretty fun and charming, especially if you happen to love musical theater.

Some thoughts:

If there were an airport lounge where I could watch two sad 30-somethings singing a medley of musical theater’s greatest hits, I would go there every day. I wouldn’t even book a flight, that would just be my favorite bar. I think I would go broke driving to the airport every day and buying drinks in this lounge. I’d have my birthday party there.

Oh I love Greg Gruenberg in a bit part as the cheesy celebrity bus tour guide in L.A.

Hello David Duchovny as Jeff! He was my first celebrity crush, and his aw shucks nice guy thing in this movie is really working for me.

This is wildly offensive to drag queens not because of stereotypes, but because no drag act would ever come so ill-prepared with a Rocky Horror number. I recognize that in 2004 we didn’t have over a decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race under our belts, but c’mon, even the most sheltered Midwestern queer would come with something better than this.

Is this supposed to be some kind of feminist statement about beauty standards in L.A.? This anti-botox rant Connie and Carla go on, and the makeover of the woman in the salon - no no no, straight hair and beige lipstick is Bad but curly hair and lip liner is Good. It feels confusing that we’re supposed to see this as empowering when we’re just trading one commodified flavor of femininity for another.

There’s something that just feels deeply wrong about these women taking one of the only paying drag gigs in town, particularly when actual drag performers come to them and beg them to open up their act to include other drag queens. Note that they all offer up tangible skills - I can sew a dress in 3 hours, I can do incredible makeup, I’ve got great choreography. Yes Connie and Carla can sing, but drag is meant to be performative - the artifice is part of what makes it an art form. Smarter queer people than me have written about this, but even for the uneducated, there’s something about this concept that feels off, wrong and exploitative, and deeply rooted in straight privilege. It’s the same icky feeling I get at the gay bar when all the seats for the drag show are taken up by straight women’s bachelorette parties, while actual queer women and men who came to see the show are pushed to standing room.

Ok, I do kind of love these interludes with Tibor (Boris McGiver) looking for the girls in every dinner theater and Broadway show in the country and the only show playing is Mame every time. Fun fact - McGiver’s father actually starred in the 1974 version of Mame!

Feels a little weird that Connie is the one who is explaining to Jeff why drag queens “like to dress up.” Is this being an ally or just erasing and talking over queer folks’ experiences? This is what I mean when I say it feels off - I don’t think it’s malicious, but the way the film handles queer stories feels like a dismissal, an invalidation. Like these straight women can do queer camp better than these gay men.

Did Carla literally just say “I need to get out of this closet”????

Connie is literally the worst at maintaining a cover. The trappings of fame are proving too alluring!

As far as performances go, Collette and Vardalos have great chemistry, and Duchovny is being pretty dreamy as the romantic lead who’s around because he’s trying to reconnect with his estranged brother, Robert (Stephen Spinella). Nobody is winning an acting award for this, but Collette especially is a lot of bubbly fun.

Jeff is a difficult character to grapple with. On the one hand, he doesn’t always handle Robert’s sexuality with grace or compassion, and that can be difficult to watch as a queer person because we all have experienced that same kind of look, that tone of “why can’t you just be normal?” However, he’s putting in an honest effort to grow, and I think that should count for something. Also he straight up gets sexually assaulted by Connie, so I don’t blame him for having a hard time feeling comfortable around the drag queen scene. And that’s another fucked up thing, just adding to the “gay men are predatory and will put the moves on straight guys at the first chance” stereotype.

Even though it sounds cringey as hell when he says it, I’m sure it is probably cathartic for any gay kid who stumbles across this movie and hears Jeff make his big speech about “I should have just loved you and accepted you and not cared about the fact that you wear dresses.” That’s what I mean when I say the script seems to have its heart in the right place even though the way it’s expressing a lot of these ideas just reinforces the status quo rather than interrogating it, or propping up the stories of people who live outside that status quo.

My god, do I love Debbie Reynolds in this head-to-toe red glitter number.

Yeah I don’t think all these queens would take this kindly to being lied to and having their act infiltrated by a couple of straight women. Like this feels laughably “all’s well that ends well.”

Did I Cry? Ok, a tear slipped out when Jeff and Robert hugged for the first time.

This was a very interesting watch. I know I seem to be dragging this shit out of this movie, but I actually largely enjoyed the experience of watching it. It’s got a very 2004-esque view of some complex gender and sexuality issues (and wouldn’t it have been so much more interesting if a queer person had written this and was able to use it to interrogate issues of femininity and its performance as it relates to queerness?). BUT, honestly, the whole thing is Shakespearean in its plot and its broad strokes characters. You’ve got crossdressing, mistaken identity, some light gay panic, long lost brothers reuniting - all that’s missing is a Duke and a forest setting, and you’ve got half of Shakespeare’s comedies right there. And much like Shakespeare, there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before - it’s the medium parts of Some Like It Hot, the general plot of Sister Act (swap nuns for drag queens), the gender panic of every cross-dressing movie. All very surface-level stuff but there’s a reason these same kind of stories have been putting butts in seats for 400 years.

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#121in2021 #connie and carla #connie and carla review #nia vardalos #toni collette #david duchovny #movie reviews #film reviews #patreon review

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superborb · 3 years

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Haircuts, a ramble

Today I got a haircut (pics on twitter), and the shampooing / head massage part of things always reminds me of China.

For reasons unexplained or immediately forgotten, we weren't to wash our hair in the apartment. Instead, we'd go to the hair salon a short walk away from the group of apartment buildings. As it was inevitably the summer when we were in China, I'd want to go a lot, despite having to go through the sticky heat to get there. Anyway, at 10 yuan, which at the time was only a little over 1 USD, for a nice shampoo and a mini massage, it was totally worth it. Unlike the US, the massage was longer and more forceful and they did your arms too. Honestly one of the things I most miss about China (mostly joking).

While I was thinking about haircuts, I also remembered that as a child, we'd go into Chinatown for my mom to get her haircuts. This is a weird memory for two reasons. First, as I reminisced about previously, Chinatowns were not a major player in my childhood memories, and second, my mom is Shanghainese enough that she spends a lot of effort on her hair. (This is a Shanghainese stereotype, as relayed to me by my mom. Mostly when I am lazy about getting my hair cut.) So either she mostly got it cut elsewhere and just took the opportunity when we visited the city to get it done there (but why? Aren't most people really loyal to their hairdresser if they get it done frequently? She is very hairdresser loyal now?), OR I was too small and only thought it was chinatown, when in reality it was just a place that was a long way away and had a lot of Chinese businesses in close proximity? *thinking face*

I think that as a small child, my mom must have mostly cut my hair; I only remember this because I once cried for hours over being given bangs (...). By the time I have more fully formed memories (reaching the level of standard Helena-has-a-bad-memory recollections), I just went to the hairdresser my mom went to. After I became an adult, I would still get haircuts at Chinatown, because everyone always said that only people familiar with Chinese hair could cut it properly etc etc.

But as my years between haircuts attests, I don't really care enough about my haircuts that I can tell the difference between a Chinese salon and anywhere else. I DID notice when I went to supercuts (for the non-USians, it's a super cheap hair salon chain), and they didn't cut in a straight line parallel to the ground, but other than that... is there really a difference? Okay, my bf was able to cut in a straight line, so going to the salon for layers is indeed a noticeable and needed difference, but non-supercuts salons will all do layers, so... What I can tell is the non-Chinese salons don't style my hair as well afterwards, but the differences in the cuts, I'm just completely oblivious to.

This is kind of a weird post, huh. Do you have any haircut memories?

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robinsnest2111 · 3 years

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indirectly tagged by @lampmeeting

it's not part of the original thing but I'm gonna add a silly little self portrait as well~

Questions to get to know you a little better:

1. What do you prefer to be called name wise? Robin or any kind of nickname related to that you can come up with lol Some of my favourites are Rob and Robble

2. When is your birthday? November 21st

3. Where do you live? A little town in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany. Known for being the summer residence of a royal bloodline some 200 years ago. Yes there's a castle :P

4. Three things I am doing right now? Trying to forget the nightmare I just woke up from, thinking about getting a few more clementines from the kitchen and fininishing a little sketch I started yesterday

5. Four fandoms that have piqued my interest: Metalocalypse (ofc), Hogan's Heroes, Ghost BC, What We Do In The Shadows. Those are the main 4 at the moment but there's always a chance for other fandoms to take over for a bit.

6. How has the pandemic been treating you? ....yeah. Not so great. My grandma died suddenly at the start of the pandemic, I had to leave my internship I was super happy at early because of lockdown, finished my last semester at college with horrible online classes, had to move back in with my parents, cut contact with someone I've known almost all my life, barely passed my finals, still on the hunt for a job (started applying to places in September) and am close to losing it any day now lol Also pandemic means no flea markets which was one of the few things keeping my brain happy and occupied while giving me a chance to ride my bike around the region for hours :^(((((

7. Song(s) I can’t stop listening to: Sadly no particular song coming to mind right now, but I've had Ghost's entire discography and Dethalbum I, II, and III on rotation for months now lol. This Toss A Coin To Your Witcher Remix has also been stuck in my head for a while and is always worth a listen (Also have some silly techno/hardstyle remixes stuck in my brain permanently because I listened to them as background noise while trying to make my final college projects somewhat decent. Terence Hill & Bud Spencer - Lalalalalala, Da Tweekaz - Jägermeister, Star Wars Hardstyle, DJ Ötzi - Anton aus Tirol, Das Leben des Brian - Schwanzus Longus)

8. Recommend a movie: The Road to El Dorado by Dreamworks, a children's movie, I know... Each song is an absolute banger tho (even the German versions!), the jokes are silly but fun, the queer/gay hints add that little spice that I subconsciously picked up on and felt comforted by as a kid and the design of the everything is just (chef's kiss) Also the chemistry between the 4 main characters is gud as heck. It's the childhood movie I latched on to the most, my mother had to rent the dvd almost every single day until I bought a copy myself lol

9. How old are you? 24 orz I don't feel like it at all...

10. School, university, occupation? Finished college in August, unemployed because no one wants to hire in the creative field during a worldwide plague :^)

11. Do you prefer heat or cold? As long as it's under 35°C I prefer heat. My hands and feet are icicles 95% of the time after losing weight :^(

12. Name one fact others may not know about you? Since I'm an expert oversharer you probably know almost everything about me already orz But uhhh. Lemme see... I learned how to operate a laundry machine at the ripe old age of 20 at my internship at a hair salon lmao My mother never had the nerve to show me how on the modern machine we have at home (along the lines of "you will fuck it up anyways so let me do it >:^(((" which is an overarching theme in her raising me lol), but the older machine with the simpler dials at the salon was a good start to learn and honestly one of the things at this internship I'm still super grateful for...

13. Are you shy? Oh hell yeah I am... It's all the years of getting only negative feedback for trying to interact with others lol

14. Preferred pronouns: He/Him mostly, still figuring out if I still like they/them or nah (since in German there are no neutral pronouns that aren't neopronouns I've automatically gotten more attached to he/him lol)

15. Biggest pet peeves: I feel so mean for admitting it but honestly: Any noises my parents make. If I'm having a particularly bad low brain energy day even hearing them breathe makes me wanna run away and scream in anger... (Doesn't irk me with anyone else tho, which is weird...)

16. What is your favorite "dere" type? Oh there's more than 4 types now?? I've always liked Kuudere types the most out of the original 4 types, but I guess Shundere and Utsudere are right up my alley too!!!

The Kuudere (クーデレ), sometimes written Coodere or Kūdere, type refers to a character who is often cold, blunt, and cynical. They may seem very emotionless on the outside, but on the inside they’re very caring — at least when it comes to the ones they love.

The Shundere (しゅんデレ) type refers to characters who are sad and very depressed. While a full smile on their face might be out of the question, their love interest can help them open up and feel accepted.

The Utsudere (うつデレ) type refers to a character who is often sad and depressed. There is a reason for the character’s despair such as being bullied at school. Even if their life improves, they are often wary of other characters’ motives.

17. Rate your life 1-10? Maybe a 4? 4.5 at max

18. What is your main blog? The one I'm posting this on lol

19. List all your side blogs and what they’re for:

yorkiesart - old as hell and inactive artblog

bleedingheartbird - very triggering and depressing vent blog :^(

yorkie2111 - my very first username, a sea and ocean themed aesthetic blog now mostly for when I miss Denmark a whole lot (kinda inactive)

robinsartnest - a second attempt at a separate art blog, inactive as well lol

20. Is there anything people should know before becoming friends with you? I'm a clusterfuck of several undiagnosed mental illnesses and probably other conditions that I'm trying to figure out and deal with on my own until I can get professional help and some diagnoses. At times I'm weird and distant and overall very depressed and unpleasant, I've already hurt so many people this way and am trying to be better every single day. Basically I've never been given the "How to properly Human" manual and am frantically trying to get it right without hurting too many innocent people in the process.

Anyway, if you are nice to me I will love you forever ♡♡♡ :'3c

idk who to tag so if you wanna do this, do it~

#oh wow that's a long one haha #gosh these tag things really encourage my oversharing nature oops #anyway if any of you want to do this too feel tagged :D #get to know me better

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kookitykook · 4 years

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Seven Soulmarks: Jimin (”Stop right there!”)

~genre: soulmate au, fluff, some angst but like just barely, sfw, this is cute as HELL

~word count: 3.8k

~warnings: sadboi jimin i’m sorry

~pairing: hairstylist!jimin x photographer!reader

~summary: At the exact moment of your twentieth birthday, the first words your soulmate will ever say to you appear on the inside of your left wrist. Seven boys meeting their soulmates is more proof that the universe really does know what it’s doing.

See how the other boys meet their soulmates (all interconnected)

Jungkook -- Taehyung -- Namjoon -- Hoseok -- Yoongi -- Jin

~~~~~~~~~

One time at a party, Jimin and his friends had played a game where they all tried to agree on one word to best describe each person.

The word that Jimin’s friends thought best described him?

Charming.

Some of the other contenders had been polite, well-mannered, kind, compassionate. All great words honestly, and Jimin had been incredibly flattered.

Growing up, his mother had instilled kindness in him as one of the greatest qualities he could possess, the thing that would set him apart in this harsh world. Jimin believed with all of his heart that kindness was one of the things that truly made him a man and not a boy.

So to know that the people closest to him saw that in him as well, and believed him to be charming and affable, that made Jimin’s heart swell with pride. He wanted to be charming to those that he loved the most, he wanted to make them smile and feel safe.

So it’s not hard to imagine how surprised he was when his soulmark appeared on his twentieth party.

“I don’t understand,” Jimin murmured, sitting next to his mother in his childhood home. He had come home to celebrate his birthday with his family, taking a few days off from the hair salon he was an apprentice at. “Why is my soulmate scared of me? What do I do?”

“Oh honey, I’m sure it will make sense when you meet them.” His mother ran her hands through his silver hair (which was not her favorite color he had tried, something she had made sure to let him know as soon as he’d walked through the door). “Soulmarks are fickle things. They tell you the first words your soulmate will say, but not the situation.”

“Eomma,” Jimin shook his head, “how can this be any sort of good situation?”

Jimin held out the inside of his left wrist, he and his mother looking once again at the words in black ink that had appeared only half an hour ago.

‘Stop right there!’

The fact that the soulmark even had punctuation told Jimin plenty. Soulmarks were typically ambiguous unless the emotion behind the first words was particularly strong.

Jimin’s mother sighed once again, taking her son’s hand in both of her own and squeezing it tightly.

“You are my son,” she said, giving Jimin that look that said he better pay attention to what she was saying or else. “You are kind and have the biggest heart in the world. Whoever your soulmate is, they are going to be blessed to have you loving them because you will love them fiercely. No matter how you first meet them, that is what they will come to know about you because that is who you are. Do you hear me?”

Jimin nodded, his eyes downcast. His mother reached out and grabbed his chin, forcing her to look at him.

“Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Eomma. I hear you.”

As Jimin rested his head on his mother’s shoulder and let her comfort him once again, he tried to believe her words, he really did.

But the idea of his soulmate being afraid of him continued to fester in his heart.

***

“Dad, I’m home!”

Your father lifted his head from the book he was reading, scrambling to push his glasses back up his nose as they teetered dangerously.

“You’re late.”

“Missed you too, Dad,” you teased, bounding over and kissing the top of his head before tossing your bags in your bedroom. “Traffic was crazy since everyone is coming home for the holidays.”

Your birthday just so happened to land just three days before Christmas, which meant visiting your father one city over was a double celebration of sorts.

“Sorry again that I couldn’t make it back yesterday,” you said as you flopped down on the sofa beside your father. He reached over and threw an arm around your shoulders. “I got a last minute call for a family Christmas card photoshoot and they were willing to pay me big bucks since they waited so long.”

“Big bucks, huh?”

“Oh yeah. I might be able to buy the fancy ramen now with my Christmas advance.”

Your father laughed at that, tipping his head back. You smiled at the sound, happy to finally be home. Ever since your mother had passed, the two of you had been especially close.

“I’ll get you fancy ramen for Christmas, sweetheart,” your father murmured, kissing the top of your head. “So the photography is going well though?”

“Yeah!” you affirmed, smiling wide. “It’s going really well actually. I found this group of aspiring photographers on Facebook and it’s been really great to get some advice from other people in the same position. I’m getting bookings fairly regularly now, too.

“And get this,” you continued, excited to talk about your budding career. “There’s a local animal shelter nearby, and they’re looking for a photographer to help take shots of animals that need to be adopted. It doesn’t pay anything, but they’ve promised to give me credit on every posting of mine. And I get to help the animals, so that’s a win too of course.”

“That’s great!” your father said sincerely, ruffling your hair. “I’m proud of you sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Dad.” You snuggled closer to him, and a few moments of comfortable silence fell between the two of you.

“So are you going to tell me or do I have to ask?”

You laughed, pulling away and scrunching your nose at him. “I’ll have you know I haven’t even looked yet. I wanted to wait for you!”

“Really?” your father asked incredulously. “You? The least patient person on Earth waited to look at your soulmark?”

You shoved at his arm playfully, making him laugh. “Yes, I waited! This is a big deal, I wanted to share it with you!”

“Well come on then, let’s see it. What are the first words my daughter’s soulmate will say to her?”

You took a deep breath as you reached down to the sleeve of your sweater, pulling it up slowly.

You hadn’t lied when you said you waited to look at your soulmark, but it had been difficult.

“Okay, okay. It says …”

‘Wait!’

“Huh,” you murmured to yourself. “That’s … something.”

“It has an exclamation point,” your father pointed out. “Your soulmate must really want to make sure they don’t lose you.”

You chuckled, running your fingertips over the fresh black ink.

“My soulmate,” you whispered. “I can’t believe I have an actual soulmate out there.”

Your father smiled, tucking you into his side once again. “As much as I don’t want anyone stealing more of my time with you, I do hope you get to meet them soon.”

You knew your father was thinking of your mother, who had been his soulmate. The ink on his wrist had faded to white in the wake of her passing.

Your father was the kindest man you knew, you looked up to and admired him with your whole heart.

You could only hope that your soulmate was going to be someone like that, too.

***

2 YEARS LATER

Jimin loved the mornings. It was when he would go on his run, walk his dog Chim (not that he had to worry about that anymore since Taehyung and his soulmate took him on walks practically every day), or just run errands.

Mornings were quiet. There weren’t many people, the dawning of the sun took its time, and everything was … peaceful. And with the colder months approaching, the mornings were extra beautiful, with frost on the grass and that small amount of mist that makes everything seem so magical. It’s when he felt the most calm.

It’s also when he felt the most lonely.

Not that loneliness was a stranger to Jimin anymore — no, it was practically an old friend at this point. Ever since his soulmark had appeared — those awful, awful words — Jimin had kept to himself. Where he was once outgoing, the life of the party, charming in every sense of the word, now he kept to himself. Of course he lived with Taehyung (who would likely be moving in with his soulmate soon though), and he talked to his clients at the hair studio, and he had Chim. But other than that, Jimin didn’t go out. He kept to himself, because if he did that, he wouldn’t run the risk of hurting his soulmate.

She was out there somewhere, and if he never met her, he would never have to hear the one he was supposed to love and cherish say “Stop right there!”

His family and friends tried to encourage him. Tried to tell him that maybe his soulmate was going to save him from some terrible fate, or maybe they were a police officer, or something along those lines.

But they always ended up grasping for straws trying to comfort him, because how could those words with an exclamation point, which was so rare on soulmarks, possibly have a good connotation.

Jimin didn’t think he had a mean bone in his body, but … maybe deep down he was just lying to himself. Maybe all the years of being told he was so handsome and princely and charming got to his head.

All he knew was that he didn’t want to be that person, and he couldn’t stand the thought of hurting or scaring his future soulmate. He would rather deal with the loneliness.

And while taking a quiet stroll through the early light of a crisp, Autumn morning in the park … he thought that maybe the loneliness wasn’t so bad after all.

The frosted grass crunched underneath Jimin’s boots as he stepped off of the path he was walking on to approach the edge of the pond. Mist was rising over the water, seeming ethereal as the sun’s rays pierced through it.

He hopped up onto a nearby rock gracefully, pulling his beanie down further over his ears before shoving his hands into his pockets. A small smile overtook his face as he gazed out over the water.

It was the definition of a peaceful moment. Even if he did wish with every fiber of his being that he had someone special to share it with. Maybe someone he could give his beanie to, or hold their hand tight in both of his own and raise it to his lips to keep warm.

Right then though, a small little yip broke the silence. Jimin jumped, looking over the edge of the rock he was standing upon only to see a small little white dog staring up at him.

“Well hello,” he said with a grin as the dog started to wiggle in excitement. “Wanna come up here?” The dog yipped again. “Well come on then, you can do it.”

The dog’s body continued to wiggle as it prepared to jump up. It tried once, only to just fall short. Jimin laughed, crouching down and clapping his hands together.

“Come on buddy, you can do it. Up, up!”

The dog tried once more and Jimin darted his hands out, catching him just in time to pull him up to the top of the rock with him.

“Good boy,” he cooed, rubbing the dog’s cold ears, to which the dog was very pleased. “You’re pretty cold, aren’t you? What are you doing out here?”

Jimin tucked the dog to his chest and stood to his full heigh smoothly, partially holding him inside his coat. He looked to see if the dog had a collar, which he didn’t.

“Well lucky for you little guy, my friend’s soulmate works at an animal shelter. We’ll get you warm and taken care of, does that sound good?”

The dog’s entire body jumped as he yipped in excitement, making Jimin laugh.

“Alright come on then, let’s go.” He started to take a step to hop back down on the ground, only to hear—

“Stop right there!”

***

You hated the mornings. Especially when it was cold outside. Why would you want to be out and about doing the things when you could be warm in your bed, snuggled up in your favorite blankets on your lovely memory foam mattress? It made no sense to you.

But your photography assignment for the online courses you were taking were very clear in needing sunrise photos. Not sunset, your preferred time of day, but sunrise. Ugh.

So there you were, taking a not-so-lovely-but-very-cold stroll through the park at six in the morning. AKA the devil’s time of day.

“Stupid morning, stupid cold,” you grumbled to yourself half-heartedly, hiking your camera bag further up your shoulder.

The park was practically empty, you only saw one other car in the parking lot and someone could have left that overnight for all you knew.

It was a nice morning for shooting though, you had to admit. You had already gotten a few shots of the frosty grass and the early light through the trees. You just hoped you got an A on your assignment for this nonsense.

You figured you were likely going to get your best shots over by the pond. It was cold enough that there was mist rising off of the water and when the early light rays broke through that, it was going to be beautiful, you just knew it.

Let’s make the best of this, you thought to yourself.

You began making your way towards the pond, cursing yourself for not bringing a beanie or a thicker coat. You couldn’t help but smile a little bit as the brief thought of your future soulmate holding you close for warmth crossed your mind.

You thought about them often — your soulmate. It had been over a year since you had received your soulmark — “Wait!” — and you had yet to meet them. Which was normal you supposed. It took your friend who also volunteered at the animal shelter a year and a half to meet her soulmate Taehyung. There were some stories of people waiting five, ten, fifteen years even to meet their other half.

You could live with that. Not meeting your soulmate for a long time. It would suck, but the payoff would be worth it, you just knew. So you were okay with coming up with little daydream scenarios about them for now until they showed up.

With the quiet of the morning, it was easy to hear the crunching of the grass as you approached the pond. You froze, halfway hidden behind a lamppost as you looked over to see someone jumping up onto a rock half your height right beside the water.

“Holy crap,” you breathed out almost inaudibly.

The young man that had jumped up on the rock was … beautiful in every sense of the word. He was under six feet tall, but his legs seemed to go on for days. His clothes, though thick for warmth, hugged him in all the right places, and even wearing a beanie pulled down over his forehead you could tell he was stunning to look at. One of those people that just knocks you on your ass with how unfairly pretty they are.

You couldn’t pull out your camera fast enough.

Is this stalking? You thought to yourself, pausing as you lifted the camera to your face. No, no way. It’s academic, totally fine … yeah, totally fine.

The boy was positioned perfectly. Hands in his jacket pockets, hip cocked to the side as he looked out over the water right as the sun started breaking through. You could have cried at the perfection of it all as you began snapping away.

His shoulders rose and fell just slightly as he took in a deep breath. You pulled the viewfinder away from your face for a moment just to take him in.

Damn.

You jumped as a dog suddenly barked. You had been so absorbed in the boy that you didn’t notice the dog running up to the side of the rock to investigate the stranger too.

Popular guy, you thought.

“Well hello,” he said to the dog. Even his voice was beautiful, what the actual hell? “Wanna come up here? Well come on then, you can do it.”

Every bone in your body wanted to “awwww” as the dog tried to jump up only to fall backwards and scramble back to his feet with enthusiasm. The boy laughed too and damn if this wasn’t a Hallmark movie.

Cute boy? Dog? Sunrise? Come on.

You were taking pictures like a crazy person and holy crap you are totally getting an A on this assignment and a new portfolio cover.

“Come on buddy, you can do it. Up, up!”

The dog tried once more and this time the boy caught him, pulling him close to his chest as he stood up.

Since the boy was talking to the dog directly now, you couldn’t hear what he was saying from so far away.

The mantra, don’t be creepy, don’t be creepy, don’t be creepy, in your head was fighting with the other mantra, get the shot, get the shot, get the shot.

The second mantra clearly won out as you took slow, quiet steps forward with your camera raised. The shots were stunning, they looked practically photoshopped already, and you knew these would be great for the shelter too.

You were close enough then to hear the boy murmur, “Alright come on then, let’s go,” and start to make his way to step off the rock when the words practically erupted out of you.

“Stop right there!”

To his credit, the boy froze. And you mean he froze. He could have been a statue for how still he became and you could have kissed him for it.

You took a few large steps forward, continuing to snap shots away as quickly as you could. The dog even turned to look at you over the boy’s arm, giving a perfect shot of his silhouette with the sunrise backdrop and the dog looking at your with a little puppy grin that was going to be the cutest picture ever.

“Just a few more,” you murmured, coming even closer to the base of the rock, getting a torso shot. The dog was getting impatient now, wiggling around against the boy who was still frozen.

“Aaaaand … done!” You let the camera drop to your chest, held by the strap around your neck and looked up at the boy with a grin. “Thank you so much,” you said excitedly as he finally turned to look down at you, shock written all over his handsome face. “That was probably super creepy, sorry if I startled you.”

He was towering over you from where he still stood on the rock, which made his silent staring a little bit more intense.

Oh gosh, is he a crazy person?

You cleared your throat, scratching the back of your neck as you looked around. “Sorry,” you managed to say, albeit meekly. “I-I’ll delete them if you want me to. It’s just that the light was so perfect and your silhouette is um … nice.”

You could feel your face turn red as you realized you had looked him up and down without even hesitating you freak. Still he gave you no response. “And I volunteer at an animal shelter over on the other side of town for their adoption photos,” that seemed to get at least a small reaction from him, “a-and with you holding that little guy,” you couldn’t help but grin at the dog, “I couldn’t help but … you know what, I’m so sorry, there’s no excuse for being a total creep, I-I’ll delete them, I’m so sorry.”

You picked up your camera again, turning to speed walk away from the most awkward situation of your life and delete the pictures when behind you —

“Wait!”

This time it was your turn to freeze. You heard him jump down from the rock, clearly setting the dog down as well since it was now running around your ankles and sniffing your leg.

“Wait, please, I’m sorry,” he said from behind you.

With a gulp, you turned around slowly. He was only a few feet away, and up close and on level ground you were struck again with how handsome he was. Full lips, rosy cheeks from the cold, piercing eyes and a jawline that could cut glass … and he had just said the word on your wrist.

Cute boy said the word on your wrist red alert red alert red alert.

“You know I-I’m really hoping I just said the word on your wrist because — w-well because you just said the words on mine,” he stuttered out with a nervous smile that made your heart melt into a puddle of lovestruck goo.

You blinked, opening and closing your mouth like a deranged fish. “You did,” you finally managed to spit out. “You sure did, yes indeed.”

‘Yes indeed?’ What is wrong with you?

“I’m Y/N,” you managed to say after a few seconds of the two of you staring at each other smiling like idiots. The dog was sitting between you as if watching a tennis match.

“I’m Jimin,” he responded.

“Jimin,” you repeated without even thinking, and his entire face practically lit up at the sound of your voice saying his name.

“Y-You said you work at an animal shelter?” he asked, suddenly looking very shy and it made you want to hug him forever and oh my goodness you could because he was your soulmate.

“Yepp,” you squeaked out. “Over on North Main. B-But I don’t really work work there, I just volunteer. It’s small, but good people run it.”

“North Main?” he repeated, shocked. “My friend’s soulmate works there. My friend is kind of hard to miss him, he’s—”

“Kim Taehyung?” you asked, too shocked to feel bad for interrupting. “The singer, V? Yeah! His soulmate is practically my best friend.”

“He’s my best friend! And my roommate!”

“How have we never met?” the two of you said at the exact same time, causing the both of you to burst out into giggles.

“Hey are you cold?” he asked suddenly, whipping off his beanie before you could even answer. His hair was silver and made him look like a prince which made you give him the biggest heart eyes of your life.

Before you could protest, he stepped forward right into your space, making you catch your breath as he ever so gently put his beanie on your head. He smoothed the edges down over your ears, pushing stray hairs away from your face with the utmost tenderness.

His hands froze, hovering over your cheeks as you stared up at him in awe.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” you whispered. “Sorry for making you wait.”

Jimin only smiled, tracing his thumbs over your cheekbones. “It’s okay. We have each other now.”

#bts fanfiction #bts scenario #jimin scenario #jimin imagine #bts #my writing

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ecofinisher · 3 years

Text

The Adventures of Super Nathan 4 - Chap 2

Chapter 2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29003949/chapters/71391201

https://www.wattpad.com/1018609843-the-adventures-of-super-nathan-4-chapter-2

The class was now in the break playing with each other in small groups. Most of the parents stood together with other parents watching their children play and chatted along with each other.

Nathaniel hung out with Luka, Ivan, Kagami, Rose, and Jin on the stairs observing their offspring play tag with another. Ivan held out his smartphone in his hands to watch the kids thought it and took a few snapshots of them running and showed it to Nathaniel, which nodded.

„Who would have thought one day we would sit together years after we finish school and watch our own offsprings play with each other?“ Luka asked looking at the friend group, which nodded at Luka‘s comment.

„I wasn‘t for myself expecting it so early, but I gotta admit it gives me such a great feeling to see Elliot run there along with the others,“ Kagami stated watching Elliot crash against Rouven, which was laughing afterward Rouven began to haunt the blonde laughing along with him, making Kagami smile enchanted. „Adrien blessing me with this cute, little boy was the best thing he could have done,“ Kagami mentioned earning a nod from Ivan.

„Did you really have to give up your education to be able to be around Elliot?“ Ivan questioned looking at the Japanese woman, which shake her head.

„No, I was able to repeat the next semester on the other year. I just didn‘t want to be less present in Elliot‘s life as I would be along with Adrien gone at the uni. I left the university to be at home with him, later on, Gabriel opened for me a 70% workload to be working at the office along with him and Emilie,“

„At least it‘s something good,“ Ivan commented.

„How‘s is every one of you doing?“ Kagami questioned. „So far I only know about Lila and Nathaniel. What are you doing Rose?“

„I opened the hair salon along with Juleka, Jean, Aurore, and Marc,“ Rose mentioned. „We cut everyone‘s hair and Jean and Juleka also know how to barber. Every man can get for 7 bucks a new hair cut. Depending on what else we do it gets another price,“ Rose explained.

„What would Nath pay for his haircut?“ Luka asked placing his hand behind Nathaniel‘s head watching Nathaniel grab Luka‘s hand to pull it down.

„Hey, I like my hair the way it is,“ Complained the redhead making Luka snicker.

„Sure you do, babyface,“ Luka joked.

„Says the one who has the face shaved,“ Nathaniel countered making Luka grin.

„You know I just shave my face out of hygienic reasons, right?“ Luka commented making Ivan chuckle at their argument.

„Are you two really going to talk about shaving right now?“ Questioned the tall man.

„Don‘t worry Ivan, if Lila was here the conversation would have turned awkward in the next five seconds,“ Kagami mentioned making Ivan chuckle.

„She really would,“ Luka agreed making Nathaniel frown.

„Hey you two are talking about my wife,“ Nathaniel commented watching Luka slap his friend on the back.

„Don‘t worry, we‘re not meaning to offend,“ Luka assured, then his phone began to ring and he got up to attend the call and walk towards the exit.

„Do you still work in the retirement home, Nathaniel‘s dad is living?“ Rose questioned earning a nod from the raven-haired man.

„Yeah. I don‘t feel like anything has changed at all except for Cody growing up,“ Ivan mentioned.

„This year was tough for me and Nathalie. We were all on our own and we only managed to visit my mom every second week. Lila was the entire time out in Italy during the recording of the series. Lila‘s luck now was, that the role she got as a protagonist will mainly play in Paris and just the first season takes place in Italy. Soon she will be here and we‘ll be able to see her more often,“

„Wish I could see her today, but we‘re going to have dinner with my parents and we won‘t be able to come,“ Rose mentioned earning a nod from the redhead.

„It‘s okay you can visit us any other day,“ Nathaniel added making the blonde nod.

„I may bring her one of the coupons my frequent guests usually receive at Christmas. In case she wants to color her hair back,“

„I think she likes having black hair so far,“ Nathaniel mentioned. „But it‘s not a bad idea either,“

„Good,“ Rose agreed, then watched Nathaniel take out his smartphone as he heard it receiving a message and he opened it to see it was sent by Ivan, that showed his son along with Luka‘s running. Nathaniel gave a thumb up, then opened his gallery to send the previous picture he took during class to the chat Ivan was in along with 14 other students from his class. Ivan replied with a thumb up followed by Marinette beginning to type down a message.

„Aww my little Prince,“ Marinette commented with several hearts beside it.

Mrs. Donner passed across the court of the elementary school with a plateau with middle-sized and small cups of coffee and stopped by the adults on the stair to offer them a drink.

„Is anyone interested in a coffee or an espresso?“ Questioned the teacher earning a nod from all students, except for Nathaniel and the teacher bowed down at the adults so each of them could take a drink.

„Ivan remember the first time my friend Paulo offered Adrien a cigarette to smoke?“ Luka questioned earning a nod from the tall man.

„Oh yes I do,“ Ivan responded with a laughter. „Why did he want to do that again?“

„He said something about it would make him more manly,“ Luka mentioned. „Really?“ Nathaniel asked. „I would have never done that,“

„I understand you,“

„Hey what‘s the next lesson in the schedule?“ Ivan questioned. „Was it Math?“ The raven-haired man asked earning a nod from the teacher.

„Yes, it is. Don‘t worry. It‘s very simple for them,“ Mrs. Donner said watching Luka elbow Nathaniel on his arm.

„You‘ll be able to tell Nathalie the difference between a plus and a minus, right?“ Luka joked making Nathaniel frown.

„Are you kidding me?“ Questioned Nathaniel making Luka chuckle. „Of course I do,“

„That‘s great, but you don‘t need to worry about if anything isn‘t understandable for you to explain to your daughter when needed. The school is here to help her out, when she needs it,“ Mrs. Donner explained earning a nod from Nathaniel.

„Your group seems quite close I have noticed. Were you in the same class before?“ Questioned the woman earning a nod from Luka.

„Well I was a class ahead of them, but I knew Nathaniel and Ivan from the elementary school. Rose was my sister‘s childhood friend and they‘re together now and I‘m married to Marinette, who attended the same class as Nathaniel and Ivan,“

„Okay and I think I‘ve seen you in some magazines along with the former teeny model Adrien Agreste, right?“ Questioned the teacher earning a nod from the blue-haired woman. „I remember starting university and see your first image with him,“

„Oh yes….I think it was with our sponsors for the fencing tournament or a paparazzi shoot,“ Kagami mentioned. „I‘m not really fond of photoshoots so I‘m sort of lost in the ones I attended with him,“

„It‘s no issue. I will move further to the next parents. See you all in the classroom again,“

„Is anyone of you going to eat at home?“ Ivan questioned. „I‘m not sure if I can make it to cook something quick for Cody only,“

„My mom offered me to pass by her house for lunch with Rouven. If you want I can ask her if she could make space for you two,“ Luka offered. „Nathaniel, you‘re also interested?“ Questioned the raven-haired man his short friend.

„I was planning in stopping at the restaurant down the Louvre, but if you don‘t mind it, I could go with you,“ Responded the redhead.

„Great, I will just make the call,“ Luka stated getting up from the stairs to search his mother‘s phone number to call her.

„Has Adrien actually have a plan B, if he fails again at the exam?“ The blonde woman asked watching Kagami take a sip of her espresso.

„I didn‘t ask him anything about it, cause I don‘t want him to feel negative about it or that I think negatively about his performance later on the exams. I think after we know the results we can see later. Maybe he‘ll get luckier this time and we won‘t need a plan b,“

„Wee, when he passes this means he will once more be distant from all of you again. How are you able to deal with that?“ Questioned Rose.

„Well, we may get used to that. If there‘s something changing between all of us I ask Adrien if we can find out a solution to this. We will wait first,“

„Don‘t let Adrien miss all the memorable moments he can experience with Elliot throughout his life. How many men or even women miss the most important parts of their kids' life, just because they're hoping to provide them a better life?“

„Oh Rose don't‘ worry. I and Adrien are both in this. We promised each other to help each other out,“

„That is good. These coming years are going to be the best ones you‘ll have with him. Believe me,“ Rose spoke earning a nod from the blue-haired woman watching the playing kids.

Adrien sat in the bedroom in front of his desk gazing into the book he was using to study. Plagg, his kwami sat on top of a shelf over the desk, which contained various named files watching the blonde learn for the exam.

„Why didn‘t you go together with Elliot and Kagami to the first school day?“ Plagg questioned. „You would be only the morning there,“

„I need to focus on Friday, Plagg,“ Warned the blonde.

„I know you do, but you could have been present there like Kagami or at least for an hour or two,“

„I could, but I couldn‘t. I will make it up for him tonight anyway by watching that movie with him they didn‘t finish yesterday,“ Adrien mentioned picking up the smartphone, which lied at the edge of his table counting the amount of minutes he‘s been studying, which were at 135. „I‘m not sure when exactly we will watch it thought. I would prefer in the afternoon rather than after dinner,“

„Wouldn‘t you want it after dinner?“ Questioned Plagg. „You know so that he can straight off go to bed or get ready for it?“

„I don‘t know…..Well it could come the case that he has homework to do and I believe it‘s better for him to do them right after school. Or he should do it the way he feels is better for him. I used to hear from Kim or Ivan, that they had the need to do something after school before working on the homework first,“

„Eating first always is a good option,“ Commented the black kitten earning a nod from Adrien, which looked back at his smartphone as he heard it vibrate then pressed on the home button to lighten up the display and see a message from his wife, then he sighed.

„Oh damn it, the surprise party,“ Adrien commented leaning back on the seat picking up his phone to unlock it.

„Morning Adri. I forgot yesterday about the surprise party we were participating in going to. If you prefer to stay back to study, stay. I‘ll be going there to at least see Lila again. See you later,“

„I promised her to go a long while ago. I‘m not going to skip it,“

„What about the movie?“ Questioned the kwami.

„We‘ll see that later. I‘ll wait until they‘re back,“ Adrien stated beginning to text a message to Kagami. „I prefer to solve it with her, rather than randomly agreeing or disagreeing on it,“

„Sounds quite better than the last few times,“

„That‘s why I chose this way. I‘m lately being so absent that soon or later I will end up being like my dad or worse“

„What your dad was in the past was worse. You‘re just something else…..something that comes before bad,“

„There‘s nothing before bad. I‘m either bad or worse,“

„Okay I know something else. You‘re not perfect and that‘s normal. You‘ll never be perfect, you will just learn how to deal with it. This is a good start, you prefer to discuss with Kagami the issue about Elliot and Lila‘s surprise party you agreed on going months ago. Just talk you two about it and it will get solved in a way or another. Which way you‘ll both agree on remains unknown for now,“

„Sure, I‘ll do it, don‘t worry. Here I need to focus now on the learning,“ Mentioned the blonde shoving the smartphone back to the end of the table, followed by the kwami to sit down on its cover with a piece of cheese on his hands to observe the holder continue his practice for the exam.

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laurastuckinhell · 4 years

Text

SPAMANO FANFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

Fanfiction means a lot to me.because that´s how I learned to speak English fluently, which is why I´ve been wanting to do this for a long time but I thought that no one would be interested in this. I realized that even if just one person discovers a fic they like because of me then that´s good enough. So, here it is: a shit ton of spamano.

(I didn´t include George Devalier because I feel like everyone knows about his stories by now)

Neighbours

Antonio and Lovino live in the same neighbourhood but don't know each other personally. Lovino sees Antonio jogging every day and quite enjoys his tan and shirtlessness. Lovi tries to get Toni to notice him by conveniently gardening or getting the mail or w/e at the same time that the other jogs, but they end up meeting by something unplanned, awkward, and cute.

This is from the kink meme and it´s really cute- perfect for when you need to cheer up!

The rose family by thegoliathbeetle

Antonio was the best football player in the high school team. Until a certain Lovino Vargas arrives. Lovino is gifted, ruthless, and brilliant on the field. Antonio finds it all rather endearing, much to Lovino's chagrin. And somehow, this has something to do with 'being true to yourself' and all that jazz. -Spamano oneshot. Human AU.

This is one of my all time favoirtes when it comes to Hetalia Fanfiction in general, extremely cute and brilliantly written.

The Prince and the Pauper by 78meg9

When Prince Feliciano goes missing, it is up to a poor servant boy Romano to step in to take his place and thwart an evil plan to take over the kingdom. However, falling in love was something neither one anticipated. Based off Barbie's Princess and the Pauper.

This fic is exactly what it sounds like. It was a really fun read for me :)

Singles by StarsMadeinHeaven

AU Antonio, Francis, and Gilbert are three friends who suffered their first heartbreaks at the age of fifteen, and made a pact to never fall in love again. That will change for Antonio when he first lays eyes on a brown-haired young man in a club...

we need to talk about this fanfic, it´s absolutely gorgeous and kept me on edge the whole time

A new life by Sheena Wilde

Slave AU. Owing huge family debts, Antonio is made a slave to the Vargas household and a personal servant to Lovino, but the wealthy patrician seems not to recognize him from their shared childhood, and the sex only complicates things.

It‘s been quite a while since I‘ve read this one but I remember liking it a lot!

una notte a napoli by Alexander Ryan

Antonio visits Naples with some old friends, Gilbert and Francis. During a drunken night, Antonio finds himself at the beach to hear a gentle song being carried upon the breeze. Atop a balcony is a man Antonio deems as an angel, but alas, as soon as this 'angel' spots him, he retreats back into the house, leaving Antonio to stand there, alone. The next day, they run into each other again - quite literally - and to apologize for being drunk and staring that night, Antonio offers to buy Lovino lunch and a sweet. Lovino begrudgingly agrees and thus, romance sparks. The problem? Antonio's only in Naples for a week.

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS FANFIC! I actually started learning Italian because of this. It’s really beautiful, extremely sad. Also- I‘m sorry to my friends that were annoyed by me talking about this fic.

An antipodean tale of love by ChibiAnimefreak

Antonio and Lovino have been friends for as long as either of them can remember, but when one day "friends" is pushed just a bit farther, how will they deal with it? And how far will they go?

This one is beautiful as well! The emotional conflict is very well written and even the smut part is very well written.

Promise me tomorrow by watanabemaya

For there are no words which could ever suffice to express just how much they mean to each other; and yet, as Spain wraps his arms around the small of his frame, Romano knows that that alone is enough. It isn't much, but it is enough. / SpaMano oneshot.

Ahhhh I just love how the characters and their relationship are written in this one!

The gaming of the shrew by Shadowcatxx

This story is a Hetalia-spoof based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1593-4). Lovino Vargas is a rich Italian heir, whose shrewish nature can't be tamed. Enter the fortune-hunter, Antonio Fernández Carriedo. When a scheming group of courtiers—keen to wed Feliciano—convince the Spaniard to marry Lovino to take him off the market, Antonio accepts the offer, which soon becomes a rough-and-tumble farce the wily Spaniard is determined to win.

I really really really like this story and since I’m a huge nerd for both literature and history I absolutely fell in love. (Also it‘s incredibly funny)

Five times Romano unintentionally made Spain blush by darkhue

...and one time he did it on purpose.

Extremely fluffy, will make you smile. Simple and cute :)

The Phone Call From Across the Hallway by TheGoliathBeetle

Lovino wakes up at 2.37 am to a phone call from Antonio, who ideally should be in bed with him, but is not. Antonio is sick, and Lovino tries very hard to keep his cool. -Spamano, Human AU, one-shot, sickfic-

Another cute and fluffy oneshot that I didn‘t know I needed in my life.

Cupid fired the shooting star by TheGoliathBeetle

Romano 'Lovino' Vargas wants nothing more than to distance himself from his grandfather and his murky illegal business. When a shooting star streaks across the sky, Lovino's friends make wishes. And the next day, a mysterious new student named Antonio turns up in class. So starts a cycle of wishing, fulfillment and a lot of red carnations. College AU Spamano. Two-shot.

Ok ok ok. We need to talk about this fanfic. It is so goddamn beautiful that I still feel like crying every time I think about it. Another one of those fics that all my non-hetalian friends know about because I couldn‘t stop talking about it when I first read it.

We the dreamers by TheGoliathBeetle

New York City, 1940: Antonio is a recently arrived refugee from Spain, a scarred soldier with firm political convictions. For Lovino, everything is pointless and nothing ever lasts. The two of them live, love and dream desperately, as World War Two threatens to take it all away. -Spamano, three-shot-

Very dark but incredibly beautiful. One of these fanfics that give you the kind of excitement that only a good story can give you.

Bottoms! Up by SunnyDayinFebruary

Follow Lovino on his weird and, well, at least quite interesting trip around Europe in order to find out some of the greatest secrets ever about himself, Europe, tomato-shaped alarm clocks and the past of his lovely, but complicated Spanish partner. This story is actually a part two, which I didn‘t read and I don‘t think it is required to but in case you want to read it, you can find it here

I just love this story so much, it‘s incredibly cute and funny (like really really really funny) and made me fall in love with every hetalia character mentioned. Also, this has like 80 long chapters so get ready for a long term relationship with this fanfic.

Spin the bottle by 78meg9

If you're going to play spin the bottle, you've got to have the balls to kiss people. At least that's what Lovino thinks.

a really cute and fluffy oneshot

Of vending mashines and night clubs by bubbleteadesu

AU (human names used) ; Lovino Vargas is an aspiring artist who struggles with the pressure of having a world-renowned landscape artist as his brother. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo is a jobless man, who enjoys living in the present (too much, actually) and takes life one step at a time. A chance meeting one winter night by a certain bright red vending machine leads to another and another until they form an unlikely friendship. One day, Antonio is offered a job as a bartender at his friend's bar and he asks Lovino to work with him there. As they begin to spend more time together, Lovino is confronted by Antonio's new feelings for him and his own feelings for Antonio. But, is he ready to accept them?

I´m so in love with the way the characters are written- especially Lovino! It´s really to write him in a way that isn´t annoying to read while still remaining true to the character; which is what this author did in a really beautiful way.

Bad hair day by spinyfruit

Lovino works at a hair salon and Antonio's a daily customer who comes by with any excuse so he can talk. To figure out how to get Antonio to like him, Lovino visits Emma (Belgium) quite often, and unintentionally makes Antonio jealous. Then the game of wooing begins. - Spamano fluffiness - ONESHOT.

Really cute and a quick read that´ll leave you grinning like an idiot

Haze by ChampagneSly

A random AU in which Romano is best friends with Veronika, who happens to be engaged to Alfred, who happens to also be Romano’s friend. Veronika has a bachelorette party and Romano, in his role as incredibly charming and handsome gay BFF, attends. Alfred would like details, please. Romano wishes he could remember what happened after the fourth gin martini. Oh, and Spain’s a stripper.

This fic is really cute and funny, I´ve read it about ten times and I recommend everyone else to do so as well.

Rebels in a sleeping city by norvegiae

"I felt like we were in limbo, two blindingly awake rebels in this sleeping city. I didn't know your reasons for being up and about. But, you were, and so was I, grinning at you like it was going out of fashion."

the kind of fanfic that will make you cry at 3 am but it´ll be worth it because it´s just so beautiful

How to care for your spain by AlexanderRyan

A guide written and published by Romano Italia. Strong (basically obvious) hints to Spamano.

really cute, simple + AlexanderRyan´s beautiful writing style

Change in routine by Roxi2Star

A look at Lovino and Antonio's changing morning routine.

I come back to reading this fic almost every month. It´s a really cute and fluffy OS that is written in a very interesting way.

The art of flying by TheGoliathBeetle

They’re both a little bit damaged, a little bit unscathed. Lovino can only truly see the world when Antonio describes it to him. Words can be magical, words can drive the darkness away. –Spamano one-shot. Blind!Lovino, Writer!Antonio, College AU-

kinda sad but really really beautiful, describes their relationship in a beautiful way.

Underwater Land by satsukiarisa

Human names and A.U: Antonio was a merman. Lovino hated water. It was truly a match made in heaven.

This one is very sweet and funny and I really enjoyed readig it :)

The Romantic Developments of Antonio and Lovino Through Texts by Spinyfruit

Texting started gaining popularity in 1999, but it wasn't until the year 2007 that iPhones came out: then shit got serious and countries started texting each other. This is the story of how one happy-go-lucky idiot, and one stubborn idiot finally get together. It only took a few hundred years. Mainly Spamano with side FrUK, PruCan, Gerita, AmeriPan, and others.

ahhhh I love this one so much...I really like the texting theme!

Braces by Roxi2Star

Antonio just got braces, and is feeling very self conscious of them. Maybe Lovino, a cute kid in his grade ho also has them can make him feel better about having braces, and maybe realize their not so bad. Ok so maybe he becomes less self conscious of them, but in the braces are a pain. Especially when their stuck to another pair.

I was really happy when I rediscovered this one, as someone who had to wear braces for five years in total this is even funnier to me...

(Non Spamano Fanfiction)

Asylum (Usuk GerIta) by thealphagay

1963; Feliciano Vargas is the newest patient at Bitterwell Mental Asylum. One problem, there's nothing wrong with him. Trying to escape will be hard, trying to understand the dark asylum will be even harder. Because behind those gated walls are torturous methods, strange patients, and even stranger doctors.

Based loosely off American Horror Story: Asylum

i know i know this is a spamano masterlist but I really think that this fic deserves more appreciation , because it´s really cool. I had a lot of fun reading it even tho I normally don´t like Usuk that much.

#spamano #spamano fic rec #spain #aph spain #aph romano #lovino vargas #antonio fernandez carriedo #hetalia #aph #aph south italy #Hetalian #hetalia fanfiction #aph fanfiction #fanfiction recommendation #fanfiction masterlist #laurastuckinhell

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winryofresembool · 4 years

Text

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 6

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Calypso gets a makeover.

Characters in this ch: Calypso, Annabeth, Piper, Leo

Words: 3233 (a long one :O)

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / next chapter / AO3

...

“So, Greek is your native language? That’s so cool!” Annabeth exclaimed as she and Calypso were on their way to a nearby mall to purchase new things for the new semester. “I’ve been trying to learn Ancient Greek just for fun but it’s harder than you’d think, I’m not very good yet.”

“Yeah,” Calypso nodded understandingly. “I’ve been living here since I was about 10 so I’d like to think that my English is fine now – apart from the accent – but it took me half a year to actually start speaking English in the class when I started school here… And I was homeschooled during my high school years so it was hard to maintain the language skills. It’s nice to be able to communicate with other students face to face now,” Calypso said with a sad undertone that Annabeth didn’t miss.

“You were homeschooled?” she asked with surprise. “Any special reason for that?”

Calypso didn’t know what to answer to that. The truth was very hurtful and she hadn’t ever told anyone about it, much less someone she had known less than a week. That’s why she tried to smooth it out as much as she could when she answered: “Um… My father seemed to think it was a safer option than going to a public school.” She shrugged. Annabeth didn’t ask more questions, probably thinking that her answer seemed acceptable.

“Makes sense. I’ve done a lot of studying at home too, mostly because I have ADHD and dyslexia so learning isn’t as easy to me as it is to some.” That information surprised Calypso.

“But… Sorry for the assumption but to me you seem like the type who always wants to be on the top of her class.”

“You guessed right.” Annabeth smiled. “But it hasn’t been an easy road. I have had to try a lot of learning methods before I finally found some that worked for me and made it easier for me to focus. Luckily these days there are a lot of audiobooks and other options for dyslexic learners so… it’s not so bad.”

“Right,” Calypso said. The conversation ended because they had finally arrived at their destination. Calypso had brought very little with her into her new home - just the most essential clothes and other everyday items - so there was plenty she needed. However, she also needed to figure out where to get more money once she was done with the shopping. She had some savings on her bank account thanks to helping her dad with his business (mainly stuff like paying bills and writing emails on his behalf) and because a dead relative had left her some money in her will, but those would only last for a couple of months. She had considered her options and one of them was opening an online shop where she’d sell things she’d herself made, from clothes (she was pretty handy with both knitting and sewing) to decorative objects such as jewellery and ceramic pots. The issue with the latter option was that she had no place to make them; the room she currently had was too small and Leo probably wouldn’t be thrilled if she turned their common area into a workshop.

“So,” she turned to Annabeth as they were checking a display at a bookstore. “This might be a bit of a random question, but do you have to work to pay for your studies?”

“Oh, yeah, I do!” Annabeth answered. “My dad would have helped but we’ve never been that close and I don’t feel it’s fair so I give children art classes and sometimes tutor them in various subjects. It also helps that I live together with my boyfriend so we can split our bills…”

“You said earlier that he’s a swimmer, right?” Calypso remembered from their earlier conversation. “I used to know one who I think is pretty good these days. But I haven’t kept in touch with him for a couple of years.”

“Oh? What’s his name?” Annabeth inquired. “I might know him?”

Calypso was about to answer when she suddenly spotted a couple of people she knew in the crowd outside the bookstore. She inhaled sharply and pulled Annabeth farther from that direction, hiding behind her.

“No, no… that can’t be… how would they know…” she muttered to herself.

“What’s wrong?” Annabeth asked, trying to see what had caused Calypso’s reaction.

“I… just saw some people I don’t want to find me. It’s a long story. But we should go.” Calypso said as quietly as she could, nodding towards the entrance of the mall.

“But we just came here…”

“I’m sorry!” Calypso bit her lip. “I really don’t want him to see me. We can go to some other place.”

“Fine,” Annabeth agreed, still glancing to the direction where the mysterious person had been. “There’s another shopping center nearby.”

Once they were safely outside, she asked: “What was that about?”

“I wish I could tell you but I don’t want you to get involved in this mess…” Calypso said, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. “But this is bad, they might have a clue I’m here… I don’t know what they’d do if…”

“You don’t make any sense now,” Annabeth noted bluntly. “But OK, someone is looking for you and you don’t want them to find you. I know we haven’t known each other long, but you can trust me. I’ll help you out if you need it.”

“Thanks,” Calypso said gratefully. “Right now, the farther I am from those people, the better.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” the blonde girl tugged on her sleeve and started running like a little child. “Let’s go!” she said, smiling as she ran farther from Calypso, and she couldn’t help but follow her.

…

In another shopping center Calypso spotted a hair salon, which gave her an idea. She figured that if she looked different than before escaping her childhood home, the men who worked for her father would have a harder time recognizing her. That meant a new haircut, new clothes, and possibly different kinds of make-up too. She didn’t usually use a lot of products on her face – mascara and lipgloss were her go-to make-up items – but maybe Annabeth would be able to help her with that.

“I… should probably use my money on more important things, but do you happen to know anyone who’d be willing to give me a haircut? And maybe even help with dyeing it?” Calypso asked while looking at the ads on the wall of the hair salon.

“You want to cut it?” Annabeth eyed her long, caramel colored hair that had been braided. “I thought it looks so pretty now.”

Calypso mumbled something about wanting to start kind of from a clean slate in a new place, not wanting to go too deep into her reasons.

“I understand.” The other girl nodded. “As for your question, yes, I happen to know just the person! My friend Piper McLean is quite experienced in that field because one of her sisters is a hairdresser and she taught Piper to cut her hair. She’s helped me sometimes too!”

“Piper?” The name reminded Calypso of something. Then she realized that she had heard Leo mention a girl named Piper the other day. “That is not a very common name here, is it? I mean, I think my flatmate knows someone called Piper too…”

“Now that you mention it, I think it might indeed be the same Piper,” Annabeth realized. “She does talk about Leo sometimes; apparently they are good friends. Somehow I’ve yet to meet him, though.” Calypso from a couple of days ago might have said that Annabeth really hasn’t missed much, but something had changed after the conversation with him the other day. She no longer felt annoyed simply by the mention of his name, and even though she didn’t really want to admit it, there was a part of her that wanted to know more about him. Something bad, apparently related to fire, had happened in his past that he kept inside him, and when Calypso thought about it, she couldn’t help but feel for him… She too had lost a lot. But then she shook her head because now was not the time to get stuck in her past.

“Maybe you will meet him if you come to our flat at some point; he’s home working a lot,” she answered instead.

“Maybe!” Annabeth said enthusiastically. “I’d like to know what all the fuss is about because somehow I seem to have a lot of connections towards him. First my boyfriend, then Piper, and now you too.”

“Small world, huh?” Calypso smiled. Annabeth agreed and after they paid for their purchases she proceeded to call Piper to ask if she’d be willing to help a friend out. Piper had nothing against that. They decided to meet up at Leo and Calypso’s flat in a few hours because it was closer to their current whereabouts than Annabeth and Piper’s homes.

...

About two hours later, Calypso’s wallet was notably lighter, but she had gotten herself a new, pink everyday dress, a jacket, shoes that matched the dress, a light blue shirt, some make-up products (for which she had had to ask the shop assistant’s help) and henna hair dye. She had debated on her color options for a good while, but ended up on the orange-ish because it wasn’t too far from her own hair color (she didn’t want too radical changes when she was dying her hair for the first time) and she also liked using natural, organic products when possible.

“Thanks for coming with me!” Calypso told Annabeth happily when they were finally back at her flat. “You were a big help.”

“No big deal,” Annabeth said back. “I’m always happy to help a friend. Not that you needed it a lot.”

“I meant more than just shopping wise,” Calypso said, looking down at her feet. “I don’t know how I would have reacted if I had been alone when…”

Annabeth understood she was referring to the strangers who had frightened her.

“You still don’t want to talk about that?” she asked carefully.

“I’d rather not,” Calypso shook her head. “It’s… a part of my life that I’m trying to leave behind me.”

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. “Can I ask you one question, though? You know those guys and they know you? And they’re searching for you?”

“I… I don’t know what they were really doing here. It could have been a total coincidence. I mean, only you knew we were going to be at that mall so it feels impossible that they would have known…” Calypso rubbed her forehead tiredly.

“You’re not trying to run away from the police or anything? Sorry, I just had to ask.”

“No, no!” Calypso lifted her hands in front of her defensively. “They are from my dad’s company… it’s complicated.”

That was Annabeth’s cue to stop asking more questions. She figured that Calypso would tell her with time if she let it be. The atmosphere started getting a bit awkward so both of the girls were relieved when Annabeth’s phone rang and Piper announced she was waiting at the front door. Calypso let her in.

“So you’re the famous Calypso!” she exclaimed the moment she saw her.

“Famous?” Calypso asked, her eyebrows raising.

“I just meant that Leo has talked quite a lot about you,” she grinned cheekily. Calypso couldn’t help but notice that the girl was very pretty, with mysterious multicolored eyes and brown hair that suited her even though it was cut unevenly. She secretly hoped that she had made it look like that on purpose and it didn’t show her real hair cutting skills.

“He has?” Calypso asked. “I bet he’s said nothing good about me…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Piper replied, “he may seem a bit rude on the surface but I promise that he’s actually much nicer than what he looks like. Just awkward around new people. So, no, he hasn’t said anything that would make me hate you.”

“That’s a relief, especially since you’re supposed to use the scissors near me soon,” Calypso attempted to joke and to her relief Piper laughed at it.

“Anyways, as I’m sure you already know, I’m Piper.” She shook Calypso’s hand. “I hope you don’t mind me coming into your flat even though we are just meeting right now.”

“Oh, no problem!” Calypso reassured her. “I trust Annabeth’s judgement on friends.”

“Not Leo’s, though?” The corner of Piper’s mouth raised with amusement.

“Uh…” Calypso rubbed her neck. “We’ve had a slightly weird start but I think we have made a bit of progress in the past few days, though.”

“So he has talked to you like he promised?” Piper asked.

“Well, however you take it. The fire alarm started acting up yesterday and he fixed it. And I did learn some new things about him meanwhile,” Calypso confessed.

“Such as?”

“Either he’s really afraid of the voice of the fire alarm… or then the thing that causes it,” Calypso said vaguely, trying to see from Piper’s reaction if she knew something she didn’t.

“His home burned when he was a child,” Piper revealed. “He was only 8. It was pretty traumatizing for him so you’d probably do well if you didn’t ask about it. He’ll tell you more when he’s ready.”

Calypso could relate to that feeling because she had literally only moments before told Annabeth that she wasn’t ready to talk about her background.

“He mentioned something about a fire the other day but he was pretty vague about it… But anyway, that explains why he wasn’t thrilled when I was going to use the matches…” Calypso noted and the other two hummed in agreement. To lighten the mood, Piper decided to change the subject:

“Anyway, I believe I came here for a makeover, so maybe we should get started!” she said happily, gesturing towards the items she brought.

…

A couple of hours later, Piper had performed her magic and Calypso looked almost like a different person. Her hair, which used to reach her bottom, was now shoulder length and orange-ish instead of caramel blonde. Piper would have agreed to cut a fringe as well, but Calypso refused. The brunette was also a rather skilled make-up artist (she didn’t wear a lot of make-up herself, but her mother was extremely enthusiastic about all things beauty related and had taught her from a young age. Piper claimed she’d be proud if she saw her now) and she taught Calypso some simple tricks to do her everyday make-up. Turned out she didn’t need much: her skin was naturally smooth and her eyelashes long and dark. To complete the look, Calypso put on her new dress, and the other two girls cheered when she showed them it.

“I’d say mission successful!” Piper exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Even my mom would approve.”

“You think so?” Calypso asked shyly, still trying to get used to her new look.

“Definitely,” Annabeth agreed as well.

“Can I offer you something as a thanks?” Calypso suggested. “Coffee? Tea? Juice? I think I have some pie left from the other day as well unless Leo has stolen it…”

“Tea sounds good,” Piper nodded approvingly and the girls moved into the common area.

“Leo doesn’t seem to be home?” she asked Calypso when she started boiling the tea water. “And here I thought he’s always here building something.”

“I think he mentioned something about a sparring session…” Calypso shrugged. “I didn’t ask more about that.”

“Oh yeah, sometimes he and Jason and a couple of other friends do that but I know Jason wasn’t going to go anywhere today, he has a deadline for an assignment…”

The girls were still wondering the mystery of Leo’s whereabouts when keys started clinging by the front door and soon it opened. A smile spread on Leo’s face when he recognized Piper who sat on the kitchen counter.

“Speaking of the devil, there he is,” the brunette stated before Leo had time to say anything, making the boy confused.

“Pipes, what are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“I was with Calypso and Annabeth, duh,” she answered, gesturing at the two girls that Leo hadn’t noticed until that moment.

“I didn’t know you knew Calypso,” Leo stated before turning his attention properly to the two other girls. First he nodded at Annabeth who was sitting by the dining table and started introducing himself: “Hi, I’m Le...wow”

“What?” Annabeth snorted but didn’t get a reply because Leo had finally noticed that his flatmate looked very different from before. In a good way.

Calypso was frozen in her spot with a teapot in her hand, blushing when she felt Leo’s stare at her. But Leo didn’t notice that. He noticed how the make-up brought out her almond shaped eyes (Leo wondered how he had never noticed before that they were so dark brown that they almost looked black), how the dress she was wearing reminded him of one his mom had worn often during the holidays, and how the short hair curled cutely from the ends, tickling her jaw a bit. If he was honest with himself (which he tried hard not to be), he had previously thought she couldn’t possibly be prettier than she already was, but clearly he had been proven wrong. He had to bite his lip to not curse out loud (because he would NOT have a crush on his flatmate).

“Well? What do you think?” Piper asked when the silence that had fallen into the room was about to get awkward. “We had a small makeover here.”

“I… uh… she looks… good?” Leo stammered, feeling the heat rise all the way to his ears. In reality, he had to gather all his willpower to stop himself from using all the extravagant words he often used to describe his work (usually as a joke). Because he did like what he saw, he couldn’t deny that no matter what.

“Good? Calypso, his ears say otherwise. I’ve never seen them that red.” Piper teased.

“Shut it, Beauty Queen. “ Leo mustered the most burning expression he was capable of making.

Piper didn’t care. “Just so you know, Calypso, he’s used that name as a joke since we learned to know each other, so don’t think that he thinks of me that way. I have a boyfriend.” Calypso smiled at her awkwardly.

“Yeah, and sometimes I don’t get why Jason stands you. Estas loca.” Leo shook his head before withdrawing into his own room.

“Aww, he goes for Spanish when he’s nervous, Cal. I think you really made quite an impression,” Piper laughed, not caring about Leo’s reaction.

“Was that necessary, though?” Calypso asked, feeling almost as flustered as Leo a moment before.

“Don’t worry about it. We just like to make fun of him.” Piper shrugged. “He won’t be mad long.”

“But…” Calypso started, not knowing what to make of Leo’s reaction. Had he really liked her new look? Why had he gotten so flustered? Finally, she decided she must have been overthinking it. “Uh, never mind. Anyway, thanks for the help, Piper. What do I owe you for this?”

“Nothing. But please invite me over more often. I think we are gonna have fun together!”

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au #let me know what you think!

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saiilorstars · 4 years

Text

Dare To Forget Me

Ch. 11: Rivalries

/ Story Masterlist /

Fandom: Law & Order SVU

Pairing: Rafael Barba x Original female character

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ` 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: Montserrat's and Rafael's childhoods come for them both in different ways.

'With only 12 days left until New York's mayoral election, the latest polls show state senator Alejandro Munoz still holding on to his lead. The time has come to fix our broken schools. The time has come to provide affordable housing for the hard-working people of the city. The time has come!'

"Ouch - Kara that hurt!" Montserrat scrunched her face after one particular strong hair pull from Kara's hands. "Are you even paying attention to what you're doing to my hair or are you watching TV?"

Kara pulled her hands from Montserrat's fiery orange hair and cheekily smiled behind Montserrat's chair. The two were in Kara's salon, before opening, and while Kara was attempting to try a new hair style using Montserrat, a lot of her attention seemed to be going towards the television up on the wall.

"I swear to God," Montserrat muttered as she decided to end this impromptu hair modeling gig by pulling out the bobby pins in her hair.

"Sorry, it's just elections are coming up and I wanna stay informed," the blonde hair stylist replied with, not even bothering to help Montserrat undo a knot on her hair. "My vote's going to Muñoz for sure. What about you?"

"Don't know, don't - OW!" Montserrat angrily glared at her reflection after feeling like she'd pulled skin off during the unknotting process.

Kara remained unfazed. "You don't know who you want for mayor?"

"Hasn't been on my radar yet but I've heard things about all parties. Can I go now?" Montserrat dropped the last bobby pin onto the salon table and turned to find Kara engulfed in her cellphone. "Nice to see the attention you give me."

Kara sarcastically rolled her eyes. "It's Damian. We were gonna get lunch but he's at your cousin's right now."

"What? Casey?"

"With Gael too," Kara put her phone in her back pocket. "Something about a client gone wrong? Issue? Not sure."

"Hm, I guess they're still having trouble. Maybe I can stop by," Montserrat said as she got up from her chair.

"What are you going to do? You're a cop not a lawyer!"

"Thanks, really. I haven't talked to Gael in weeks and I was meant to babysit his girls last week but he cancelled in a very short text," Montserrat turned to the mirror to fix her hair as best as possible. "I'll say hi to Damian for you."

"And while you're at it, remind him that he owes his little sister $20," Kara pointed in a serious, mocking, manner.

Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes. "Hair model is gone!" she announced as she swiped her purse off the table.

"But coming back!" Kara reminded because she certainly had more styles to try out and as it turned out, Montserrat had very smooth hair.

~0~

On her way towards the D.A's office, Montserrat heard the distinct voice of her partner calling her name. Montserrat paused and looked back to see Sonny speeding to catch up with her, with, due to his long legs, was done in a quick stride.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Montserrat asked him.

"Warrant," Sonny said the magic word that could answer almost everything.

"Case of Jamil?"

"We got him this time," Sonny promised then motioned Montserrat to walk ahead.

"I sure hope so cos I'd love to see the smirk get wiped off his face already," Montserrat thanked him for opening the door for her but as she was about to step in, she bumped into a man. "Sorry," she apologized dutifully.

"Oh don't worry about it, bonita," a familiar man responded with.

Montserrat stepped back, accidentally bumping into Sonny at the same time. "I know you," the redhead said within the second. "My roommate was talking about you earlier. Alex Muñoz, you want to be our mayor."

The man in question smiled the same charming smile Montserrat saw on the television. "Sounds like I got her vote. What about you?"

"I... don't know yet," Montserrat shrugged then looked up at Sonny behind her.

"Don't know either," he admitted.

"Psh, you'll vote for whoever Kara will," Montserrat waved him off, missing Sonny's face of offence when she looked back to Alex. "But I have to say I'm surprised a candidate for mayor is here…?"

"Just visiting an old friend," Alex left it brief.

"K, well, promise I'll do my research," Montserrat politely reached for the door again.

"If you need any help deciding, you can always call me," and the man surprised her with a small card. "Always happy to help a citizen, especially cuando toca ser una linda mujer."

Montserrat slowly took the card from him, eyes glued to Alex's returning smile. It was cocky no doubt even when he walked off.

"Okay, I skipped Spanish class a lot in highschool but I'm not that bad to miss the fact he just made a pass at me," Montserrat turned to face Sonny with a wide grin, close to laughing.

"You're so not voting for him," Sonny ushered her inside, instigating her full laughter.

"What? Why not? You're not actually thinking that being overprotective of your crush's roommate will score you some good grade points?" Montserrat leveled an amused glance his way, one that made him roll his eyes.

"I'm gonna go get that warrant," Sonny decided to avoid another teasing round which, thanks to Montserrat, the squad now partook in.

"Sure, sure," Montserrat waved him off and headed for Casey's office. She was only a couple feet away when the office door opened. Damian was the first to emerge, letting Montserrat notice his face expression. Whatever problem they were having didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Hey," Montserrat walked towards them, but the closer she got the better she could see Gael's grim face. "Woah, what problem have you two got?"

"None of your business," Gael snapped at the same time Damian had answered "It's just business".

Montserrat raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What the hell's your problem, Gael?"

"Seriously?" the older brother snapped again which only confused Montserrat even more. "You're asking me what's my problem after what you said about Dad?"

"Wait, you're actually mad about that?" Montserrat didn't know whether to laugh or not. It was plainly absurd. Though now she supposed it made sense why Gael cancelled her babysitting day.

"You said Dad was a bad parent-"

"-I did not say that!" Montserrat couldn't believe they were actually going to have this argument.

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

Damian looked back and forth between the siblings as their argument got louder and louder. He tried to cut in but it didn't work. It rarely did. And it just seemed to attract more people out from the offices.

"How could you be so insensitive towards Dad!?"

"How could you be so stupid!?" Montserrat mimicked her brother's tone without a care in the world. "This is why you didn't let me babysit the girls last week?"

"I was afraid you'd call me a bad father too," Gael promptly said, and it honestly became hard for Montserrat not to smack him right there.

"Would you quit being such a baby!? I didn't say anything about our father that wasn't true! But that doesn't mean I said he was a bad father!"

Casey flung open her office door and fixated an incredulous glare on her two cousins. "Would you two quiet it down?" her input only seemed to make things worse.

"No, I will not 'quiet it down'-" Gael mimicking Casey as well earned himself another glare from the woman, "-when my sister is being so ungrateful to our father!"

"I'M NOT!" Montserrat outright shouted, which then called forth her partner.

"Montse, what's going on?" Sonny emerged from Rafael's office, along with the ADA himself.

"The entire building can hear you," Rafael added.

Montserrat, frustrated, motioned them all to be quiet. "I'm not doing anything except defending myself from ridiculous accusations by my dear big brother!"

"You got a lot of nerve, Montserrat," Gael got face to face with his younger sister. "You want to call our father a bad parent when he worked his ass off to get both of us through? While Regina was out probably partying, he was there reading you stories and helping me with my homework-"

"-but I never said anything! And you know damn well that I know what Regina did."

"Well it doesn't seem like it-"

"-Gael-" Casey once again stepped in but the man went over her words anyways.

"-but of course you'd never understand. You're still thinking Mommy is coming back. You always thought that-"

"-screw you, Gael," Montserrat felt there was nothing left to say.

"Montserrat!" Casey hissed.

"Montse, why don't we head back to the station together?" Sonny made his own attempt as well.

"Yeah, go back to work and act like you didn't insult our father," Gael spat and finally moved around Montserrat to head for the exit.

"I'm so sorry," Damian felt like he needed to apologize to Casey at least for the siblings' brawl but it wasn't like Casey was new to it.

"We're good, go," Casey gave him the nod that it was alright for him to leave.

"No, we are not good!" Montserrat turned with the intention of catching up with her brother. "If he wants to talk about Regina then let's have it!" But of course she was stopped by both Sonny and Rafael. She fought the two for a bit before she finally backed off. "Taking his side?" she snapped at both of them.

"Easy there, Novak," Rafael pointed a finger at her to keep her from trying again. "You've got the whole building watching you."

"I don't care," she snapped. "If he wants to talk about Regina then I can do it."

"At another time," he snapped this time. "I'll find her myself if that'll shut both of you up."

That seemed to trigger her. "You know what, if you think you can find Regina Ramos then be my frikin guest because I haven't been able to find her in 25 years!" This particular spat startled Rafael due to the ferocity lacing her words. Even her expression had gone ballistic and he'd seen quite a lot of things in his line of work.

"Montserrat," Casey once again attempted to calm her cousin but Montserrat waved Casey off and took off in a storm.

"What the hell was that?" Sonny jerked a thumb over his shoulder, completely lost on the show they'd seen.

"What do you think? Another sister-brother brawl," Casey sighed. "How many siblings do you have again?"

Sonny playfully rolled his eyes. "My sisters and I have never argued like that."

"Who the hell is this Regina and why is she making such trouble?" asked Rafael. He'd certainly like to know why he'd garnered such a snap from Montserrat.

Casey knew what he was thinking and decided to answer only to clarify what Montserrat was dealing with. "Regina is Montserrat's and Gael's mother. She...sort of walked out on them when they were just kids." Casey sighed when she saw the sorrowful expressions on the men's faces. "And that's why Montse doesn't talk about that because she hated the pity faces she would get afterwards. She doesn't like talking about it, period. I mean, you guys got a firsthand look at what happens, and you-" she gestured at Rafael, "-got a firsthand taste."

"Wouldn't be the first time I accidentally probed where I shouldn't have," the ADA shrugged, though inside he was feeling a tad remorseful (which he didn't like one bit).

"I would just tread lightly," Casey parted with that warning and returned to her office.

"How the hell do we 'tread lightly' after that?" Rafael was left with an unanswered question.

"We take slow steps," Sonny decided it was as close to a proper answer as they could get to.

~0~

Montserrat practically stalked into her apartment that evening with a white paper bag in one hand, and a half eaten brownie in the other. Kara looked up from her dinner plate with a mouth full of spaghetti, one noodle in particular dangling below her chin.

"What's...wrong with...you?" Kara said while she swallowed the whole food in her mouth.

"My brother's an idiot," Montserrat spat and trudged into the living room to take her coat and shoes off. She stuffed her mouth with the remainder of her brownie. Kara watched her ginger roommate chuck the paper bag (aggressively one should add) to the couch before plonking down to take off her boots.

"Uh, my brother's an idiot too. All big brothers are. Didn't you get the memo?" Kara's light joke was met with a cold deadpanning look. "Okay. Um, I know I'm going to regret asking but shouldn't you be at work?"

"I asked Liv for a personal day. She's very understanding," Montserrat threw her boot across the living room, missing how Kara winced when the hell of one boot hit the television furniture piece. She then pulled her phone out of her back pocket and let it drop (not so gently) against the glass coffee table.

Kara feared for her furniture's safety. "Um, okay, so...would you like dinner…? I made spaghetti," she motioned to her plate which was half empty already.

"Since when?" Montserrat unceremoniously snorted. "You always complain how you never got that one."

"Sonny gave me a recipe," the blonde shrugged.

Montserrat shot her roommate a look. "You're trading recipes now?" but she decided in that second that she didn't even want to get into that potential romance that was sure to make her gag. "Never mind. No, I don't want dinner."

"Right, cos stuffing your face with brownies is the better way to go," Kara's sarcasm was once again responded with a cold glare. "What's going on, Montse?"

"You mean Damian didn't call? Not even Sonny?" Montserrat grabbed her paper bag and reached for another brownie.

"No...should I call one of them…?"

"Oh, right, like you need another reason to call Sonny - stop with that!" Montserrat pretended to shiver, making Kara roll her eyes, and took a bit of her new brownie. "Gael's still mad at me for what I said about our Dad leaving us alone sometimes. He thinks I actually called my father a bad parent."

"But I'm sure you didn't mean it like that-"

"-yeah, I know," Montserrat's sudden cut in sounded rude but Kara knew Montserrat needed to vent right now and this was how she did it. "He even went ahead and brought in Regina, like I don't know what she did to us."

Kara wouldn't even try to say anything about Regina Ramos. That topic had always been a delicate one that usually resulted in arguments between Gael and Montserrat. Their mother abandoning them as kids had left raw pain that hadn't really see any healing.

"Gael is an idiot. And more than that, he's…" Montserrat couldn't even finish without getting furious all over again. "We argued outside Casey's office and...we got loud."

"...how loud?" Kara raised an eyebrow, knowing well where this was headed.

"Pretty loud."

"Were there people?"

"...when we were finished…"

"Oh, Montse. How mad was Casey?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask her when I stormed out of there after threatening Sonny and Rafael."

"Oh Montse," Kara shook her head disapprovingly.

"Gael made me so mad!"

"That's not an excuse, that's just a sister-brother relationship," Kara dug her fork into her spaghetti. "Only now you're actually held responsible for your actions."

Montserrat hated when Kara was right. She just hated it. Thankfully, someone knocked on their door, preventing Kara from continuing with her lecture.

"It's probably the Andersons downstairs complaining about your stomping," Kara warned as Montserrat went up to answer the door.

"I've still got some colorful words left if you're interested," Montserrat said before opening the door. "Great, what are you doing here?" her initial whine made Kara lean to the side to try and see who was at the door. If it was Gael, she'd take cover for sure.

"Seriously, I don't get paid enough to be your partner," Sonny said with a straight face.

Montserrat deadpanned him but took his sarcasm to heart. He probably came around trying to see if she was okay, not for Kara nor for the sake of their work... but to be a friend. Those thoughts softened her expression and made her remember some politeness. "Come on in, Sonny."

"Careful, she bites when she's angry," Kara said while Montserrat shut the door.

"I come bearing gifts," Sonny raised his hand that held a white plastic bag.

"You didn't have to," Montserrat was now feeling exceptionally guilty for her behavior earlier in the day.

"After that kind of fight, yeah, I had to," Sonny held the bag for her to take.

"I heard plural which just makes me feel awful," Montserrat admitted as she rummaged through the bag. A smile came to her face when she caught whiff of the familiar peanut butter cannolis inside one box. "And I guess Kara gets to enjoy my guilty moment."

"Why?" asked the blonde in question. She scarfed down her spaghetti and looked in their direction.

"Peanut butter cannolis," was all Montserrat had to say for Kara to jump out of her seat.

"Sonny, you didn't!?" she zipped towards them and practically yanked the bag out of Montserrat's hands to see for herself. She squeaked when she confirmed the cannolis and suddenly planted a kiss on Sonny's cheek.

Montserrat nearly laughed when she saw how red Sonny had become in less than a minute. She honestly didn't think Kara even realized what she'd done.

"You better apologize to him right now," Kara wagged a finger at Montserrat.

Montserrat rolled her eyes but did know when it was time to give in. "I am sorry, Sonny. I got carried away and I...it was not the place."

"Look, I get it, siblings can be…" Sonny wouldn't even finish that sentence because they all knew what he meant. "I just hope you're feeling better about things. Casey told us about...your mom? She said few things-" he said quickly before Montserrat assumed the worst, "-and I want you to know that Barba and I understand you were in a...special type of moment."

"Very special moment…" Kara muttered under her breath.

"Shut up," Montserrat warned her. "Go eat your spaghetti already."

"You made spaghetti?" Sonny's attention was momentarily driven towards Kara. "Did you use the recipe I left you?"

"Of course," Kara smiled. "And it really was better than that frozen crap Montse buys."

"Hey," went the ginger with offence. Now it was Kara who motioned for silence. "I'm going to my room," Montserrat announced and snatched the cannolis from Kara's hands. "Thanks Sonny. And just so we're clear, Kara's not getting any."

"Rude," Kara frowned and watched her roommate go off into the hallway.

Sonny chuckled and offered to buy more another day. That perked Kara right up. Montserrat's phone started buzzing against the glass coffee table, cutting short Kara's beam.

"I really hope it's not Gael trying to continue the fight," Kara mumbled as she went to get the phone.

"Maybe he's calling to apologize?" Sonny offered another alternative but Kara shook her head.

"Looks like we're both wrong," she grabbed the phone off the table and waved the phone at Sonny, letting him see the caller ID on the screen. "Your friend's calling to check up on Montse, maybe?"

Sonny made a face that Kara found difficult not to laugh at. "Barba would never call to 'check up' on anyone."

"You came to check up on Montse, why can't Rafael do the same?"

"Because he just doesn't."

Kara's face clearly said that wasn't an answer.

"He doesn't do that sort of stuff, trust me," and that left Sonny wondering why Rafael would choose to do start doing it now.

"Hm, then Montse must be special enough to catch his attention," Kara made way for the hallway but the phone stopped buzzing. "But apparently I'm slow to help." She turned back with a disappointed expression.

"You might be right about the first thing," Sonny conceded as he thought back to the various moments of strange behaviors between Montserrat and Rafael. "But that could also be because she nearly had a kid in his courtroom."

Kara laughed. "One of Montse's finest moments. Whatever, if he meant to check up, he'll call again and this time I'll be ready." She bit her lip and looked back to the kitchen where her lonesome plate remained on the table. "I've made enough for two but it looks like Montserrat's already got dinner so...you want to stick around? Give me some feedback on the spaghetti."

"Okay," Sonny nodded. "But I doubt you got anything wrong. You're a good cook."

Kara chuckled. "I like to think that I am. C'mon, I'll get you a plate." She walked past Sonny and tucked Montserrat's phone in her back pocket to be on red alert in case Rafael were to call again. She probably should have given the phone to Montserrat but, truth be told, she was curious herself about her roommate and the ADA.

To her surprise (and Sonny's), Rafael did call again that night.

~ 0 ~

Montserrat gripped her coffee cup all the way to her desk. She saw Olivia and Nick heading out, probably to continue questioning their latest victim. She plonked down at her desk and went back to her paperwork which seemed to get bigger every time she paused to look.

"You sure you don't want to take a break?" Amanda stopped by her desk with Fin beside her. "Our comfy Chinese place is always open for a third guest."

Montserrat smiled at the two. "No, I'm good. I'll get lunch later."

"And I'll make sure she actually does," Sonny reassured since they learned fast that Montserrat tended to skip meals when she felt swamped by work.

"Your call," Fin nodded to Amanda towards the hallway.

"You are getting lunch, right?" Sonny asked after the other two were gone.

"Yes, at some point," Montserrat dug her nose into a particular file.

Sonny rolled his eyes and went back to work at his end. He paused, though, when he noticed Montserrat picking at her hair every minute or so. "What are you doing?"

Montserrat put her pen down and groaned. "Kara keeps using me as her hair model and today was apparently a big ole crown braid." Her ginger hair was picked up with a large-sized crown braid adorning her her head from ear to ear.

"It looks nice," Sonny's compliment was met with a loud scoff.

"You're only saying that because Kara made it."

"You know, not everything I do is dependent on Kara."

"Sure."

Sonny decided to just keep quiet from now on.

Fifteen minutes passed and Montserrat finished her coffee - or drowned it - so she got up for a refill.

"Sonny, you want one?"

"Nah, let's head out for lunch already," his suggestion flew over Montserrat's head as the ginger went to get more coffee.

Montserrat returned two minutes later, surprised that Sonny hadn't continued calling her name out. Of course when she saw him talking to Rafael she understood why.

"They went to go talk to her, I promise," Sonny insisted yet Rafael still looked rather doubtful. "We're doing what you asked, alright? You can call Liv right now to confirm if you want."

Montserrat awkwardly cleared her throat as she neared her desk, gaining both men's attention. "Are we finished…?"

"You're one to talk," Rafael scoffed, but Montserrat took that with a nod. She deserved it.

"C'mon councilor," Sonny gave a disapproving tilt of his head towards Rafael.

"No, it's totally fine, Sonny," Montserrat shrugged her shoulders, though her casualness seemed to end at her fingertips since she was once again gripping her coffee cup. "I was rude, so...you two get a free pass."

"It shouldn't be like that," Rafael was the one to say as he considered once more the circumstances of her outburst.

"I wasn't professional and I accept that," Montserrat nodded. "You were the one to tell me, after all. Leave my problems at home and any other thing related to my personal life. Work is a place for work only."

And as she said all that, Rafael felt that twinge of guilt knowing he was virtually doing the exact opposite of his words right now. Because of that, he felt obligated to let her episode go. More than that, it was the right thing to do.

"Montserrat it's fine." The usage of her first name made Montserrat smile - it was a sure sign he forgave her completely.

"Thanks," she whispered.

Rafael nodded at her in return. His eyes gazed at the pretty empty bullpen and figured no one would be returning anytime soon despite the cases going on. He watched as Montserrat pull her desk chair to sit back down. Even as she tried to get back to work, it was easy to tell the problems with her brother weren't letting her focus.

He honestly felt that.

And maybe it was because he felt they were in a similar place at the moment, or...maybe for another reason he didn't know of, but he spoke up with a request. "Montserrat do you want to get something to eat?"

Montserrat paused and looked up, momentarily surprised since they hadn't had a meal together in a while now. The fact Sonny's eyes were flickering from her to Rafael - not so discreetly - made it all a little more on the spot.

Was her face warm?

"I would…" Montserrat was in the middle of making her answer when she recalled Sonny's insistence to get lunch together already. She quickly looked at the lanky detective with wide eyes. "But I told you I'd get lunch with y-"

Sonny raised his hands to show it was fine. "No, no, I've still got work to do." A lie. He was starving. "You go ahead."

"O-okay," Montserrat reached for her bag tucked in one of her drawers then looked to Rafael with a growing smile. "My turn to pay?"

"No, it's on me," he smiled right back at her. He felt awkward with the staring eyes of Sonny so he hoped Montserrat would get a move on already.

"I'll see you later," Montserrat told Sonny as she got up to leave.

"Hey, when is Kara's lunch hour?" Sonny's question earned him a deadpanning look from the ginger woman. "Hey, if you get to go on a date, then I get to go on a date."

"It's not a date," went Montserrat and Rafael simultaneously, quickly exchanging glances with each other to make sure the other knew they didn't think it was a date.

"Fine," Sonny picked his battles carefully and decided Kara would probably have a much better idea on how to go about this. "But seriously, when is her lunch hour?"

"Carisi, leave her alone," Rafael motioned Montserrat to walk ahead, and the look he gave Sonny just made things even more suspicious for Sonny.

Oh, Kara was definitely going to have something to say about this.

~ 0 ~

Steak. Steak was unofficially declared as the favorite meal.

"How could you get barbecue on that?" Rafael crinkled his nose when Montserrat practically savored her barbecued drenched steak.

"The real question is how could you not put barbecue on it," Montserrat smiled widely after swallowing.

"Some of us have taste," Rafael's straight answer made her laugh.

"And some of us are just plain rude. Guess who's who?"

Rafael took that as a tie between them and took more of his plate. It was refreshing to have someone who could keep up with his 'sharp mouth' as Olivia often said he had. As he ate, he watched her cautiously like he was waiting for something. And it seemed like Montserrat knew just what he was waiting for.

"I'm not gonna shout at you again. Gael's not here," she reminded him and reached for her glass.

"But are you...are you doing better now?" he asked slowly, now fully taking Casey's warning to tread lightly on the subject.

Montserrat appreciated his concern. "I'm...better in that I don't feel like shouting at anyone. But Gael's still not speaking to me." And even as she tried to smile a little, it was easy to see how big of a struggle it was.

There were probably plenty ways to start, but for some reason Rafael couldn't think of the right way. "About...about your...your…"

"This is the first time I've seen you speechless, councilor," Montserrat's smile widened, becoming a genuine smile in the process. "Have to say, I like it. But don't do that in court."

Rafael rolled his eyes at her, though her small-time humor did make things easier sometimes for them. "I meant about...Regina?" he watched the sarcasm fade from her face all too fast.

"I have nothing to say about that woman," Montserrat grabbed her glass again, drinking as a form of retreat. It pretty much said the opposite of her words.

"Except it looks like you do." And that was the thing about Rafael, he was trained to be observant. "And the things Gael said…"

"Look," Montserrat tinkered with her glass on the table, "Gael hates our mother. He despises her because she walked out on us when we were kids. Now, h remembers more since he was older, so naturally he has more reason to hate her. He remembers the love and warmth Regina deprived him of...I don't." Her attempt at a careless shrug failed. "I was four. I can't remember her that well except she knitted me this little pink sweater that I used to wear everywhere. And I mean, mothers don't make things like that if they didn't love you, right?"

She knew it was an unfair question to make, putting Rafael on the spot like that (not that he wasn't used to it) but it was something that always nagged at her mind. If her mother went through the trouble of knitting that sweater then it had to mean she did it because she wanted to, because she loved her daughter. It was right... right?

"I shouldn't have asked that," she said once she'd gone through her thoughts twice and realized how out of line it was.

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have," Rafael's agreement elicited quite a look from Montserrat. "I mean, it's not like my answer is going to make a difference." He smirked when Montserrat understood his point. "Is it?"

"Sometimes I actually hate you," she muttered though he laughed it off.

"And yet you're still here. How's your lunch by the way?" His not-so-subtle reminder that he was paying for their lunch wasn't made for bad intentions but if not to remind her in general of their little agreements.

You didn't go out for meals with someone you actually hated.

"It's actually very good, thanks…" Montserrat debated whether or not to be very specific about what she was thanking him for since it borderlined a different line of their friendship. "Thank you," she ended up saying anyways, nervously fidgeting in her chair afterwards.

Rafael completely understood her and nodded. "Anytime."

Montserrat found herself smiling more than she should have and quickly looked to her half-eaten food on her plate. "Okay, we're done with the unprofessionalism for now I promise."

"Novak, you don't have to keep worrying about that. Trust me, I finally understand it's not that easy being so detached."

Now that pulled Montserrat's gaze off her food in a millisecond. "I'm sorry, are you saying you were wrong?"

Rafael deadpanned her but even that didn't stop her from looking so wide-eyed. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," he warned.

"But I'm not acting…"

Rafael searched her face for any indication that she knew of their recent case's problem, but there was nothing. "H-how...you do know about our case at the moment, right?"

"With the shoe model? Yeah, I've been following it like everyone else. Why?"

"Novak you're not kidding me, are you?"

"No, I am not. What did I miss?"

Rafael wondered how out of it Montserrat had to have been for her not to know what their case was doing to him and the squad. So, he began to tell her just how close he was to the suspect in their custody at the moment.

"Wait a minute, so you're friends with our mayor-to-be Alex Muñoz?" Montserrat chuckled at the irony. "Kara loves him. She has me and Sonny already lining up to vote for him."

"Well, Alex is a pretty good candidate," Rafael said as impartially as possible.

"Yeah, and a flirt," Montserrat's statement did not pass well with him.

"Excuse me?"

"I met him outside the DAs building just before meeting with Gael. I only talked to him for like two minutes and it was enough to confirm he is a flirt." Montserrat reached for her glass on the table. "He gave me his number and everything."

"He's married," Rafael said with a deep frown on his face, though the fact Montserrat nearly choked on her drink made him believe she didn't know that detail.

"What?" the poor woman reached for a napkin to dry her mouth. Her big wide eyes looked at him for some explanation.

"He's married and has three daughters. How did you not know that?"

"Because I work a ten hour shift?" Montserrat snapped and cleared her throat. "Hey, I did not flirt with him. You can ask Sonny - he was there. I didn't do anything."

"Maybe you misunderstood Alex's intentions," Rafael said alternatively, though there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him something else that was wrong was already brewing.

Montserrat would have argued that she most certainly did not misread his intentions but he already looked so...conflicted about the case. She didn't want to make things worse. "So, you grew up with these guys?"

Rafael slowly nodded his head. "Yeah…" but even then he still wasn't shifting away from the other topic.

Montserrat tried again and hoped for some luck. "Were you really close? Or was it like a hello-bye basis thing?"

"N-no, um…" Rafael shook his head and got back into the topic at hand. "We grew up together. The three of us. Los tres mosqueteros de Jerome Avenue. The three musketeers of Jerome Avenue."

Montserrat laughed. "Like the three musketeers, that's adorable. And I will be sure to remind you of that whenever you need it. Or when I feel like it."

A smile came to Rafael's face whether he had wanted it or not. "The joy."

"So you guys were like a close a team, then?"

"Mhm. Alex had the heart. I had the mouth, of course-"

"Of course," Montserrat smiled so widely it might have cracked her face in two.

"Eddie had the muscle to protect us when we got into trouble."

"And what kind of trouble did our young ADA get into?"

"Stop it."

"Impossible." Montserrat leveled his look until her lips curled into a smile, which was done in a pretty impressive time. Anyone else would have looked away out of sheer uncomfortableness. Eventually, she gave in but only because she wanted to get to something really important. "I hate to bring it up but please tell me you're not actually wanting us to...look the other way in this case because you happen to know the perp?"

The sheer 'perp' mention made Rafael uncomfortable. He never wanted to believe any of his friends could be capable of some atrocity. "I would never do that. I am only asking that you all get the facts before taking any action."

"...fair enough," Montserrat conceded with a small nod of her head. "But can I ask you something now?"

"Of course."

"How did you know the perp was a friend of yours? My understanding is you don't get involved until we call you and...I distinctly remember you being there when we first brought Eddie in."

"Alex came to talk to me," Rafael said, shrugging his shoulders and missing Montserrat's moment of pause.

"So...our mayor-to-be had time to do all this when he's near the elections?"

Rafael was about to take a drink but paused midway to give Montserrat a look. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry to say but people in Alex's situation don't really have time to look for anyone's back but their own," Montserrat expected some type of reprimand for her words judging by the look on Rafael's face.

"Eddie's been volunteering for him. He's been driving him around during the campaign and since - like I said before - we are all childhood friends, it's natural we try to help each other out."

"Right," Montserrat was smart enough to know it was time to keep her mouth shut. She didn't know who these men were so she should probably leave that up to Rafael for when the case gets further made. Still, now that she knew more details about the case there were some conflicts she could see coming into play very soon.

Just as they were finishing up their lunch, Rafael heard his phone go off. Soon as he fished it out of his pocket, he saw Olivia's name on the screen. "It's Liv." His tone of voice radiated anxiety so Montserrat assured him she was all done with lunch.

The two returned to the precinct quickly and listened - just like the others - as Olivia and Nick relayed their latest visit to Lindsey. Apparently, she was taking everything back and even adding new details...ones that didn't fit really well.

"Lindsay told you Eddie came into the store with his wife?" Rafael raised an eyebrow at Nick. "No chance. He hasn't seen her in three years. She's partying in Miami…"

"Are you sure?" Nick had still decent suspicion towards their perp and wasn't going to be letting it go just because said perp happened to know their ADA. "Cause he still wears his ring."

"I'm sure. Eddie's... eh, he's just catolico, loyal."

"So Lindsay saw the ring, tried to make up a story," Olivia was on the boat of keeping peace amongst them. "Yeah, then she says that she'd be more comfortable just talking to Nick."

"Because she thinks she has a better chance of working the male partner," Amanda made a face of disapproval, shared by the rest.

"So she's lied to you, tried to manipulate you…" Rafael almost started listing off with his fingers when Nick cut in.

"So did Eddie."

"I know Eddie's story," Rafael said all too quick, warning a mini-glare from Nick. "What's hers? Find out. Now." He gave all of them a sharp look before heading out.

"Great going, I had him relaxed twenty minutes ago," Montserrat made it as a joke but some of them took it to heart.

"Yeah, we heard about your impromptu date from Sonny," Fin said with a tiny of a smirk on his lips.

"It was not a - wait, where's Sonny?" Montserrat looked around for the lanky detective.

"He's with that roommate of yours," Amanda answered her and almost laughed at the wide-eyed look Montserrat did.

"I'll kill him." She huffed and went for her desk to get started on their work.

"Not until after 10 you won't," Olivia said a she passed Montserrat. "I need everyone working on this right now."

Montserrat huffed but obeyed. Of course it didn't help one bit when Sonny returned fifteen minutes later wearing a big smile on his face. Clearly he had a good time. And when she got home that night, Kara would be up and ready to tell Montserrat how much of a good time she had too.

"He just, like... surprised me! He finally brought me to that place he goes to when he brings cannolis! Let me just tell you that they are better fresh at the store - Montse?" Kara paused when she saw the ginger rubbing her temples. Montserrat had a laptop set in front of her but it appeared whatever she'd been looking at was no longer her interest.

"Kara, this is not a good idea," Montserrat dropped her hands to the kitchen table.

"What isn't?"

"You, Sonny...whatever that even is - it's not a good idea."

Kara's eyebrows knitted together. "Why not?"

"Because of it doesn't work out, guess who's gonna be the one that'll be stuck in the middle?" Montserrat swirled her index finger before pointing at herself with it. "Me."

"That's kind of selfish, don't you think?" Kara plopped down at chair next to her.

"No, just being mindful of a potential future."

Kara playfully rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you for your concern but as far as I'm concerned, things are going just fine. It is, after all, my life." Montserrat sighed not so quietly but did concede with Kara on that point. "Besides, if anyone should be mindful of who they go out with, it should be you."

It was Montserrat's turn to be thoroughly confused. "Me? What for?"

A smirk tugged at Kara's lips as she answered the question. "Sonny mentioned that you basically dumped him at lunch today for the ADA."

"I'm seriously going to kill him," Montserrat shook her head. "We won't have to worry about things not working out because he'll be found dead tomorrow morning."

Kara laughed at her roommate's dramatics. "Oh c'mon, he did you a solid. Anyone else would've been on your ass for leaving them right before lunch."

Knowing exactly where Kara was headed at, Montserrat decided to beat her to it and explain the famous lunch she has today. "I still needed to apologize and Rafael suggested we go to lunch-"

"-suggested or asked because Sonny mentioned it was more of an ask-"

"-stop! I'll kill him!"

Kara laughed again. Montserrat slammed her laptop lid shut and moved to get up, prompting Kara to sober quickly. "Okay, okay, I'll stop!" she put one hand over Montserrat's arm. "I honestly thought it was kind of sweet he asked you, even when you've been avoiding him for days. Anyone else would've...well...avoided you too."

Montserrat sighed realizing Kara was right. She let herself fall back into her chair. "Yeah, it was. Rafael has his moments."

"A lot with you," Kara muttered not so quietly. Montserrat practically growled and got up from her chair. She made a beeline for her room. "I'm sorry!" Kara laughing didn't exactly help Montserrat believe her.

"You're a child!" Montserrat shouted before slamming her bedroom door shut.

#rafael barba #svu #rafael barba imagines #ocapp #ocappreciation #svu imagines #rafael barba x oc #svu fanfics #Law & Order SVU #law and order imagine #law & order svu fanfic #oc: Montserrat Novak #oc: Kara Mackie #fic: dare to forget me #Olivia Benson #Sonny Carisi #amanda rollins #fin tutuola

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ahuxlcy · 4 years

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@tupeloextras

Hello everyone! My name's april and I'm excited to here and start plotting with all of you! My discord is miss curls#6582 in case you want to reach me there or tumblr dm's work just as fine!

Under the read more I'll tell you a little bit about my sassy lady Audrey!

She's 31 and is a real bitch. That is, thanks for coming to my TED talk

Kidding.

She was born in New Orleans, to a disfuntional marriage that only stuck together because of her and because it was better for the both of them economically speaking.

Her grandparents lived in Tupelo so she visited the town every summer until she was 19 (childhood connections please!)

Beauty was and still is her passion. She used to do her and her friends' make-up and hair (her first income lol)

Moved to L.A when she was 18 and went to cosmetology school and worked in many salons until she was hired in a well-known expensive one

She was happy, working, dating, partying and saving for her own salon until 3 years ago she got a call from her mother. Her grandma got very ill and Audrey immediately dropped everything in L.A and moved to Tupelo to take care of grandma.

Worked in a salon that she didn't really love but it was money, right?

The next year, the owner's husband tried to make a move on her and Audrey stopped him. The gossip spread quickly and inaccurately, obviously, leaving her on a bad light. There was a fight with the owner and it wasn't necessary to quit.

With a little help from her grandmother, her parents and a loan she opened her own salon, Do or Dye and it started blooming.

[tw: death] Her grandmother passed away a year ago, there was no reason for her to stay in Tupelo but she decided to do it because the salon is going pretty good, her grandma left her the house and there are people she care about.

PERSONALITY WISE

It's gotta be said first, she's bitchy and blunt which makes a terrible combination. Not a bad person but her people's skills need a lot of polishing.

Don't go to her for advice unless you want the ugly, un-sugarcoated truth.

But like I said, she means well and she's a loyal till the end to those she consider friends.

Besides this, she's an upbeat person and loves a good party and hanging out with friends and going home with them.

CONNECTIONS

People she met during those summers in town and sort of stayed in touch (or reconnected when she moved)

Clients

Employees

Friends

Enemies

Hook-ups (she's kind of a hoe)

Anything!

#intro

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juleshq · 4 years

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* 𝐡��𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐠𝐨𝐬 here and do i have the tea for you . 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 is back in bridgehampton for the summer , living off the 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐎 family 𝟐.𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 net worth . must be nice to come back home to the hamptons , i wonder what her fellow class of 2017 grads think of her return . you know , she was known around town as the 𝐂𝐎𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 and for bhs senior superlatives pronouns was crowned as 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐒 & 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 . i wonder if that still holds true today , a lot can change when you go off to 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐘 and study 𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 . either way , i bet she is still very 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐄 , 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐃 , 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 . hopefully this time next year the plans to 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 come true . in the meantime , i look forward to seeing her blast 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫 (𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄) 𝖇𝖞 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬 at every hamptons function . it’s going to be a wild summer home , welcome back .

i don’t think i’ve EVER been this excited to plot and interact with a group of people , u all seem like such beaut ppl & i’m in love already but i’m a little . . . intimidated ADFJH . anyways , i’m not going to ramble bc i’m ready to get down to business , i’m sammie & i go by she / her pronouns ! under the cut is a long bio on jules ! i will GLADLY give you a synopsis on this chaotic mess pls just ask , HERE is her pinterest board please ignore the sudden amount of pins of just her , also i’m down to plot here or on discord , my discord is @ᵘ ᵍᵒᵗ ᵃ ᵈᵒˡˡᵃʳ ?#3246

* / BASICS

full name: juliana kaia dicaprio

nicknames: jules , julie / juli

age & dob: twenty-one , august 14th , 1998

place of birth: long island , new york .

sexuality: heterosexual ( that she knows off )

bender: cisfemale

* / MORE BASIC INFO

languages: english, french, some spanish.

religion: catholic

education: high school , majoring in biology at stanford

occupation: unemployed

drinks, smokes, & drugs: all of the above

* / PERSONALITY

zodiac sign: leo

likes: dark chocolate , tea in the morning , white roses , instigating bad situations , wine , black coffee , the smell of freshly brewed coffee , talking with strangers , long travels , adventures , being called “ angel ” , popcorn , quick tex responders , products made with silk , athletes , crime shows / films , crowded rooms , glitter .

dislikes: fake designer bags , people who don’t know how to lie , f , people who wear pearls regularly , long text messages , voicemails , men who are cheap , people who chew with their mouth open , humming , thrift shops , water-poof mascara , the smell of grass , extensive planning , and arrogance & stupidity combined .

bad habits: breaking promises to herself & others , not thinking before doing , fixating with her hair when nervous .

secret talent: juggling

fears: aging terribly , being widowed , drowning , being buried alive .

positive traits: alluring , convincing , affectionate , ambitious / devoted , systematic .

negative traits: manipulative , conniving , deceitful , dishonest , subjective .

* / APPEARANCE

tattoos: dagger on right index finger , “ devil ” on left index finger .

piercings: three in each ear , cartilage .

* / FAMILY INFO.

parent names: claire boucher & david dicaprio .

parent relationship: divorced .

sibling names: annalise , ashton , keller , & wade .

sibling relationship: step siblings & half .

children: none .

pets: 2 family dogs on her moms side.

* / BIOGRAPHY

i’m sorry it got long

𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐑’s entire childhood was spent in the spotlight -- her father was a huge rockstar in the 70's & 80's, and her mother a model . Claire spent her childhood between Florida , California , and New York , attending red carpets , premieres , etc. Claire attended Stanford to obtain a bachelor in science but was in and out of modeling in her teens and early twenties .

𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐎 lived an affluent life more under the radar . His grandfather is CEO of JD banking , one of the four largest banks in the world . He attended Princeton as the rest of his family did . He got involved in the company business at a very young age as did his brothers , but went on to become the new CEO after his fathers unfortunate passing in 2002 .

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 was and will forever be her parents pride & joy . her parents were high school sweethearts & got married young -- at a twenty-two / twenty-three . they had been trying for two years to start their own family but jules’ mother struggled . thanksgiving in the hamptons , a dicaprio family tradition the day is engraved in her mothers memory , in 1997 , they announced to their family that after years of trying , they were pregnant .

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 grew up completely pampered ; bi-weekly trips to the nail salon with her mother and annual father-daughter trips . her mother was her best friend until she began morphing jules into what she thought was perfect . making sure she spoke at least one other language , was active in school , extracurriculars , how she presented herself . her mother cared about image due to her own childhood of growing up in the spotlight . besides the near brainwash to fit her mother’s image of perfect , everything was ideal & ‘ normal ’ up until the summer before her freshman year of high school . her mother discovered the affair her father had been having for months with a woman he did business with . he claimed it was due to the fact that jules’ mother had returned to some normalcy and wanted to work again , modeling and doing some traveling , therefore he ‘ just missed her around ’ . jules was aware of everything going on , heard the countless nights they spent arguing in the opposite wing of the house , she picked up on her father being late to family dinner because “ he had work to do ” . her parents tried their best to keep her in the dark for the sake of her sanity , innocence , and view on her father . jules went along with it all , the daddy’s girl in her was in denial for all of the months leading up to their divorce . at the end , her mother got full custody of her .

𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄 came two “ yes ” parents . everything became a competition between the two , trying to one up the other ; who took jules on the better summer vacation , had the most over the top christmas morning , etc . it was insanely manipulative & jules there wasn’t a time period where jules felt more alone ; not having a sibling to relate to , she was embarassed to tell her peers the real reason why her parents split , it was so cliché . both parents didn’t take too long to remarry , her father found another stay-at-home wife and her mother lucked out with a lawyer ten years older than she . her step-father had two daughtes & son with whom jules hated in the beginning – it was a lot to take in and she was used to being the only child . her father went on to have a child with his new wife two years after their marriage . it was all an immense amount of change within seven years .

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 for jules had been constantly changing since the news of her father’s affair , she’d spend her summers & holiday’s going back & forth between each parents in the hamptons until her father moved to calabasas to be closer to his wife’s family as soon as the baby was born . jules had always been a wild , reckless child at heart and the divorce between her parents only allowed her to push her limits even more . the two-three years her parents spent processing their divorce were her golden years -- she could not get in trouble with her parents and they never got upset with her . she took advantage of it all and abused drinking , hanging out with boys , you name it . she loved the attention she received from any male figure -- it made up for the lack of attention she was getting from her father once he got the boot .

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 was where jules found her safe space ; she could be her wild self , far away from home and only a five hour drive from her father that she still rarely sees . she joined a sorority , joined the exec board , was forced to join french club by her mother , all while maintaining a 4.08 gpa .

* ` 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐄 jules has always been a wild child . she’s always had a desire for attention , all eyes & attention on her , though the B I R T H of her uncontrollable desire for attention from males stemmed after her parents divorce . the lack of attention from her father allowed her to realize her dad wasn’t the only one who could spoil her & every man was basically the same . she’s not super close with either of her dads at the moment and sees her father about three times a year , two of which are holidays & every now and then the spontaneous visit from him in cali .

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 is a h u g e cry baby in the sense that she hates not getting what she wants . its not on purpose most of the time , it’s the way she was raised and the nature of her parents . she’s never had to ask for anything twice & hates doing so . though she’s a huge cry baby , she will try her best to mask her actual tears . she does a good job of seeming innocent , she’s that one friend that is super sus & lies a lot & keeps secrets but somehow is so good at convincing people other wise ? she’s a huge flirt , even when she’s not doing it on purpose , it’s sort of a weird practice or habit she’s grown into ? she feels empowered in the weirdest way of owning men and being able to form their opinion of her for them , this stems from her newly founded daddy issues it’s more so due to the fact that her relationship with her father began to diminish once he moved out . she is & has been on her “ fuck love ” rampage .

𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 do whatever she wants and will hide her bad intentions . she lives for chaos , loves enjoys pushing limits & boundaries . she loves a game of cat & mouse / teasing just knowing she has someone in her grip is what helps her sleep at night . she is a bit crazy . . . the type to watch someone’s snap score go up . def that type to block and unblock someone 238473 timES . she has an underlying need of approval from others and she almost needs to be liked by everyone she meets .

𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 she wants to model & be a playboy bunny BUT her dad would literally disown her if she didn’t follow her family legacy and attend stanford or yale to use her brains for good . she’s in school to be a pediatrician because at the end of the day she loves children and always wanted to seek a job in the healthcare field . she has plans to attend yale’s medical school after her senior year is complete at stanford .

i really based her off of american beauty & angela in the movie ( if you’ve seen it omg ily ) g

#╰ * ✴ 𝙢𝙪𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 ↝ 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 › ooc #entitled:intro #hi hI HI!!!!!!#xD

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ryqoshay · 3 years

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Tri-Arame: Braided Delight

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words: ~1.7k Rating: G Time Frame: During their 2nd year in high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

Author’s Note: Mainly just setting up some trends and playing with a few headcanons for future scenes. Hopefully it still works as well as a stand alone scene as I believe it does.

“Ne, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu’s voice caught Setsuna’s attention. “Do you think I should change my hairstyle for our next Live?”

Setsuna turned away from where she was contemplating her hidden cache of manga in the clubroom, deciding what to keep readily available and what to hand over to her friends for safe keeping. The other two girls in the room were sitting at the table, the redhead checking her hair in a mirror and the twintailed girl checking something on her phone.

“If you want.” Yuu replied. “I think your current style is cute as it is, but I’m sure whatever style you choose will be cute as well.”

The small pout on Ayumu’s face probably meant that Yuu hadn’t given her the answer she desired, but she didn’t necessarily dislike it either.

“Setsuna-chan” Ayumu turned to the other occupant in the room. “What do you think?”

Wait, she was asking her advice? Setsuna’s mind blanked on an answer. “I’m sorry, what was the question again?”

“Should I try something other than my normal style for our next performance?” Ayumu repeated, pointing to the braided bun she usually wore.

“Hrm…” Setsuna considered. “Well, alternative hairstyles are a trope many fans enjoy.” She pondered aloud. “However, you’ve only appeared in your introduction video and our first live, so it may be a bit early to start changing things up. Perhaps once you’ve performed in a couple more Lives you might consider something different. Maybe for our first photoshoot as a group?”

Ayumu nodded. “I see. That makes sense.”

“Besides, Yuu-san isn’t the only one who thinks your current style is cute.” Setsuna found herself continuing. “I saw many comments about it on your videos so far. To be honest, I’m a little envious of your styling techniques. I figured out loose braids for when I need to be Nana, but I wasn’t able to get them to hold properly at the base of a bun like you.”

“You tried to make a bun like mine?”

Setsuna nodded. “I thought it was cute and tried to emulate it.” The words she had just spoken registered in her mind and she felt a touch of heat gather in her cheeks.

“You think this style is cute?”

“I do.” Cuter than most of the other girls in the club, even Kasumi-san, Setsuna added silently, though probably only as cute as her… Her gaze shifted momentarily.

“Would you like me to show you how to make it?” Ayumu offered.

“Yes, please.” Setsuna replied, a bit quicker than may have been appropriate.

“Alright, come on over and have a seat.” Ayumu stood and motioned to the chair she had just vacated.

“Ah,” Yuu suddenly spoke, staring at her screen “I’ll meet you two in the practice room.” Without further explanation, she stood, grabbed her bag and all but ran out of the room.

If she hadn’t been paying attention, Setsuna would have missed the flash of disappointment Ayumu displayed before returning to her gentle smile as the raven-haired girl sat down.

“Here, hold this so you can watch what I’m doing.” Ayumu handed over the mirror she had been using earlier.

“Thank you.”

Setsuna felt a bit of excitement building up within her. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had worked with her hair. Obviously, she had gone in for the occasional trim, but she didn’t consider herself close to any of the salon employees. Ayumu was a friend, a close friend, and that made a difference Setsuna felt was worth the anticipation.

As soon as Ayumu’s brush made its first pass through Setsuna’s hair, she knew her feelings had been correct. It felt wonderful. So much different than when she did the exact same thing herself. Setsuna felt her shoulders relax and she let out a content sigh.

A giggle came from behind her.

“Ayumu-san?”

“Sorry, Setsuna-chan, it’s just that your reaction there was kind of cute. Yuu-chan reacts pretty much the same way.”

It was then that Setsuna realized that the girl standing behind her could see her face in the mirror.

“Oh, I, uhm, it just felt good to have someone else work with my hair.”

“I know, right?” Ayumu smiled. “That’s part of why Yuu-chan and I often help each other with our hair.” She giggled again. “That and Yuu-chan is bad at remembering to take proper care of her hair. Oh, speaking of that,” she ran her hand through dark strands, causing a delightful sensation to run down Setsuna’s spine “you two have a similar type, but yours is in much better condition. Do you mind if I ask what products you use?”

“Not at all.” Setsuna proceeded to name the brands and types she preferred to use.

“Thanks, I’ll try to remember those the next time Yuu-chan and I are out shopping. Or if you’re with us, maybe you can recommend them? Between the two of us, perhaps we can convince her to take better care of herself.”

“Is Yuu-san really that bad?” Despite asking the question, Setsuna couldn’t say she was surprised by the information.

“Not all the time,” Ayumu admitted “just when she gets hyper-focused on something, like right now, with idols.”

“Well, I cannot blame here there.” Setsuna grinned. “School idols are amazing.”

“Yes, they are.” Ayumu agreed.

“You know, I’m really glad you and Yuu-san spearheaded the reformation of the club.”

“Kasumi-chan probably did more than either of us.”

“Perhaps, though I’ve already spoken to her and expressed my gratitude. But I haven’t really thanked you two for your efforts; Yuu-san for her support and you… how to put it…” Setsuna paused “for being a worthy rival.”

“Eh? Worthy rival? Me?”

“Very much so.” Setsuna chuckled. “I loved your first Live and look forward to what you bring to the stage next time. The others were great too, but there’s a certain… purity to your performance that the other just don’t have, myself included. You’re helping me realize that there is more to being a school idol than I first thought. A lot more. But it’s a wonderful learning experience.”

Ayumu was quite for a moment, just long enough for Setsuna to start worrying if she had said something wrong. Or said to much, again.

“Thank you.” The redhead finally murmured.

Setsuna could see in the mirror that pink was beginning to dust the other girl’s cheeks. It was a somewhat similar reaction to Yuu’s compliments. And for some reason that made Setsuna feel good.

“Anyway, you’re all set.” Ayumu’s voice returned to normal. “How does that look?”

Wait, she was done already? Setsuna realized she had been so focused on the conversation and how much she was enjoying Ayumu working with her hair that she hadn’t paid attention to the process. She quickly glanced in the mirror at her new style.

“It looks good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Think you can do it yourself?”

“Oh, uhm…” Quick, think of something “I actually learn best by doing…”

“Do you want me to guide you through doing it on the other side?” Ayumu offered.

“Yes, please.” Thank goodness.

“Ayumu! Setsuna-chan!” Yuu’s attention homed in on the two girls entering the room.

“Senpai, wait!” Kasumi’s call fell on deaf ears as the twin-tailed girl ran over.

“You two look soo~ cute!” Yuu practically squealed. “I love it! Oh, what’s this?” Her hand found the braided tail off one of Setsuna’s buns.

“Since Setsuna-chan has longer hair than I do, I thought we might try to get a little fancy.” Ayumu explained.

“We?”

“Ayumu-san is a good teacher.” Setsuna stated proudly. “While I can’t say I’m completely confident that I could do it perfectly on my own right now, I think I could practice enough with what she’s taught me so far that I could eventually make one as good as hers.”

“Ah, I see.” Yuu laughed. “Or you could just have her do it again for you.”

“Huh?”

“Ayumu taught me how to dye my hair like this.” She brushed at the end of one of her side tails for emphasis. “But I still like it better when she does it.”

“Well,” Ayumu spoke up “there was also the time you…”

“Ayumu~!” Yuu interrupted with a whine. “That’s supposed to be secret!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Ayumu couldn’t help sticking out her tongue a bit as she didn’t feel particularly apologetic. It was fair to turn the tables on the teasing every so often after all.

“Oh, idea!” Yuu quickly returned to her former excitement. “You should teach me how to make that style as well, then I could help you with it!” She bounced on the balls of her feet. “And then if I learn other styles, I could help all of you guys, or anyone that needed help before Lives and photoshoots and stuff.”

For some reason, Ayumu felt a tiny flash of disappointment that Yuu didn’t mention styling her own hair. Granted, her childhood friend had worn twin tails almost the entire time they had known each other, so she was fairly set in her ways. But Ayumu couldn’t help imagining what Yuu might look like wearing different styles.

Setsuna, on the other hand… The raven-haired girl seemed much more open to the idea of different, or alternate as she called them, hairstyles. Perhaps Ayumu could test a few ideas on her…

“That’s a wonderful idea, Yuu-san.” Setsuna’s voice brought Ayumu back to reality. “I love how you’re always looking for new ways to support us.”

“What do you think, Ayumu?” Yuu asked, her gaze not having left the redhead.

Ayumu nodded. “I agree that it’s good idea. And I will help where I can.”

“Awesome!” Yuu cheered. “Now let’s get to practice!” She grabbed the other two girls’ hands and dragged them into the room.

As she and Setsuna followed their energetic friend, Ayumu stole a glance over. She’d done quite a nice job. Twin braided buns suited Setsuna surprisingly well. She watched as several other club members turned their attention to them and offered their commentary. Setsuna was the target of most of the praise, but that was fine; the passionate idol handled such things far better than Ayumu anyway, what with her contagious smile and all.

Even as she deferred the compliments that did make it her way, Ayumu was still happy that something as simple as a couple hair buns could earn such a positive reaction from her friends. Yes, Ayumu was confident that she needed to style Setsuna’s hair again. Soon.

Author’s Notes Continued in Followup Post

#YuuAyuSetsu #Takasaki Yuu #Yuki Setsuna #Uehara Ayumu #Tri-Arame #Love Live Nijigasaki #fanfic

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