#therentyoupay drabbles

[therentyoupay]

18. "You look lost." for jelsa ??? :3c

from this askbox meme!

"On the contrary," she says, slotting a hand over one cocked hip, sending shimmering fractals of reflected light across the inner walls of the glacier. "I live here."

Jack blinks. "Okay. So... Am I lost?"

The look of mild antagonism in her eyes disappears, and the judgmental slant of her brow softens into something more perplexed and curious than defensive. Jack twists his staff behind his back with a flick of his wrist—partly to seem unarmed but mostly to fill the silence.

"Are you?" the woman in white asks, her gaze narrowing at his bare feet on the ice. Concern curves into the lines of her mouth, her brows. "How did you get in here?"

Jack wasn't sure how well 'Oh! I was just flying around and passed through this funny-looking cloud and found this super cool glacier in the middle of the sea and decided to poke around!' would, no pun intended, fly.

"I don't know," he shrugs, sloooowly making his way closer to where she stands in the center of the cavern. He is careful not to watch her directly, and instead makes a show of looking up and around and admiring the giant slabs of ancient ice—he can feel the Old Power in them, kind of similar to how Manny feels—but out of the corner of his eye, he can see that she still stiffens up, wary of his not-so-subtle encroaching. Her shoulders, he notices, are bare. He tightens his grip on his staff, behind his back. "How do people usually get in here?"

"They don't."

Interesting. "How did you get in here?"

She doesn't answer him, which isn't a surprise at this point. "You aren't wearing any shoes," she observes, a question mark hanging in the freezing air of the chamber.

Jack knows he should try to be polite—has actually been working really hard on it, thank you very much—but he can't resist just a tiny bit of cheek. "I'm not," he agrees, and to emphasize his point, he takes another step closer to her with a cheerful glint in his eyes. He crosses both hands behind his back to clutch his staff behind him—relaxed, but ready.

You're like me, Jack knows, but not?

The woman in white's gaze travels over his hoodie, his old pants, his messy hair. It lingers on the drawstring cords at his collar: on the frost that lingers there. Her gaze snaps to his like an accusation. Like a wish.

"You're like me," she says, "but not."

Jack feels the magic in the walls, threaded into the frozen veins of this ancient labyrinth of secrets. Some instinct inside compels him to slowly reach out a hand and twist the molecules of air above his palm into sparkling diamonds of swirling snow, delicate and fragile: he watches her as she watches, transfixed, as his snowflakes dissolve into the air and become a part of the very fabric of the cavern that contains them, forever with the memory of this moment. Her eyes widen, and her fists clench.

Interesting.

"I don't think I'm lost," Jack says, slowly, like he might to a skittish deer; he knows, in this moment, that she has never met anyone like herself, either. I think we were supposed to find each other, he knows, but does not say.

The woman in white considers him. Raises her delicate palm aloft. Jack swallows. Now who's the deer?

Watches as, from the fabric of time and space above her palm, she pulls forth a wave of Old Magic so powerfully condensed that Jack nearly stumbles back—only catches himself at the last moment, as his staff drops to his side, at the ready—and the woman in white's Old Magic coalesces into a tiny flake of glimmering ice and snow. She briefly closes her eyes, and warmth suffuses the flake, dissolving it exquisitely into nothing but memory, and leaving the air of the cavern alive and singing.

The woman in white looks him in the eye; he'd gotten rather too close when he'd thought he was being sneaky, and now it's hard to meet the blue of her gaze. But he does.

"I don't think you're lost, either," she whispers. She glances at his hands.

Jack swallows. The air in the cavern surrounding them feels alive. He feels like he could do anything; when her gaze returns to his, he knows it. For whatever reason—we are supposed to find each other.

Slowly, through the heavy invisible energy sending sharp shocks of electricity over his skin, Jack Frost reaches out his hand to the woman in white, and waits for her to take it.

→ on ao3

#cnidariandreams #therentyoupay ask #therentyoupay fic #jelsa #therentyoupay drabbles #LIV SEE WE JUST YEET THE FICS OUT INTO THE UNIVERSE ---- YEET THEM DRABBLES #YEET AWAY ---

[kanamesharisenwrites]

WIP Name Game

Thank you to the wonderful @therentyoupay who tagged me!

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it!

The LIST:

- antihistamine

- home

- home; outline, notes, and summary

- crescendo

- paucity

- valley of the charmed

- Albatross

- comma;

- sensible shoes

- just a little (will you love me?)

- for better or worse (your hands changed the shape pf my universe)

- comfort rituals

- blue night

- Frivolity

- If (all the snowflakes...)

- Songbird

- a lovely kind of despair

- darling [let's blow this popsicle stand]

- kingdom come

- like a crack in my spine

- Marvelous Things

- something fine

- weekly advertisement

- hypocritical 1 and 2

- Naruto Love Fest drabbles

tagging (if you want to): @ally147writes, @misdemeanor1331, @seren-pen

#kh writes fanfiction #tag game #omg there are so many

[iputmineinhermione]

Fremione fanfics

Here’s a list I’ve compiled! Some aren’t finished, but most should be good stuff.

Love means never having to time travel by BlueRosesAtMidnight on fanfiction.net

What Am I To You? Ao3 by Lilyrae123 (6/? Chapters) 

Ours by Chlobliviate on AO3 (23/? Chapters)

Infelix Felicis Ao3 by eleigh (19/?)

One Kiss by MarauderTimes (oneshot)

True Love’s Charm by LeprechaunFairy

Just a Harmless Joke on Quotev and fanfiction.net by CrazyGirl47 (21 chapters)

A Rude Announcement by HufflepuffBook_Keeper (one shot)

Falling Through Time Ao3 by Wittyhistorian (34/?)

Sweaters and Green Tea by Corhahale (one shot)

This Journey With You by misshallieb (of course) Quotev/Ao3 (8/?)

So Much More Than Words by The_Quiet_One1696 (one shot)

All the Way by NiteFang (one shot)

Can’t Get You Off My Mind by Soyforramen (one shot)

Live Fiercely by senatsu (one shot)(this one’s sad)

Of Laughter and Love by clarabella_wandering on FF.net (one shot)

All the Weight of the World by GittieKittie (one shot)

These Pretty Lights by Shamelessly_Radiant (one shot)

Alright Granger by hannahbobana (one shot)

Alright, Granger? By JustAHobbit (one shot) (part of a fremione series)

Marrying Fred Weasley by Little_Miss_Dracula

Questionable ; by therentyoupay (one shot)

An Unlikely Confidant by ThrsdyNxt and the one shot sequel (that was actually written first and prompted the rest of the story): The Journey Back (it’s sad. Prepare yourself)

Stupefied by InSleepHeSangToMe (25/26 chapters - probably won’t be completed but that’s ok (sorta not really)) (it’s sad)

Solidify by FelixFelicisWithATwist (one shot)

Candle Light by RoyalBlossom (one shot)

Tumblr Writing Prompts by Brattness (collection of drabbles)

I hope this helps! Feel free to add others you know of, and happy reading!!

#fremione #fred x hermione #fremione fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #Harry Potter

[therentyoupay]

[ Wildward!AU | Elsa & Jack | based on the Wildward series by @callimara ] IN THE TIME OF THE FIRST KEEPER...

She knew—even without Hugenn to guide her, without the Vision brought to her by the black opal, without her Aegis and the Sentinel of Thought—that they could never be. She need not look into her future. She need not slow down time, no matter how she might wish to. One day, somehow—this power would be lost. Until that day came—when their Aegis abandoned them, or all was forgotten—and perhaps even after, he would remain... But she would not yield, and he did not push, for Villr, the Sentinel of Protection, had chosen a Guardian: he, with his survival and his Rage, with the speed and strength bestowed upon him by the brown onyx of the earth, would protect her from harm, would provide shelter and safety for her cold frozen heart. "I do not protect you because the Wolf wills it. The Wolf answers my will because I protect you." She believed him, but it changed nothing. One day, their borrowed godhood would be gone, and their fragile mortality would find them. "Perhaps," she said, knowing the truth and—for the moment—choosing not to. "Perhaps what we have will share the agelessness of the Aegis. Perhaps, one day, we will find each other again... maybe centuries. Eons. In a thousand years." He, who fought not with his Mind but with his Heart, felt the cautious Raven place her delicate trust in the Wolf. Smiling with naught but his eyes, the Guardian echoed the vow that would last—maybe centuries, maybe eons. "Then I'll find you. In a thousand years."

#callimara #wildward #callimara wildward #wildward!au #jelsa #wildward!jelsa #fanfiction of an original story!! #therentyoupay drabble #therentyoupay fic #therentyoupay in a thousand years #therentyoupay fanfiction #snowtpnetwork #jelsa au #au!jelsa #therentyoupay edits

[therentyoupay]

#24 JUST SAY IT JELLSAAAAAA ARTGHHHAHAHNSNNEMWMEMWJAJHAJAHAHHAHA

On July 1st, the lonely house at the top of the mountain was finally sold.

— In which Jack(son) Overland tries his best to befriend his neighbor, one woodworking project at a time. { neighbors-to-lovers!fic, modern-mountain-living!au }

Prompt from @aicosu: Three-word sentences: "Just say it."

ao3 ❆

#aicosu #OF COURSE A DRABBLE WAS NOT ENOUGH APPARENTLY #this literally came out of nowhere #i naively reblogged a “three-word sentence” challenge for funsies on tumblr #and then aicosu came out of nowhere with a fun prompt #and one failed stranger things!au later #all of a sudden jack was living on a mountain and this story wrote itself over the course of a damn week #it started as a drabble one-shot #but it got even longer than expected #so here's the first half of what is now a quick two-shot! #second part should be up soon it's almost done! #therentyoupay snow globe #therentyoupay fic #jelsa

[therentyoupay]

writing statuses —

active.

✍️ doctoral dissertation — life. phd program. actively working on it, and planning to defend in spring 2025!

✍️ snow globe — rotg/frozen. jelsa. updated [august 4, 2023] on ao3. it’s just a two-shot, and part ii is already 70% finished!!

✍️ that one night — lok. tahnorra. updated [june 14, 2023] on ao3 only. transfer from FFNET to ao3 started as of may 15, 2023 and completed may 31, 2023. actively publishing new chapters to ao3 only. hope to finish summer 2023. remainder of story: 70% written. next chapter: 90% written. should be within the next week or so??

backburner.

⏲️ technical difficulties — miraculous ladybug. love!square. updated [march 8, 2023]. next chapter: 30% written. ↝ i moved this to the backburner on 8/10 because i want to finish snow globe first and do another chapter update of that one night before i finish this one!

⏲️ at the center — rotg/frozen. jelsa. updated [june 27, 2018]. next chapter: 40% written.

complete.

✅ check the pipes for frost — rotg/frozen. jelsa. complete [may 18, 2015]. ✅ personal record — lok. tahnorra. complete [december 3, 2013]. ✅��frosted sea glass — rotg/frozen. jelsa. complete [august 10, 2023]. 

------

tracker updated: june 14, 2023. august 10, 2023

fic tracker also available on my website! ♡

#any fic not listed here is still in the works but not currently on the stove! only human lmao #therentyoupay writes #therentyoupay fic #therentyoupay writing updates #hilariously frosted sea glass was on the 'backburner' oop #😂😂😂😂and i ended up starting a whole new two-shot based off sheila's prompt 😂 #when it was supposed to be a DRABBLE #therentyoupay snow globe

[therentyoupay]

just want to quickly tell you that i really admire your dedication in completing your 'at the center' fiction, which is WOW, absolutely commendable!! ( and expanding other drabbles as well??? i'm blown away ).

although we've only been following each other recently, i hope to be like you someday and have the motivation to keep posting updates for my fics no matter how long it takes 🥹 okay that's all and have a very nice day!!

thank you!! 😭😭😭😭🙏🙏💖💖💖💖 so much!!! for your sweet comments and for the encouragement and for dropping by to leave a message 😭😭💖💖💖💖💖🙏🙏🙏🙏 I HOPE YOU, TOO, HAVE A VERY NICE DAY ✨

and i'd like to also take a moment to say a few words about (✨forging, fostering✨) the motivation to keep posting updates for fics (no matter how long it takes!!!!), but first, i'd also like to very briefly share with you two of my all-time favorite fanfiction WIPs (one is ongoing 20+ years, and the other is 10+) to help contextualize my response:

#1. ————

More Than Human (Words: 332,245 | Complete: No) by sbj "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." - Camus {High School AU!RrB/PpG}

FIRST PUBLISHED: January 31, 2009

LAST UPDATED: June 18, 2019

As of January 7, 2024, the chapter updates span 10 years, 4 months, and 21 days

#2. ————

Re-Entry (Words: 568,178 | Works: 22 | Complete: Yes) and Re-Entry: Journey of the Whills (Words: 923,940 | Works: 59 | Complete: No) Obi-Wan Kenobi, while still a young Padawan, suffers an injury and wakes up with all of the memories, experience, training, and Force-strength of Old Ben Kenobi. {Time Travel AU!Star Wars Re-Write} by flamethrower

FIRST PUBLISHED: October 1, 2002

LAST UPDATED: December 30, 2022

As of January 7, 2024, the chapter updates span 20 years, 3 months, and 6 days

————

these WIPs are only two examples! tons of my favorite stories have spanned multiple years of progress!

mine! ————

at the center (Words: 395,094 | Complete: No) by @therentyoupay Legends and fairy tales, magic and myths, and—at the center of it all—a story of a young, future-Queen and her young, ageless-Guardian; a girl cursed with fear and a god frozen in time, and all of the reasons why seeing isn't always at the heart of believing. {Guardian AU!Jelsa}

FIRST PUBLISHED: January 17, 2014

LAST UPDATED: January 2, 2024

As of January 7, 2024, the chapter updates span 9 years, 11 months, and 22 days (happy almost 10th anniversary!! ✨)

thoughts & feelings! ————

everyone writes at their own pace, in their own time, with the best resources they have, according to whatever life stage(s) they are at 💕

~most readers generally express gratitude and understanding and patience! fandom culture (across fandoms) shifts and changes all the time, so while there are times in fandom (generally) in which the ✨entitled expectation✨ is for fic authors to "WRITE FAST, PUBLISH OFTEN," there are also times in which readers go out of their way to share beautifully encouraging messages like "even if you never update again, i am so grateful for what you have given us (so far)!" and "i will wait for this story to update for the rest of my life, and i will be happy with an update no matter how long it takes" and, often—both messages at the same time. 💖

a good skill to develop is the mental strength to withstand the not-so-nice messages while absorbing the positivity of the lovely ones! i don't post or respond to the really nasty anons i sometimes receive 👀 like the ones that accuse me of having "abandoned nearly all [my] fics"—i personally delete them immediately! anons like that do not deserve someone else's ✨energy✨. (for the first time—i think, ever?—i did post someone's confusing? rude? anon the other day [i.e., i am a hoarder who creates suffering by withholding fic updates?? i think??], but i attribute that choice to publicly post [my reaction gif to that anon] to my current Life Stage™ and my hard-earned self-confidence in the knowledge that I Can Do Hard Things. ✨ my development of that muscle has come from finishing other long-progress fanfics, and, to be honest, Real Life Milestones like going to grad school [twice] and Doing a Dissertation ✨). all in all, the motivation to keep updating is really, at its core, about having the will and the time and the mental energy and the passion to dedicate time to something that you really want to do, even through all the obstacles and nonsense, which takes mental (and emotional) strength! 💖 develop and fortify your mental fortitude! 💖💖💖💖 it's a lifelong process! ✨

and lastly, and most importantly, in my opinion... regardless of whether or not you think any potential readers might be out there (chances are there WILL BE, but that's not the point!!!), just keep writing... and write what you want, and write for yourself! whether you update in two days, or ten years, or twenty-two—do it, anyway!! 💖💖💖💖💖

LOVE YOU, THANK YOU, GOOD LUCK 💖✨ (and keep me posted lol)

#sareinadale #therentyoupay ask #jelsa #therentyoupay at the center #therentyoupay thoughts #THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE LOVELY ASK #also everyone else please feel free to chime in and add!!!! 💖💖💖💖 #therentyoupay advice

[therentyoupay]

1sentence promts in celebration of your new bridesmaid status :) (congrats!!) - Jelsa "proposal" "surprise" "bachlor/bachlorette" "wedding" "honeymoon" "pregnant"

wedding (reception) ;

“anna, this is ridiculous, i told you we should just go into the bathroom—”

“it’s too far! i don’t want to miss more than half a song!”

“well, if you don’t stop fidgeting, it won’t matter how far away we’ve gone, because these ribbons are going to knot themselves into a tangled mess.”

“why can’t we just knot them anyway? no one is going to see them!”

“anna, the idea is that you’re not going to keep this gown bustled forever—and if you want it bustled at all, quit moving.”

“um,” says a voice from behind; a very, very uncomfortable voice. “sorry to interrupt, but…” he trails off uncertainly. he’s no doubt distracted by the way anna stares at him from where she stands in her too-high heels in the corner of the extended seating area of their luxurious hotel venue, or by elsa, who… stares up at him from half-underneath her sister’s dress, on the floor, in a calculated heap, literally cornered, still waiting for him to go on. “ah. right. yeah—kristoff said i needed to come out here and tell you that ‘your jam is on.’ he’s already started a dance circle with—”

elsa lets out a huff of dismay as anna bounds off in her heels across the wide open array of fluffy couches and designer armchairs and ottomans, back towards the closed doors that lead to the grand hallway through which the ear-ringing sounds of a very lively wedding reception can easily be heard. “sorry, elsa! i’ll be back in a few minutes!” she chirps, half-running, and it’s a wonder that she doesn’t trip and fall—either from her shoes, or the champagne, or the half-finished excess of her half-bustled wedding gown train. she all but flees to the dance floor.

the young man in (most of) a tux looks back to where elsa is composing herself on the floor. in the corner. he’s missing a few pieces: a jacket, a tie, a few buttons. “would you, ah… like a hand?”

elsa turns her expression towards him fully; his proffered hand snaps back, then raises high with his other in a placating show of apology and, if elsa might be so presumptuous, ‘oops’. his expression matches his hands. 

“sorry,” the young man says. “it didn’t, uh… look like a great time to drop by, what with the, like, ‘using the wedding dress as a tent’ and all, but kristoff was pretty specific,” he explains, to elsa’s bewilderment, “about his instructions. for the song. and when the groom asks you to do something… you know?”

after the moment it takes for elsa to get her wits about her, elsa sighs. “i’m sorry. i shouldn’t be so frustrated, and i certainly shouldn’t be taking it out on you.” with all the grace that she can muster, elsa hoists herself from the floor with the help of a nearby window ledge, raising herself into a proud stance in shoes that she has been wearing for quite a few many hours now. “and i know.”

she sees a crystal-clear vision of her sister out on the dance floor, tripping up half the guest list merely by stepping out into their range. thinks of how much fun she is probably having anyway, regardless of how dirty her gown is getting, or how many times someone steps on her moves—quite literally. elsa sighs again, then straightens herself out once more. 

the young man looks her over for a moment. it’s then that she places him: a last-minute addition to the groomsmen. she hadn’t yet had the chance to meet him, since he’d missed the rehearsal dinner… and his intended flight. something about a misunderstanding with his passport. but he’d been standing at the front of the line to walk down the aisle—with rapunzel, hadn’t he? and she’d spent the ceremony sitting a few rows behind him, occasionally glancing at the back of his head while watching her sister dance her way through her vows. how does he know kristoff, i wonder?

“jack,” he holds out his hand. “i, uh. saw you at the wedding.”

elsa arches a brow. extends her hand as well and says, “elsa. maid of honor.”

“yeah. i know.”

it’s amazing, how awkward the silence can be, even after so much champagne.

“you’re not gonna go back in?”

elsa finds herself crossing her arms. finds herself one breath away from tapping her foot. “my sister is supposedly coming back out to finish what we started, as soon as her ‘jam’ has ended.”

the young man—jack—has the grace to look sheepish. “yeah. i heard. but…”

“but?” elsa hears the rest implied, anyway. “but how do i know she’ll remember on her own? that it won’t take her another four songs to come back out? i’m almost certain that she won’t.”

well, this oversized couch seems lovely enough; she sits herself down as carefully as she can, and prepares to wait. 

jack looks perplexed. “do you… want me to go back in after her?”

and now so does elsa. is this groomsman feeling guilty? responsible? generous?

“no, thank you. i don’t mind waiting,” she says, hoping that he will take the hint. “i could use a break from the noise and the heat, to be honest.”

jack’s hands find their way into his pockets. she hadn’t noticed before, but apparently his vest is unbuttoned too. does the man have a thing against buttons?

“would you… like some company, maybe?”

no, thank you, is once more on the tip of her tongue. but then she catches sight of the red tinge to his overheated cheeks, and the flush of his neck. his light hair wasn’t exactly styled during the ceremony, from what she can barely remember of him, but currently it looks like he’s spent the last few hours flying through some clouds rather than dancing on their dance floor. she hears his words in her mind again, but this time for what they really are: i could really use some cool air, too.

“i don’t mind,” she says, and, as jack sits down on the adjacent couch—

she is surprised by how much she means it.

#snowtpnetwork #therentyoupay quick fics #therentyoupay ask #therentyoupay anon #therentyoupay drabbles #therentyoupay oneshot #for context: this prompt was sent to me on october 12th 2015 and today it is september 10th 2016 #i finished up my responsibilities as a maid of honor over a month ago #WOW #this quick fic is quite literally based off of my experience in having to SPIRIT AWAY THE BRIDE TO GO BUSTLE HER DAMN CATHOLIC CHURCH WEDDI #A BUSTLE IS NO EASY THING #also i wrote another jelsa drabble tonight but forgot to tag it as 'snowtpnetwork' OOPS #it's been a while 😩 #Anonymous

[therentyoupay]

Jelsa: Ghost

ghost ;

“but she’s not like what you described,” jamie whispers, and he stares and he stares and he stares, unblinking, at the space left of jack frost’s shoulder, while jack ignores and ignores and ignores the impossible trail of ice that wraps itself down his spine. “about what it was like for you... before.”

(and jack should know better than to cave into so slight a cautionary tale, but--his existence is bound from children seeing the impossible, woven from the belief of tales, of almost ancient stories,of seeing would-be ghosts rise up again---)

“i think,” jamie starts, lifting his chin and narrowing his eyes across the room towards the thrumming emptiness beside him (and jack’s hands tighten imperceptibly around his staff---but not carefully enough, not subtly enough, because the curl of ice becomes a gentle breeze, becomes a breath of cool air curling over the back of his cold neck) and jamie whispers it with conviction, with all the spell of a child who is buried in his belief, “i think she wants for us to help her.”

#therentyoupay drabbles #therentyoupay fics #therentyoupay prompts #therentyoupay quick fics #therentyoupay anon #therentyoupay ask #Anonymous

[therentyoupay]

Homecoming Night

Korra wondered, just for a moment, if she should have kept on the Homecoming dress.

"Text me when you're heading over," Asami whispered, and let go of Korra's sleeve. It was the same hoodie she'd worn the night before, to the pep rally; it was the same one she'd packed into her overnight bag.

To stay the night at Asami's.

"Okay," Korra whispered back, before she stepped out through the passenger door and onto the shadowy sidewalk outside Tahno's White Falls apartment. The car door shut with a meager thud, and Korra ignored for the billionth time the urge to contemplate why her heart was beating so fast; took two steps forward, paused, twisted, and tacked on a heartfelt, "Thanks."

Korra watched Asami wink and drive away, the last slice of confirmation of her blessing of Korra's plans, and Korra tried to show her gratitude on her face, but there was simply too much fluttering around in her stomach for her to do much more than stare. For a terrible, horrible, single moment of uncertainty, Korra seriously considered calling Asami and begging her to come back.

But she was Korra.

So it was as Korra was grappling with the realities of just how truly inexperienced she was in the ways of being a high school hormonal youth that the rest of her resolve finally found its way back into her spine, and not a moment too soon: Hey, read the message that flashed onto her phone, is that you who just pulled up?

She heaved her (mostly-emptied) backpack over her shoulder with a strong arm, and hopped up the few steps to the call box.

Yeah, I'm down here, she texted back, staring intently at her phone for a response. The few seconds of silence that followed opened a whole new realm of concerns: What if he didn't get her text? (What if his phone stopped working, or died, and he didn't know for sure that she was outside?)

What about the make-up she'd taken off after she'd left the dance? Should she have really washed her face? (Asami had encouraged her to keep on the mascara, at least; maybe Korra should have listened, after all.) What if this hoodie smelled too much like bonfire (and rivalry and bad decisions) and triggered some horrible memory of the previous night or something, and Tahno changed his mind?

Was she being totally lazy by wearing her underarmour leggings? (Was she being forward?)

She was so startled by the sound of the door opening that she actually jumped, and Tahno's quick scoff of laughter flipped her already flip-flopping stomach at least twice over.

"Typical Fire Foxes," he greeted, eyes dancing. "So skittish."

Korra had intended to fire back a scathing reply, but the sight of him in jeans and a black t-shirt sidetracked her; the night before, she hadn't been in a position to fully appreciate the first time she'd really seen him in anything other than his running gear. Considering, you know---they'd been on the run.

"Well, hello to you too," grumbled Korra, who had the distinct feeling of shouldn't he have kissed her by now? Nevertheless, a smirk crept over her lips. "You gonna let me in?"

Tahno, for once, said nothing: just a look in his eyes and a step backwards, and then Korra was following him before she'd even realized that he was leading her inside.

"You sure you're all right with getting this close to a Wolverine den?" he drawled, long and familiar, placing a hand on the lowest peg in the railing of the spiraling stairs. As he rounded the landing and started the trail upwards, he jibed, "You reek even more strongly of school spirit than you did last night."

"Must be all that victory," Korra quipped, but she felt weirdly disappointed; there were so many contradictions in her tone and voice and body and mind that it was a wonder she didn't split apart. She was so happy to see him that she was actually almost freaked out by it---okay, maybe actually pretty freaked out by it, honestly---but she was also feeling the usual annoyance she felt whenever he gave her crap for no reason (which may also be part of that fondness, but she wasn't really sure) which was exacerbated by the fact that she apparently was not currently capable of coming up with any sort of decent come-back. (And also, it wasn't like she expected them to like, jump each other the moment she walked in the door or anything, but hadn't they just spent the better part of the early afternoon practically wrestling with one another on the forest floor of the arboretum, like---?)

Tahno's laughter trickled down, sparking up another flutter of nerves and excitement. Hesitations and confusions aside, there was an undeniable bounce in her step as she followed him, and her energy was starting to feel like a separate being all its own. (Would it be weird if she asked him to go for a late-night run with her---?)

"So," he cleared his throat when he reached the second landing. "You ended up dancing with the locals, after all?"

"Locals?" Korra quipped, letting herself feed off of the bright burst of playfulness in her chest as she catapulted up the stairs. "I seem to recall one of those declining my invitation this very afternoon."

(This was so weird: Tahno seemed very much the same, and yet totally unrecognizable; was it okay for her to kiss him now? Just because? Why hadn't he kissed her yet? Before tonight---this afternoon---last night---she'd never quite fully allowed herself to imagine how much she liked the form of his shoulders, or the tilt of his walk---especially from behind.)

(There was an inappropriate running joke in there somewhere; Tahno would find it.)

"I'm sure whoever they were, they had much more important things to do," Tahno replied with a rather haughty glance over his shoulder, before stopping at an apartment door that Korra remembered very, very clearly.

"I'm sure," said Korra warmly, distractedly, as she eyed the t-shirt and jeans (and bare feet?) once more, and realized that he'd probably been home, waiting for her---for hours---since the moment he dropped her off at her uncle's house that afternoon. After they'd practically mauled one another in the park. Just saying.

"Here," Tahno opened the door and gestured for Korra to step inside, extending a hand towards the small, open space of the living area. Another strange flock of butterflies kicked up a fuss in her stomach, but Korra ignored them, and focused on the springy restlessness that kept her on the balls of her feet. She walked into Tahno and Narook's small living room space, took note of the couch with a bright flash of interest, and turned back to Tahno, to share her amusement and anticipation.

Except Tahno was still in the doorway, pointedly looking at a spot on the far wall.

"Does Narook always close?" Korra asked curiously, stepping further inside and dropping her bag against the side of the couch. It wasn't exceptionally large, she noticed.

"Every night," said Tahno, closing the door behind him, and dead-bolting the door. Korra watched curiously; none of the houses in Tenzin's old Victorian neighborhood had any sort of special latch. "Water?"

Korra blinked. She'd already been inside his apartment for at least twenty seconds; they should have at least kissed by now.

"Yeah, sure," she shrugged, and reluctantly distanced herself from the vicinity of the couch.

The kitchenette was as tiny and as haphazardly clean as she remembered, which brought a delicate smile to her face. Tahno clearly noticed, if the high arch to his brow was anything to go by, but he only went about his business quietly, taking two glasses and filling them up at the tap. When Korra reached out a hand to take her glass of water, her too-long sleeves nearly got in the way.

The first sip was all right, but by the second, Korra was ready for some serious fight or flight. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"So," Korra slipped out, cupping her glass with both hands. "What have you been up to all afternoon?"

A wave of relief hit her with frightening force when his expression turned wry. Finally.

"Is that your way of subtly interrogating whether or not I had a legitimate excuse for not throwing myself to the wolves?"

"Don't you mean foxes?"

Tahno swirled the water in his glass. "I'm pretty sure I meant wolves."

"I'm pretty sure they're called relatives."

Tahno's smile had a dry, bitter twist. "I'm pretty sure they're the same thing."

Korra rolled her eyes, but quieted at the weird sense of discomfort she felt growing in her gut. The tiny, nagging pebble of uncertainty was starting to feel like a decent-sized rock. Or a small boulder. Maybe granite?

She shrugged and rolled her eyes to the ceiling, feeling a bit at a loss. The water was cool in her glass, but her limbs felt stiff and strange. She couldn't just keep waiting for the awkwardness to go away.

"Is this weird?" she wondered aloud, sincere and honest and brave. "This feels weird."

"Is what weird?"

Korra tried to hit him with a flat stare, but he wasn't taking the bait. She couldn't very well will the awkwardness away if he wasn't going to cooperate. She tried to think about what this might be like for him---after such a stressful week, and a dramatic Friday night, and an arguably-equally-just-as-dramatic afternoon, and not competing in that morning's race, and not running for a whole week, and then having so much change so quickly all at once and having his title restored and his name cleared when he least expected it, and he still had a black eye on one side of his face and a shiner on the other, both courtesy of her survival instincts and muscle memory, and after a week of little to no communication and horrible communication at best, they'd only seen each other that day for, like, an hour and a half at most before she ran off to go spend time with her friends and relatives and go to the dance and---

She suddenly had the desperate need to know if he'd still eaten Spaghetti-O's that week.

"I'm sorry," Korra blurted suddenly, because she meant it. She really, really did. "Again. And not just for what I did, you know, but for everything that happened---this week and last week and last night and this afternoon and---"

"New girl," he interrupted, pointedly setting their glasses of water on the countertop, and Korra braced herself for another argument---about what, she couldn't guess---because it felt like the start of one, all prickly and fierce and familiar, until she felt her face in his hands and his breath on her mouth, and he said, "Shut up," and she did.

//

#therentyoupay personal record #tahnorra #goddammit tahnorra #therentyoupay drabbles #therentyoupay intervals #oh look :)

[therentyoupay]

I don’t even know where this idea came from, but here it is. — In which Jack and Anna are literally the most perfectly compatible platonic roommates in history and Elsa is more than skeptical. { brotp!Jack/Anna, romantic!Jack/Elsa ; Modern Roommate AU } 

[  i  ii iii ]

//

"Elsa, don't do this to me—you're worrying over nothing!" Jack deliberates; he's already overheard quite a bit more than he is probably supposed to, and he wonders if topping off his mug of coffee is really worth alerting Anna to the fact that he is just around he corner. She is gonna spill the beans to him about her phone call with her sister, anyway—probably come running to his room to rant out her fondness and frustration as soon as she hangs up—but on the other hand, they are still relatively new to one another. Jack knows better than to assume. "Elsa, I totally get your concern, okay? I mean, I haven't got, like, the best track record or anything, but you were there for most of the fake-engagement fiasco, and you know I'm not gonna make that kind of mistake again and besides this situation is so totally and completely one hundred percent different—" A tense, lengthy pause. "Well, you don't even know him!" Yikes. This again. "Elsa, I love you, and I appreciate you looking out for me, and I'm still super very grateful—like, for everything, honestly, you know I love you from the bottom of my heart—for everything you've done for me, including the aforementioned not-so-great engagement disaster thing, but I've got this, okay?" Another pause. "Hello?" At the first breath of a sigh, Jack makes a hasty, stealthy retreat back to his room. He'll get his coffee later. // Twenty minutes later, to be exact, Jack deems it safe enough to venture into the tiny galley kitchen. There's a tall high-top table, barely big enough for one (but regularly seats two, especially if they use the mini plates) with two mismatched bar stools. Anna is at hers, messing around on her phone. For her benefit, Jack makes a point of thudding his footsteps loudly as he pads into the kitchenette. "Mornin'," he greets, as she schlumps over the scratched wood surface and groans. Jack glides over to the coffee pot and helps himself to the cup he's been craving since half an hour ago. "Not feeling it today?" She scoffs. "Feeling too much today," Anna counters, balancing her phone on its side with only a few fingertips. “Feeling everything today.” She'd already broken her previous phone last month, and Jack had had the privilege of witnessing that disaster, himself. He watches her balancing act with side-eyed curiosity. "You heading to work soon?" He artfully dodges the topic of phone calls and fake engagements and sisters worrying. "In an hour," Anna dismissively glances at the time on her phone, then double-takes. "When are you supposed to be at work?" Jack isn't entirely sure, but he's not one to admit it. "I've got time," he smoothes over easily, relishing his coffee. "Is Kristoff on today?" "Who? Oh, yeah, but he's like, not as bad as he used to be. He's eased up a little, so I'm kind of used to him now." "Really? Yeesh." "Lay off him. He's not what I'm thinking about, anyway." "Ah," Jack settles his hip against the countertop. He holds his coffee mug to his chin like it's a tankard of ale, like he is a mighty warrior of Asgard; the state of pajama-undress only adds to the allure, in his opinion. "You are clearly reflecting on how lucky you are to have such a deviously good-looking roommate." For a full beat, Anna is silent... until she lets out rather forceful snort. He's almost offended (except he knows his looks are devious; except he doesn't take offense easily), and then she mutters, "Yeah, well, maybe she should be worried." The thoughtful silence that follows is more alarming than he’d like to admit. "She?" Jack prompts, distractedly, because as much as he likes Anna (as much as he might have thought, once upon a month ago, that he might actually really like her), he really likes her best as a roommate and a friend. He takes a careful sip of his coffee and hopes that Anna is not reconsidering the terms of their living arrangement. Or friendship. Great friendship. Anna's head lists to the side. "My sister," she answers, flipping her phone and sighing out the contents of her lungs. "She doesn't currently have any proof that you're not like, some axe-murderer or something. Like. A sociopath." Well, given what little he knows about Anna's previous adventures, such a thing is not so uncommon as one would like to think. "Um. Does she have proof that I am?" "All she has is my word," Anna wearily replies. "Which, you know. Worries her." "Sounds... reasonable?" "She is reasonable," Anna mutters, letting her phone fall flat. Jack winces. "Except for when she's not." Jack takes another sip of coffee, borderline awkward. He's got a little sister of his own, but she's still way too young for him to worry about just yet. Much. He clicks his tongue, pushing conflicting thoughts aside. "Still no big sister-approval, then. Hm. Guess we're not gonna be able to install that indoor slip 'n slide like we wanted." "Yeah, well---we can stash the metaphorical slip 'n slide next to the indoor swimming pool and the karaoke machine," Anna grumbles, "Right next to my successful grown-up independence." "Yo," Jack points a stern, accusatory finger. "Easy now. At least two of those things are real." "The karaoke machine and-slash-or my adulthood?" "Well... one and a half, I guess, because the machine was broken when we got it. But I meant the independence part, for the record." "Great,” Anna nuzzles her nose into the table. “I can't figure out how to fix either of those things." (In Jack's opinion you didn't really need a machine for karaoke, but that is beside the point and he doesn't actually sing enough to know, karaoke or otherwise. Also for the record.) "It can't be all that bad," Jack says lightly, but in truth he takes an uncertain glance around the apartment. Yeah, it's a modest apartment, but at least it's relatively clean. And safe. And up to code, according to some forms that they probably signed or something. "I don't know," Anna rests her chin directly on the tabletop. "Elsa always seems to find things that could go wrong... and then things that could go really wrong." "Well, she can't be right about that stuff all the time." Anna tilts her head. Says nothing. Jack glances into his coffee, curious. It sloshes up against the side in a funny way. "Has she always been so uptight?" "Cautious... is what she calls it. And maybe. I guess so." Ah. Yes. Jack is a little fuzzy on the details, but once again it seems that there's more to the story of their sisterhood than what he's heard. "I don't know. She's always gonna feel like she has to take care of me... I just want to lessen the load, you know?" "So you got an apartment and a job and a roommate," Jack points out. "Solid choices. Especially that last one." Anna considers him for a long moment. The moment is distorted, or perhaps enhanced, by the fact that her chin is still mushed onto the tabletop. "Actually," Anna reluctantly begins, nose scrunching with some unnameable annoyance, for there is also resignation in her hunched over shoulders. "I think that's part of the problem. Or most of it, really." Ah, well. Here they are, then. Jack folds his lips underneath his teeth then forces a pleasant, close-lipped smile. They smack open. "So... still not a fan of the roommate, then?" "More like... Afraid I’m a fan," Anna sighs. "So yeah. No. She's not." Jack ponders this. He swirls the coffee in his cup. "Huh." "Yeah. I don't know." Something occurs to Jack. "Is it just because I'm a guy?" "More like... she doesn't know you. And also probably because you're an attractive guy." Something else occurs to Jack. "She knows what I look like?" This strikes Jack as unreasonably unfair; Anna's sister probably knows all about him, yet he has no idea what other cautious, uptight, charmingly red-headed variations of Anna could be running around town. "No. I just told her you are." Jack smiles into the rim. "Indeed," he grins, but it's partially muffled. "Have you also told her about my other fabulous qualities? Like my collection of axes?" "She was very fixated on 'male', 'young', and 'sometimes refuses to wear pants'." Anna, smirking, pointedly does not glance down to the patterned boxer shorts currently below his gray t-shirt; as a direct result, neither does he. "Touché," he says, and sips. Damn---almost done with his second cup. "I just want her to trust me," Anna reveals, lifting herself up and staring at the wall. "She has enough to worry about without my problems too. She should actually put herself first for once." Jack is suddenly dragged from his slightly guilty musings that, huh, if his little sister were living out her early twenties in an impulsive apartment-living situation decision with a deviously attractive young man who resolutely did not wear shoes (or pants) in their shared apartment— "What is it gonna take for her to be okay with this?" He asks, quite before he knows what he's doing, really. Anna looks at him with such hope. "Just... out of curiosity... would it be the weirdest thing ever if I asked you to meet her?" //

#may continue this after COMPLETION OF MASTER'S PROGARM but who knows -- probs more likely to write backstory or jsut drabble snippets #snowtpnetwork #therentyoupay drabbles #jelsa #therentyoupay roommate au #therentyoupay anon #also tumblr updated and i've not had xkit for over a month and i can't tag my ask replies from the get-go so here is a photo post :(

[therentyoupay]

accepting drabble requests ;

hey! i’ve gotten a bunch of really cool prompts lately, but a good few of them are for pairings/fandoms that i don’t know well enough to write for. :( to help clarify which pairings/fandoms i’m good with, i’ve updated my SHIPS & FANDOMS page and i’ve added a link to it right on my tumblr sidebar.

hope this helps! feel free to request according to a meme, something you’ve been wondering about in one of my completed/WIP stories, whatever you want.

happy prompting!

#therentyoupay updates #therentyoupay drabbles

[therentyoupay]

For the "No Excuses" meme, I give you the prompt of: Tahno, Shaozu, and Ming together in a bubble bath. GO GO GO! :D

from this "no excuses" writing askbox meme!

Oh, goodness.

"Shaozu, if you were gonna insist on hogging the jets, the least you could have done was take a shower first, you disgusting animal.""Who died and made you King of the Jacuzzi? We don't know where you've been in the last twenty-four hours, and you don't hear me complaining.""Well... Now that you mention it--""Shut up. I don't want to know. I don't want to fucking hear about this. I'd rather drown myself in this hot tub.""You see, it all started last night in the hotel lobby, right after we checked in... Coach was busy with finding the bar, and you two were off--""Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut--""Enough, both of you. Let me enjoy what little peace and quiet I can in this hell-hole hotel, or I'm tossing you both out. There's only room enough for three of us, anyway.""But.... Ming, there are only the three of us.""Not with Tahno's ego, there isn't.""Hey!"

#therentyoupay drabbles #therentyoupay that one night tahno met korra #no excuses askbox meme #tumultuously #that one night!verse #therentyoupay ask