#magensta

Title: About the River and Cliché

Author: magensta (magentania)

Rating: Mature

Ship: Zayn Malik/Harry Styles

Summary: “Are you flirting with me?” Harry whispers, raising one of his eyebrows, “your future stepbrother?”

“Why, I thought I was being offensive.” Harry snorts, “By calling me sexy?”

“Nope. That means you’re just nothing but an attractive asshole.”

The one where Harry’s mom is going to get married, which is totally fine - if he did not happen to have an one night stand with his soon-to-be stepbrother before.

Why you should read it:

To quote one of the greatest minds of our time, the set up of this fic is “the right kind of wrong.” (Okay I stole that directly from Coyote Ugly, but I stand by my claim). That being said, the story isn’t about almost-incest. The relationship is a bit unconventional, but the story definitely doesn’t play off of any kind of shock factor. I’d say it’s more about healing old wounds. And as unconventional as the relationship might be, Zayn is exactly what Harry needs to pull himself out of the rut he’s in.  

From the beginning the author sets up a conflict outside of the romance plot, which automatically earns points from me. I was pulled in by the plot and the tension obvious in the taboo relationship of soon-to-be stepbrothers, but the family aspect makes the story even more rich. Harry’s backstory is absolutely vital to understanding his character 

The disparity between Harry and “Harry.” You know I love my character development, right? Going back to my previous point, in addition to family relations, another major point of conflict is the persona Harry has constructed since leaving his hometown. What makes the romance so good is the way Zayn sees through the front Harry puts up, and without realizing it, Harry actually reverts back to his genuine self when he’s around Zayn.

I also love the awareness of the text with the way it pokes fun at tropes. It’s a nice nod to cliches we’re familiar with and it’s good for some chuckles here and there but it also draws out insightful moments from the characters. 

Why you shouldn’t read it:

Not an OT5 fic, but it’s a Zarry-centric fic, so that’s not surprising. Harry and Zayn’s relationship is really well-developed, and, again, Harry’s character is so intriguing. And that’s all with a word count around 15,000, which is incredible.

I'll follow you off the face of the earth, babe. I'll follow you forever.

My grandma’s gonna jump up and yell at my mum, “I told ya don’t name her as a colour” don’t let her win anon

Thanks for not stabbing me!

zarry is so angst recently ngl

because we are very cool