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theoreticslut · 4 years ago

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"Why do they hate me so much?”

pairing: fred weasley x reader x george weasley (*might change)

requested: no

word count: 3k

warnings: mentions of cheating, SFW

A/N: i’m attempting an enemies to lovers kind of story, but i’m not sure if it’ll really come across as that. if you haven’t noticed i kinda just write and whatever comes out, comes out. As i mentioned above the pairing of the story might change as I’m still working on it. right now its heading in the direction of both the twins, but that’s not how i originally wanted it to go, so we’ll see. I hope you guys like what I have so far, I do want to make this into a small series so if you have any comments and/or suggestions please let me know - i would love hearing your thoughts! Xx

Taglist: @justmesadgirl @xuckduck @yikesyikesyikes95 @filipi-yes @aestheticwh0r3 @siredkai @matsuno-nadeshiko @msmarklee1213 @immajustreadwritereblog

^ let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!

“You pig-headed prats!” You holler, huffing as the infamous weasley twins ‘successfully’ pull off another prank, you as their target yet again.

“Oi, sweetheart. That’s a bit harsh for such a pretty lady.” Fred smirks.

“Shove off, weasley.” You hiss as you push through the two who were standing in front of you.

If you spent another minute near them you feared you’d find yourself in detention for a month. The two redheads had a way of thoroughly getting under your skin.

You’re not entirely sure what you’d done to them, but for the better part of two years now you had been the butt of many of their pranks. You’ve had everything from an itching charm put on your robes to mini fireworks exploding out of your books to the most recent of having your wand tampered with to cover you in slime instead of whatever spell you were trying to cast.

Besides that, the two had been beyond irritating to talk to. You could always find them laughing and joking with others, but they seemed much kinder than they were to you. That’s not to say that they were rude or mean to you in anyway, but their jokes and smart replies were definitely not what you needed after having been pranked.

“Y/n! Ohhh, what happened?” Your friend hermione called as you entered the common room, immediately sensing how pissed you were.

“The twins happened.” You grumble, gritting your teeth.

“I don’t know why they keep pranking you! I’ve talked them multiple times about it and I thought they had finally gotten it through their heads that it wasn’t funny.”

“Don’t worry about it, hermione. I think they were just born bloody annoying. It’s what they do and they know they’re good at it, so why stop? It’s not like we plan to be friends or anything any time soon anyway.” You huff, making your way up to your dorm.

“I know, y/n. I know. Just....let me talk to them again. I’ll make sure they stop. It’s not fair to you. Even harry and Ron get annoyed at them for it.”

“You don’t have to do that, ‘mione. I’ll just...start ignoring them, maybe that’ll get them to stop. They’re not worth my time of day anyway.”

“Alright, y/n. Well, let’s get you cleaned up. You are going to need help getting this out of your hair.”

~.~

“You two need to stop this prank thing against y/n. I’ve told you over and over, it’s not funny anymore. Do you know that it took at least five washings to get that slime out of her hair? Five!”

“Oh stop harping us, hermione. It’s not like we’re hurting her any.” Fred says, dismissing her disapproval.

“You’re not hurting her, but you’re certainly annoying all of us.” Ron says through a mouthful of breakfast.

“Why should we stop? It’s fun and honestly pretty great to get a rise out of her.” George smiles.

“Don’t you think she wonders why she’s being targeted? She is our friend, too, and you hardly prank any of us. Don’t you think she might feel a bit frustrated? Don’t you think she wonders why you two have such a vendetta against her?” Hermione pushes, becoming annoyed herself with them.

“We’ll bring it in a bit, but we’re not stopping. She’s just too easy to prank.” Fred finally offers.

“I wish you would stop completely. It’s honestly not fair to her in the slightest.” Hermione sighs, giving up for the time being.

The twins are stubborn and she knows she better take what they give her for now before they revoke their compromise to bring it back completely.

~.~

You groan to yourself as you listen to Professor Binns drone on about history. This was by far your least favourite class, even more so when you’ve had the week you’ve had.

It started monday when you woke up to a surprise visit from Aunt Flo to which you were very unprepared for. You had been meaning to get some more pads and tampons but had been so busy it had left your mind. Not only did it inconveniently arrive, it was also being a major witch this month. As soon as it hit you felt you were going to be sick. The amount of nausea you felt on top of how crampy and achy you were. You honestly felt like you had been run over by the hogwarts express.

Tuesday you had been surprised by a last minute exam that Snape decided to give out. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, except this really was not your week and hadn’t been able to remember the potions you were being quizzed on. You had just barely passed when you normally received the higher marks that snape rarely gave out.

Wednesday you had just had a very rough day. Everything you had tried to do backfired and you ended up creating more hassle for the professors and your friends than would normally be expected. You spent the day just feeling completely useless, which continued into thursday.

Then, so far today, you woke up late and forgot your tie which earned a deduction of house points. You had spilled a bunch of ingredients in potions which earned even more deducted house points and complete embarrassment. You felt completely disgusting today even though you’ve showered and still looked put together. And most recently, just after lunch you had found your boyfriend has been cheating on you.

To put it lightly, this was just a really bad day at the end of a very rough week. The only thing you’ve been able to be grateful for is that the twins have seemingly stopped pranking you.

They still made smart remarks that you were trying your best to ignore, but for the time being you haven’t found yourself in the middle of one of their pranks.

You’re not sure why, but at least you haven’t had to deal with them on top of everything else this week.

You had managed to get all the way through to dinner where you sat very tiredly. Hermione knew you’ve been having a rough week as you were roommates, but she wasn’t sure what exactly had been happening. You hadn’t been wanting to talk about it. Harry and Ron, however, could tell you were in no mood for anything else even without knowing you’ve had a rough week.

Unfortunately, the twins did not get the memo that this was not your best week and had decided today was the day they’d prank you after leaving you alone for a couple weeks.

they had been planning out how to do so for a few days now and were proud of what they had come with. therefore, It came as quite a surprise to the both of them when you broke out crying after setting a smoke bomb to go off when you lifted your fork.

The food had just been revealed to start dinner when you picked up your fork to grab a piece of ham from the platter in front of you.

Before you could realize what happened, the smoke bomb went off, completely covering you in soot and catching the attention of many of the students in the great hall.

Without being able to hold it in, you had started crying as Fred and George were laughing.

“What have I ever done to you? I’ve tried being nice and it always blows up in my face, quite literally right now.” You sigh, choking on your tears as you stand up from the table to leave.

Fred and George stop laughing when they hear you, their smiles dropping when they realize you had been crying. They watch as you hurry off, hoping to Merlin this encounter wasn’t being listened to and watched by everyone.

“Look what you two have done now! I told you to knock it off with all these pranks. You can’t ever listen though, can you Fred. George.” Hermione states, fuming at the red-headed twins as she gets up and follows after you.

“Oh bloody hell.” They both sigh in unison, slumping into the table.

“Bloody hell is right.” Ron says. “You really don’t want Hermione mad at you.”

“We’re not worried about hermione, mate.” Fred says, keeping his eyes on the door that y/n had left through.

“We just wanted to get her to smile.” George sighs sadly.

~.~

“Y/n!” Hermione calls as she catches up with you in the hall back to the common room.

“Please go, hermione.” You sniffle, wiping at your eyes.

“I’m not leaving my best friend out here crying all alone.” She huffs, crossing her arms as she looks at you.

“I know you had a bad week, but what’s happened? It must’ve been real bad if you break out crying like this, y/n.” She says after a minute or two.

“I’m just so tired, ‘mione.” You cry, shrinking into yourself in front of her.

you felt pathetic yet you couldn’t bring yourself to stop crying. you had been hiding it away all week and you just couldn’t do it anymore.

“Tell me what’s happened.” She urges, pulling you into a hug, her heart breaking for you. she cared for her friends more than anything, but it really broke her seeing you so upset. you were usually such a literal ray of sunshine to everyone around you, that it was painful to see you carrying so much pain.

“I’m so tired and achy and nauseous. All because I’m a bloody woman. I’ve been so unfocused that I’ve lost us so many house points. Well, more than I ever have,” you sob as hermione leads you over to a bench by the window.

“I practically failed that exam snape gave us this week and I made such a mess of his ingredients. He was so furious, hermione.” you whisper, your terrified eyes meeting hers as you recall the way he fumed over your mishap.

“I was so embarrassed. I’ve never done that terribly in his class.” you mumble.

“I’ve been nothing but a hassle to everyone around me this week and I just - I feel so bloody disgusting. It’s honestly no surprise I found my boyfriend cheating on me.” You sigh, crying more.

“He did what?!” Hermione gasped, sighing as you cry harder.

“He’s been cheating on me, ‘mione. For like two months at least! I feel so dumb and used. I really liked him, ‘mione, and he just....he just used me!”

“Take a breath, y/n. We don’t need you getting sick.” hermione urges, noticing how you’re choking for air through your sobs.

“A-and now I’m covered in soot all because the twins have something against me. I don’t know what I could have done! Why do they hate me so much?” You cry.

Fred and George frown as they hear you recount your week, having left dinner to come after you and apologize. They truly had no idea. If they did they wouldn’t have set up that smoke bomb.

“We really messed up, Fred.” George sighs, not being able to take his eyes off you as you cry in hermione’s arms.

“Yeah, we have. Come on, let’s go apologize and try to fix this.”

They make their way over to you and hermione who shoots daggers at them.

“Y/n, we’re sorry. We-“

“Would you two get out of here? You’re some of the last people she wants to see right now.” Hermione states, knowing that the twins are beyond sorry and just want to make sure you’re all right, but taking your emotional needs as her priority.

she knew that they had a bit of a crush on you even though they had never said a thing on the topic. it wasn’t hard to miss, however, when she noticed how often they’d stare at you from across the room, smiling dumbly to themselves and zoning out. it was quite adorable, actually, but she did wonder how they ever thought pranking you was the way to your heart.

“We didn’t know you’ve had such a bad week.” Fred sighs, ignoring hermione.

You start crying harder at the mention of your week. You just wanted it to end. you wanted to curl up in your bed, tucked tightly into the blankets and listen to some comforting sad songs while you cry.

“Fred, George, go back to dinner. I’m taking y/n to our room. She needs to be left alone for awhile.” hermione orders, helping you to stand even though you don’t want to. all your energy has been drained from your body so even lifting an arm to wipe at your tears felt like it was the most difficult task in the world.

The twins sigh, but nod, knowing it’s the truth. Having them around wouldn’t help anything, but they felt so guilty. they just wanted you to understand that they don’t hate you, but rather the complete opposite.

They had never wanted to upset you when they started pranking you. In fact they both saw you as a friend and had a bit of a crush on you that they couldn’t understand. Sure you were beautiful, beyond kind, and a little bit of a fireball, but you were just a girl. neither of them were quite sure when they had started feeling and thinking it, but even though they tried to tell themselves that you were, they knew deep down you weren’t just some girl.

They really aren’t the greatest with their feelings though, especially when their beyond confused with them, and decided pranking you was the best way to show that they liked you. They never prank you to be mean, they just want to make you laugh and see you smile.

~.~

Hermione had gotten you into bed after having you shower and change into some comfy clothes.

She had left to go get herself some dinner and promised she’d be back soon to see how you were holding up.

You had told her not to worry about bringing anything back for you. Instead you were just going to curl up and go to sleep.

You heard a knock on your door and sighed. You didn’t really want to talk to anyone, even hermione. You hummed out however to notify the person on the other side of the door that you were listening.

You hear your door creak open a bit and hear some footsteps enter.

“Y/n? Uh, Fred and I brought you some dinner. Hermione said you didn’t want anything, but you can’t just not eat.” You hear George say, cautiously stepping over to your bed. his voice was filled with concern which you thought odd, but couldn’t care enough to think about too long.

You hear Fred shut the door but you don’t bother looking at either of them. You’re far too numb to care at this moment.

“Y/n?” George asks after not getting a response. he didn’t think you were sleeping, but he wasn’t sure.

“Thanks. Just, set it on my trunk. Or my night table. I’m not really hungry right now.” You mumble, still not bothering to look at either of them.

“H-how are you holding up?” Fred asks, fidgeting in his place.

“Why do you care? You’ve never cared before. Either of you.”

Both the twins sigh, looking at the other with guilt written all over their faces. they’re well aware how they come across to you, but it was truly a complete misunderstanding.

“We know we made you the target of our pranks more often than not, but we weren’t trying to be mean. We just, we really wanted to make you smile. Make you laugh.” Fred sighs.

“Did quite a job at it, huh?” You ask, still staring straight ahead. You don’t have the energy to turn to look at them. And truthfully, you didn’t really want to.

“We-we’re sorry. We had no idea how bad of a week you’ve had. We, uh, we heard you tell hermione everything.” George states, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It doesn’t matter that it was this week.” you deadpan, “It’s the fact that I’ve never once enjoyed your pranks on me. It was pretty obvious, so why would you continue?” You ask, getting a bit irritated at the two twins.

“Well, uh. I-I don’t know. We’re dumb.” Fred answers.

“No, you’re not. You both are so brilliant that I’ve been jealous of you at times, but you just don’t care about school. You’d rather use all your brilliance on tormenting poor classmates or make a girl cry than apply yourselves to classes.”

You knew you weren’t being fair, but you were fed up with everything. You wanted to be left alone. you couldn’t handle socializing, much less able to handle these two trying to make up for what they’d done for years only after you broke down crying.

“No, we never wanted to make you cry. Merlin we feel so guilty that we did.” Fred tries to argue, but is promptly cut off.

“So you really don’t care, do you? You’re just trying to make yourselves feel better.” You say, finally looking over at them, a fire blazing behind your eyes. Both of them look like deer caught in headlights, not sure whether to stay put or run and in which direction if they did.

You watch as Fred gulps nervously as George opens and closes his mouth trying to find the words to not make things worse.

Even though they can’t meet your eyes, mainly because they’re scared of the anger within them, they notice just how awful you look. Not in the sense that you’re unattractive, because Merlin even now you were gorgeous, but awful in the sense of how absolutely heartbroken you look. It truly looks like your soul has been ripped from your body and your heart crushed to pieces.

Your eyes are bloodshot and puffy, your nose red from blowing it into the rough tissues on your bedside table, tear tracks etched into your cheeks almost looking like spilled ink that had run across a piece of parchment.

They can see how tired you are, and how much sadness you’re still holding in. They wish more than anything that they could comfort you, but you were making it very clear that you didn’t want them here.

“Can you please just go? I don’t really feel like keeping company.” You sigh, turning back away from them.

They both nod, even though you can’t see them. Turning to walk away, they stop to look over your form once again. They’ve never seen you so heartbroken and it scared them. You had been a light in their lives, happiness radiating from inside you constantly spreading warm that reached deep into their souls. it hurt seeing that light extinguished.

“We’re really sorry, y/n. For everything.” George sighs, him and fred leaving you to yourself.

#harry potter #harry potter fluff #harry potter imagine #harry potter fanfiction #hogwarts #hogwarts imagine #fred weasley #george weasley #fred and george weasley #fred weasley imagine #george wealsey imagine #weasley twins #fred and george weasley x reader #fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #enemies to friends to lovers #enemies to lovers #series??

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awhitehead17 · 5 years ago

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Congratulations You’re A Father

TimKon, Future, Time Travel, a kid comes from the future, Fluff, Angst, Getting Together, First Kiss.

Summary: Learning that he has a kid in the future isn't too bad, Tim can get his head around that fact. But learning that the kid is half him and half his best friend is pretty mind boggling, especially when they aren't even together.

Enjoy! :D

“Congratulations Tim, you’re a father.”

“You being serious?”

“DNA matches 50%. He is your kid.”

Tim gapes at his older brother trying to comprehend what he’s just been told. The last couple hours have basically been a blur of peculiar events.

Tim and his brothers had been down in the cave, doing their weekly sparring competition, when suddenly a glowing purple portal appears at the edge of the cave grabbing their attention. Before they could do anything about the mysterious portal, a teenager stumbles through it and into the cave.

The portal disappears like it had never been there and the sudden teenager it left behind looks disoriented as he surveys his surroundings. Tim and his brothers had been frozen in confusion at the event, because how did a portal just appear in the Batcave without a single trace, and didn’t immediately react to the teenager.

This teenager was in normal clothes, had dark hair, he had a lean but yet muscular body however the most noticeable thing was how there was a large red patch growing on his t-shirt on his left side. The stranger, seeming unaware of his apparent injury, finally notices them and his gaze lingers. His expression becomes one of confusion when he looks in Tim’s direction.

“Dad?” He had called out and before any of them could yet react, the teenager abruptly collapses on the floor unconscious.

From there it had been a flurry of movements to get this kid patched up and medically seen to as best as they can and work out what he meant by ‘dad’. Alfred patched him up, claiming that it looked like a stab wound and how it needed stitches but wouldn’t cause any permanent damage, after a week or two of rest he’ll be fine.

Once working out that the kid was going to be alright, they kept him sedated and then moved onto working out what he meant by calling Tim ‘dad’. Jason made plenty of jokes about who Tim could have potentially had knocked up. Damian wasn’t interested, claiming he ‘couldn’t care less about there being another Drake in the world’. Dick had been the most sympathetic, he had joined in with one of Jason’s jokes before actually taking the matter at hand seriously, he had been the one who suggested they do a DNA test.

It came back positive.

“Looking at that kid’s age he’s about 16 or 17, meaning Tim you would have been three when you… convinced him. Which is really all kinds of wrong to think about. My guess is that he’s from the future, or another dimension, or like an alternate reality.”

That's where Tim’s thoughts were headed to as well. They happen to be the only options that make sense and the next question is, what one of those options was it? Tim glanced the teenager again and now could actually spot of his own features on the kid, his nose for one. His eye shape (despite them closed at the moment) and the colour of his hair.

However as Tim looks at him, there was something else that felt familiar about him but Tim couldn’t place what it was. He guesses that it’s the other parent's features coming through as well, but he has no idea who it was. It suddenly became an itch he couldn’t scratch and now Tim wants to know who the other parent was, who his future partner would be.

Then again did he want to know? If this teenager was really from the future, did Tim want to spoil that for himself?

He shakes his head, trying to clear those thoughts, time travel and everything linked to it was complicated.

Tim opens his mouth to ask a question but his phone ringing stops him from doing so. He leans over and grabs it from the computer desk, he answers it without looking at the Caller ID.

“Tim, buddy, you going to let me inside any time today? Last time I came through the window you yelled at me for a good 10 minutes and I don’t want a repeat of that.”

Instantly Tim smacks his forehead with his palm. “Shit, Kon, I am so sorry I completely forgot!” He turns away from the phone to where Alfred was already heading for the stairs. “Alfred could you-”

“I’m ahead of you Master Tim, I’ll let Master Conner in and send him down as I head for the kitchen to make us all some snacks.”

“Kon, Alfred will let you in. We’re down in the cave alright.” Tim tells him, he hangs up on his friend before he could get the chance to reply.

From next to him, Dick looks up, “Kon here?”

Tim pinches the bridge of his nose feeling a slight headache coming on, it’s been a hectic few hours. “Yeah, I’m supposed to be going to the farm with him for the weekend. He’s here to pick me up, I had completely forgotten considering everything that’s just happened. Shit.”

Dick blinks at him before shrugging, “You can still go, it may be better if you weren’t here until we can get this all sorted. It stops anything happening to the timeline.”

He considers it for a moment, “Yeah perhaps but…” Tim looks over at the sleeping figure, there was something inside of him making him reluctant to go. This was his kid, from the future or another dimension, but he was his. Did Tim want to pass this opportunity up? He wonders what he’s called, wonders when his birthday was, what about school or interests and hobbies? How similar is he to Tim?

“Tim.”

He sighs, knowing that Dick has a point. “Yeah I know. It’s just… y’know….”

His brother looks at him knowingly but doesn’t comment further. In that moment Kon finally makes his appearance from the stairs as he descends from them.

“I was stood outside for about twenty minutes dude, not cool. I thought you were playing a prank on me or simply testing my patience.” Kon says getting to the bottom of the stairs and starts to walk over.

As he does, he passes the med-bay and sees the sleeping teenager there. His best friend frowns and looks at them, “So when did the Bat adopt another kid? I didn’t know there was another one of you guys.”

Tim rolls his eyes while Dick snorts, “Just be glad he isn’t around to hear you say that.”

Kon simply grins at them when he stops beside Tim. “Is that why you forgot? What happened?”

“Yeah, sorry about forgetting,” Tim apologises to his best friend again. He looks at Kon before glancing at the teenager again, “a couple hours ago-”

He abruptly stops talking as it sinks in who the other parent could be. He flicks his gaze between his so-called kid and his best friend.

It was Kon.

The other parent was Kon.

He could see it now he’s made the connection. The kid’s got Kon’s jaw line from when he was younger, the same lips, cheek bones and his body type seemed to be similar to Kon’s when he first appeared as Superboy from Cadmus. It had to be Kon, surely. Was that why he felt familiar to Tim?

“Tim? You okay?”

Tim ignores Kon and looks at Dick who was watching him with concern, “Can you run the DNA test again but against Kon’s this time?”

Dick blinks at him, his gaze shifts to his friend before turning back to the computer, thankfully not asking questions. His best friend on the other hand didn’t hold back.

“My DNA? Tim what do you mean? Who you running my DNA against and why? What’s going on?”

Tim continues to ignore him as he watches Dick work. Minutes later his brother turns around to them, he looks up at Kon with a serious expression just as he had done to Tim earlier. “Well, congratulations Kon, you’re a father.”

Kon’s jaw drops in shock as he stares at the older man. “What? What do you mean?” He turns to Tim, his expression hardening as he lets out a fake laugh, “Yeah ha-ha, funny joke. Is this is what you’ve been planning? Because it sucks.”

“It’s not a joke Kon,” Tim tells him. “That teenager in the med-bay is potentially from the future or another dimension and he’s – he’s our kid."

Tim couldn’t believe it. Sure it’s fine that he has a kid, he’s thrilled even, because that means he starts his own family, but with Kon of all people? He couldn’t get over that. He’s been harbouring feelings for his best friend for a couple years now but he hasn’t done anything about it in fear of ruining the friendship between them because Kon couldn’t possibly return the feelings back.

But could he be wrong?

Kon stands silent between them, his face currently kaleidoscope of emotions as he digests the information suddenly thrusted at him.

Still sat on the chair Dick looks between them, “You guys obviously have a lot to talk about, this is certainly unexpected but perhaps it would be best if both of you weren’t here. We don’t want to risk any time line mishaps, or paradoxes happening when we can try and prevent them just for safety measures.”

Tim appreciates what Dick was trying to do, but there was a part of him that was still reluctant to go. It seems that Kon was now having the same issue. “But why? If this is our kid then surely we should get the opportunity to get to know him?”

Dick sighs and looks at them both with understanding and with his ever famous patience he tells them, “I understand why you both don’t want to go but think about it this way, you’ll have plenty of time in the future to be with him. It’ll be even better because you’ll get to see him grow. We’ll handle things here okay, you guys go and enjoy the farm. Tell Ma Kent I say hi!”

Tim and Kon both go quiet, they glance at one another before looking away again. In the end, Tim sighs defeated and starts to walk away, “Okay just at least let us know when he goes back, make sure he gets there safely. Come on Kon, there’s not a lot we can do here anyway, he’s sedated for the time being.”

After some hesitation his best friend follows him, but not without looking in the direction of the teenager first. Tim leads them up the stairs and to his room where a bag was already packed and ready to go. His original plan was to finish sparring with his brothers early so he could get ready for when Kon arrived, obviously that had gone out the window with the turn of unexpected events.

Tim changes out of his gym clothes and into his normal clothes. Once he was ready they head out to the back of the Manor where Kon proceeds to pick him up and together they head over to the farm.

The flight to the farm was awkward and tense as neither of them speak. Both of them lost in their own thoughts about occurred in the cave.

When they finally get to the farm they were greeted with a warm, freshly baked apple pie from Ma Kent. They both accepted the treat with a small gratitude but other than that kept quiet. Ma instantly picked up on the tension between them but thankfully didn’t comment, all she said was that the guest room was all prepared for Tim when he was ready to settle.

They eat in silence and once they were done Kon disappears, claiming he needed to do some chores he happened to forget before coming to pick Tim up. Tim knew the truth though, his friend was going for a long flight in hopes to clear his head, he didn’t blame him. While Conner was gone Tim sets himself up in the guest room, he settles in and gets some work done on his laptop he had brought with him.

When evening came around Kon still hadn’t returned. Tim ate dinner with the Kent’s, making small conversation between them before retreating for the night.

Later on Tim makes his way onto the top of the barn, he was watching the stars in the clear night sky as they dazzled brightly. The sky was always such a contrast in Kanas to Gotham, it was so clear and the air was always so fresh.

It’s about 15 minutes later when Kon appears again. He flies over to Tim on the barn and sits down beside him. They sit in silence for a good while, seeming to be unable to start up a conversation between them.

Kon’s the one to eventually start it, “So… we have a kid in the future.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s cool. Great even…”

Tim sighs and runs a hand through his hair, “Look Kon, I get that it’s weird, it’s completely unexpected, but…”

But what? How was Tim supposed to continue this incredibly awkward and forced conversation between them?

“I like you.” Kon blurts out from nowhere. Tim snaps his gaze to his best friend, both unsure and hopeful at the same time. “I like you Tim, in a way that means more than a friend. Finding out that we have a kid was great. Obviously shocking but its great. I’ve always wanted a family, yeah I found brothers between you and Bart back in Young Justice and then of course the girls joined and we all became a family. But it means a lot more in a way I can’t describe.”

“I like you too.” Tim says without thinking. “I have done for a long time, but I was so scared of ever saying anything because I didn’t think the feelings would be returned. I didn’t want to risk our friendship.”

Kon huffs out a laugh, “We’re a pair of idiots aren’t we?”

Unable to stop himself, Tim grins, “Yeah…”

They go silent for a beat or two, still not moving or doing anything with one another. The tension and awkwardness was still there but not as prominent as before.

“I wonder how we got him.” Tim comments looking up at the sky. “Did we use a surrogate? Maybe cloned him? He’s got our DNA so we didn’t adopt. “

Then for a horrific moment Tim thinks back to the time he had countlessly tried to clone Kon when he died. His heart drops at the thought, was he successful in the end? What if that kid in the med-bay was a clone Tim created out of desperation for his best friend?

A hand cupping his face and turning back to face Kon startles him from his thoughts. Seeing the way Kon’s piercing blue eyes gleam in the night make him forget about that awful time that happened so many years ago.

“Does it matter? We have a kid Tim. One of which is half you and half me. Which brings up the question how did he get injured in the first place if he has Kryptonian genes but that's a worry we’ll have in the future. But for now think we need to actually get together before we start anything kid related at all don’t you think?”

He was grinning at Tim and Tim smiles back, placing his hand above Kon’s holding his face. He licks his lips, “That may be a good start.”

No more words were spoken as they both lean in close, pressing their lips together for the first time. As they kiss Tim feels all of the tension that had built up drain out of him, he wraps his arms around Kon in a loose embrace and smiles against the Kryptonian’s lips as he feels arms wrap around his waist, bringing them closer together.

Then like that all of the awkwardness and tension bleeds out from the air around them, leaving them comfortably in peace and for the seeable future. They’ll tackle everything together as they always have done in the past, in the current present and now in the future.

#Tim Drake #Kon-El #dick grayson #TimKon Week 2020 #Future #fluff #angst #awkward moments #tension #getting together #First Kiss #time travel #general rating

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whimsical-ness · 7 years ago

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Jackpot | Sehun

◇ Link to Masterlist

◇ Genre: What Happens In Vegas! AU, More Love/Hate (oops)

◇ Summary: A night of drunken fun in Vegas leads to you accidentally getting married to a tall, smirky stranger named Oh Sehun. Things get even more complicated when you hit a $2 million jackpot—neither of you can keep your share of the money unless you try and make the marriage work.

◇ Word Count: 4.7k

“Promise me you aren’t going to think about anything this weekend,” said your best friend Nat sternly, blocking the way into your hotel room with her outstretched arm. You rolled your eyes.

“I’m serious, Y/N. We didn’t come all the way to Vegas to have you be uptight and stressed out. We’re here to have fun, got it?” You laughed at the desperation in her voice. “Okay, okay Nat. Promise. No thinking about work, no thinking about him,” you said.

Nat sighed in relief, handing you the room pass with a wink. “Then let’s go get ready for a wild night.”

“I’m taking the shower first,” you called, striding into the bathroom. You undressed and stepped into the hot shower with a sigh, letting the water wash away your worries.

You had a lot of worries.

The biggest one was, probably, that your boyfriend of a year had cheated on you, a fact you had found out just last week. On top of that, your boss was being a complete asshole at work, and had relentlessly piled work up on your already tired shoulders. You had no time to even breathe.

Nat had noticed that you were basically on the verge of a nervous meltdown, and so had insisted on taking this spontaneous trip to Vegas for the weekend to lift your spirits. And you were determined to let your hair down, for just once.

You were pulled from your thoughts as you heard Nat scream. “Shit, Nat, what’s wrong?” you yelled, hurriedly wrapping a towel around your body.

You burst out of the bathroom, brandishing your curling iron as a weapon. Your mouth dropped as you saw Nat tackling a man onto the bed. “What the hell?”

You nearly jumped out of your skin as you heard someone approach you from behind. It was another man, and this time, you screamed, pushing him away. “For fucks’ sake. Leave him alone, what are you doing?” he yelled at Nat.

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in our room?” you said defensively, pulling your towel tighter around yourself.

“Your room? This is ours!” he said, running his hand through his hair. Nat crossed her arms across her chest. “Why the fuck would the hotel give us the same room?” “I don’t know, lady. But I think I’m going to go find out before you murder me,” the shorter man said, rolling his eyes, scrambling off the bed from Nat’s wrath.

Turns out, your hotel had somehow double booked your room. But with some sweet-talking—courtesy of the taller guy—the manager agreed to let you stay in the penthouse suite as an apology. He even handed you VIP passes to all of the city’s hot spots.

The tall, dark-haired man smirked at your evident awe. “You girls are welcome. Thanks to us, you are now about to have the night of your lives.”

As you soon found out, his name was Sehun, while his shorter friend was called Junmyeon.

They seemed like a whole bunch of trouble and bad decisions. Which was, frankly, just what you needed. Plus, who would be stupid enough to give up those free VIP passes?

And so that night, you and Nat found yourselves having the time of your lives with two strangers you’d met just that afternoon.

You were chauffeured to casino after casino in a sleek black limo, had dinner in a Michelin star restaurant—and got more drunk than you ever had in your entire life.

You hadn’t meant to. Really. But you hadn’t anticipated Oh Sehun.

“What are you doing in Vegas?” you asked him. “I got fired,” he replied, throwing back his head as he swallowed a shot. “What about you?”

“My boyfriend cheated on me,” you said, shrugging, staring out at the view in front of you. Rooftop access at one of the city’s most luxurious hotels was now something to tick off your bucket list. All thanks to a room mishap.

“Okay, we’re going to need more drinks,” said Sehun, and waved over a waiter. You grinned back as he clinked his glass to yours. Over the course of the next few hours to found yourself pouring out all of your stress to him, while he did the same, telling you nearly his entire life story.

Oh Sehun was almost the complete opposite of you. He was arrogant, irresponsible, and seemed to think he had no faults.

You, on the other hand, were dedicated, hard-working, and (even though you never admitted it) uptight as hell. It was strange how quickly you opened up to a stranger who was so different from you.

The night was a blur of loud music, money, and alcohol. You let loose, letting the pulsing music in the club flow through your veins, along with the ridiculous amount of alcohol you’d consumed. You found yourself pressed up against Sehun on more than a few occasions, his flushed face dangerously close to yours.

“You know,” you yelled over the pounding bass. “It’s funny how connected I feel to you, even though we like, just met.” Sehun grinned. “Don’t get me wrong,” you continued, linking your arms around his neck to pull him closer. “You’re probably the last person on the planet whom I would ever sleep with.”

Sehun’s eyes were dark as he whispered, his lips brushing against your ear. “The feeling’s mutual.” “Good,” you said loudly, but the breath hitched in your throat as his hands found your hips, your bodies moving together against the rhythm.

And then he was laughing, and you were laughing, and he was too close to you for you to be able to think straight. His lips met yours, and as you tasted the alcohol on his breath, you let go of the last bit of sobriety and let the night envelope you with its madness.

You woke up with your head throbbing. You groaned and turned over, clutching the duvet closer. You realized with a start that you were completely naked.

The previous night’s events flooded through your muddled mind, and you bit your lip as you remembered tumbling onto the bed with Sehun.

“Shit,” you muttered. You sat up and pushed your hair back. Something cool touched your cheek as your fingers brushed past your face. You did a double take as you took in the ring sitting gold and pretty on your finger.

The ring.

“No no no. Oh god please no. This is not happening.” Oh but it was. Because as you glanced at the mirror in front of the bed, you read the post-it note stuck on it.

Morning, wifey. We’re at the buffet - Sehun

Fuck.

“Was there any part of the night that you thought, ‘Hey, it’s probably a bad idea to let my drunk best friend marry a random guy?’” you hissed at Nat as you made your way to the table where Sehun and Junmyeon were. Nat just shrugged. “I threw up on Junmyeon. I had no idea what was happening.”

Worst best friend ever.

“I’m-uh-gonna go get some coffee,“ you said, making eye contact with Sehun as you neared the table.

He caught the hint, and followed you as you made your way instead to one of the lottery machines casually placed right outside the breakfast buffet. “What even is this city,” you muttered, pulling out a quarter from your wallet.

“Good morning,” said Sehun nonchalantly. You smiled thinly. “Last night was…something,” he started. “You can say that again,” you said awkwardly. “You’re a lot of fun,” said Sehun. “I mean…the sex was—“

“Um, I’d rather not,” you cut him off, your face burning. “Right,” said Sehun clearing his throat. “Of course, we now have a tiny little problem of these rings..”

“Yeah, it’s hard to forget,” you said. “We need a divorce.”

For a moment Sehun just stared at you. “Did you just dump me?” You laughed awkwardly. “Well, we obviously hardly know each other—”

“No, no. Of course. Thank god you said it first,” said Sehun, looking relieved. You were slightly taken aback. “Junmyeon says we need an annulment, not a divorce,” he continued.

You felt strangely annoyed. “Yeah, okay. Sure.”

Sehun let out a breath. “Phew. I’m glad that’s out of the way. Bullet dodged huh?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, look, I’m sorry. But you just seem like the type of girl who’s looking for a serious relationship, and I’m not…I’m definitely not that guy,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

You stared at him, your annoyance now flaring up.

“No offense, but you seem like a lot of work—” he broke off at the look on your face. “Ah, marriage is an outdated concept, right?” he said awkwardly.

“Yeah, so is immaturity,” you said, snorting. “Pull it together, dude. No wonder you got fired. No one wants an employee who runs away from the slightest problem.”

Sehun stared at you. “Excuse me? And this is coming from a basically robotic woman, who had to come all the way to Vegas and marry a stranger to realize what a mess her life is?”

You gaped at him. “You know what? I’ll send you a fucking email about the annulment. Have a nice day, asshole.”

“You too,” said Sehun, flicking the quarter out of your fingers. “Hey, we’ll always have Vegas right?” he said, and pushed the coin into the machine, pressing down the lever.

“That was mine,” you said scowling, and turned away to storm off. You stopped in your tracks as a loud buzz went off, accompanied by a horn sounding. You whipped around, only to see everyone cheering and yelling, because someone had just won the jackpot money from the machine.

$2,000,000.

It took a minute for you process what was happening, until Sehun threw his hands up and yelled. “Holy fuck! I’m rich! I’m fucking rich!”

You stared as everyone surrounded him, cheering and congratulating him on his win, and the hotel manager handed him a massive cheque.

Junmyeon and Nat walked over to see what the commotion was about, and their jaws dropped as they saw Sehun standing there with his huge cheque, and equally huge smile on his face.

“That was my quarter,” you said in a daze.

You pushed your way through the throng of people and grabbed the corner of the cheque. Sehun dismissed you with a wave. “I’m the one who pulled the lever. So the money’s mine.”

“Not so fast, baby,” you said, smiling sweetly. “We’re married now, remember? What’s yours is mine.”

You felt a sense of triumph as Sehun’s face dropped with the realization.

“What a lovely way to celebrate our first day of marriage, hm?”

“This is ridiculous,” muttered Sehun as the two of you exited the court back home a week later. It was by some strange coincidence that Sehun lived in the same town as you.

“Yeah, well, we don’t have a choice, do we? It’s either this and a million dollars each, or nothing,” you said, sighing.

The judge had ruled that the two of you had to co-exist and attempt to make the ‘marriage’ work for 6 months before you could finalize the divorce. If either of you didn’t co-operate for that amount of time, the money would be tied up in litigation.

Sehun snorted. “We have to live together? And go to weekly counseling sessions? I can’t believe this is happening.”

You rolled your eyes. “This is obviously worse for me. I can’t imagine what your apartment is like.” “At least I have one. Where’s yours, I wonder? Oh, right, you lived with your cheating boyfriend. Sorry,” said Sehun meanly.

“6 months,” you said under your breath as you walked away. “I can do this.”

“See you tomorrow, wifey,” called Sehun sarcastically from behind you.

Just as you’d expected, Sehun’s apartment was a mess. His dirty laundry was lying pretty much everywhere, the bathroom looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks, and the refrigerator was stuffed with disgusting junk food.

“I can’t do this,” you moaned, as Nat helped you bring in your stuff. “Think about the 1 million dollars,” she reminded you.

Sehun sauntered out of his room, yawning. “Make yourself at home, sweetheart.”

“This is a pig sty,” you said. It’s one thing if you like a guy and have to put up with stuff like this. But you, I don’t care for. So clean up.”

“Hey, if you have a problem with it, you clean up,” he said shrugging.

So the rest of the day with was spent with you using anti-bacterial wipes and sprays, trying to make the place as accommodating as you possibly could. By the end of the evening, you were exhausted, and all you wanted to do was get a good night’s sleep. You washed up and made your way to where Sehun was lounging in the living room.

“Which one of us is taking the couch?” you asked tiredly. Sehun glanced up at you. “I don’t mind. You can use the bedroom,” he said. “Thanks,” you said awkwardly. “Sweet dreams, then.”

And just like that, the first day co-existence was over. You weren’t sure how many more you could take.

Sure enough, after one week of living together, you were pretty sure you were going to go insane.

Sehun did absolutely nothing the entire day, and seemingly was making no effort to even try and find another job. His logic was that in 6 months, he would be 1 million dollars richer and so didn’t need to work.

But you were still working your ass off at your job, and it pissed you off to come back to a messy apartment with Sehun lying about doing just about jackshit.

And when you told him so, he got annoyed and told you to mind your own business. There was no point in trying to talk to him about anything.

But the two of you put on the biggest show of your lives when you had to visit the marriage counselor. You held hands sweetly, called each other lovable nicknames, and tried your best to make it look like you were in love.

If the counselor thought it looked fake as hell, she didn’t say it.

“You know, if one of you cheated on the other or something, won’t the innocent person get to keep all the money?” asked Nat a few weeks later.

You nearly choked on your coffee. “What did you just say?”

“I mean, think about it. The person who fucks up and ruins the marriage doesn’t get the money. If you could get Sehun to somehow ‘cheat’ on you…”

A lightbulb went off in your head. “Nat, I think you’re onto something here.” Nat smiled smugly. “What say we throw a little party?”

And so the following weekend, without telling Sehun, you invited a bunch—or not really bunch, more like all the girls you knew—over to the apartment. “Remember girls,” you whispered. “Do and try anything to get into his pants. I doubt it’ll be too difficult.”

You felt a little guilty for tricking him like this. But you’d had enough.

And so it was with some sort of sickening satisfaction that you observed Sehun get surrounded by girls as soon as he appeared. He gaped at you. “What the fuck?”

“I just wanted to throw a party,” you said innocently. “I hope that’s okay.”

Sehun went red as a girl ran her hand down his chest. “I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, smiling. “And let me tell you, two can play at this game.”

You feigned ignorance and shrugged. “Have fun!”

But a half hour later, you realized you had underestimated him. Because not only did he manage to avoid making out with even one girl, but he also invited over his own friends.

His very hot friends.

Junmyeon was there, and so were a few others you’d never met. “Whoa, Sehun, this is your wife?” said one of them. “Dude, why the hell are you getting a divorce? She’s hot!”

You went red. Sehun coughed. “Shut up, Baekhyun,” said Junmyeon, smacking the guy who’d spoken in the arm.

This was going to be a long night.

It seemed as though Sehun had instructed his friends to do quite the opposite of what you’d asked your friends to do. Except for Baekhyun, the others avoided you every time you tried to talk to one of them.

You took an angry sip of your beer when the tall, cute one called Chanyeol politely excused himself out of a conversation with you. You locked eyes with Sehun from across the room and he smirked.

The party just got wilder and wilder. Soon enough, the music was blaring loud enough for you to get a headache, and you stumbled into the bathroom for some quiet.

To your surprise, Sehun was sitting there on the closed toilet seat. He raised his eyebrow as you came in.

“Tired already?”

“Not at all,” you lied. “But you must be. This must be so hard for you. Not being able to sleep with any of those girls even though you’re dying to? Go ahead, Sehun. Why don’t you just give in?”

Sehun laughed. “Do you really think I’m dumb enough to cheat on you?”

“I think it’s only a matter of time,” you replied. “Well, you’re wrong,” he said. “I can manage fine without chicks.”

You snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said, standing up and walking over to you. “I’m a married man. And I am not screwing this thing up.” He was suddenly too close.

You stared up at him, unnerved at his proximity to you. His nose was almost touching yours. “Neither am I, Sehun,” you whispered. “I’m gonna go till the end of this.”

“Till death do us apart,” he said, his voice low. Your heart hammered in your chest.

“Not unless I kill you first.”

After that, it was war. The both of you tried everything possible to sabotage the other.

Sehun shut your alarm off one day, and you couldn’t wake up in time for work. You fumed as you pulled the clothes over yourself in a hurry, not even realizing that Sehun walked right in on you changing.

“Nice grandma panties,” he observed. You threw a pillow at him.

“What happened to the lace ones you wore in Vegas? Those were nice,” he continued, unbothered by your rage.

“I’m saving those for a husband who isn’t a complete jerk,” you snapped. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be extremely late to work thanks to you.”

“You’re welcome!” he called as you rushed out of the house.

As payback, you decided not to remind Sehun about the meeting with the counselor the next weekend. You sat there smugly as she shook her head at his ‘irresponsibility’.

Sehun looked ready to murder when you went back home. “Real mature, Y/N.” You just shrugged. “Hey, it isn’t my job to remind you. If you really wanted to work on this marriage, you would’ve been there.”

The look on his face was worth everything.

But as the weeks went by, strangely enough, it soon began to feel more like fun than an annoyance. You felt as if you were going crazy.

Because now you were getting used to him. You were just so used to having Sehun around all the time, that a small part of you was dreading when he would no longer be.

You felt as though you would miss him, even his stupid pranks. He’d become some sort of a frenemy to you. Some nights, you’d just sit there and argue on the couch about what movie to watch, and he’d steal all your popcorn. Or you’d make a meal together, fighting but laughing all the while about what ingredients to use.

Once, when you were doubled up in pain from period cramps, he actually went out and got you some painkillers and a tub of ice cream, even though he grumbled about it all the while.

The gesture touched you in a way you’d never imagined. But you were careful not to let Sehun know. There was no point, what with just a few months left of this arrangement. You would be going your two separate ways, each with a million dollars, and would never look back.

You hated to admit to yourself that it was going to hurt.

“It’s your birthday, babes. We’re going out,” said Nat, pulling you out of bed. You groaned. “I think I’ve had enough of your crazy ideas. I hope you realize that the last time I went out to party I got drunk and got married.”

“Sehun, would you please convince your wife to have a little fun on her birthday?” Nat called, ignoring you. Sehun appeared in the doorway. “I didn’t know it was your birthday,” he said. You rolled your eyes. “And the best husband award goes to..”

Sehun shrugged. “I know a great nightclub. Let’s go. You, me, Nat and Junmyeon. It’ll be like Vegas all over again.”

You bit your lip. “That’s exactly what I don’t want it to be like.”

But later that night, you were being dragged along anyway, in a tight black dress you hadn’t worn in ages. You must’ve imagined the way Sehun looked at you, his ears going slightly red at the tips.

You were frankly tired of loud music and alcohol. And so you sat at the bar while Nat when crazy on the dance floor, pulling Junmyeon along with her.

To your surprise, Sehun sat with you. “I don’t like this song,” he said simply. You hid a smile. When had he suddenly got so considerate?

You stirred your mocktail. “Weird, isn’t it? In a month or so we won’t be married anymore.” The words were out of your mouth before you could stop them.

Sehun was silent for a few minutes, and you almost wished you hadn’t said anything.

“Yeah, weird. But we can keep in touch,” he said finally. You nodded awkwardly. “I guess.”

You suddenly felt as though a heavy weight was settling over your chest. The flashing lights and music ringing in your ears were all at once overwhelming.

You stood up abruptly. “I’m gonna go get some air.” You didn’t wait to hear his response, quickly making your way out of the club, pushing through the crowd of people.

Once outside, you took a couple of deep breaths. You had to pull it together. There was no way in hell you were suddenly getting feelings for Sehun. You were not going to let it happen.

“Y/N?”

You turned at the mention of your name. And felt your whole body freeze.

It was him. The man you’d vowed never to see ever again. The man you’d wasted a year of your life with, only to have him break your heart. You automatically took a step back.

He held his arms up defensively. “I just want to talk.” “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” you spat. “You don’t get to fuck other girls and then expect me believe anything you say.”

“Whoa. It was one girl. And it was an accident. You know that. I was stressed out, drunk—”

You gaped at him. “So? I’ve been stressed too, asshole. That didn’t mean I cheated on you. You’re pathetic.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I just-I saw you here and everything came back to me. Seeing you looking so good, it just—I want you back,” he said, taking a step towards you, grabbing your hand.

You tried to snatch away from his grip. “Let go of me.”

“Not until you let me make it up to you,” he said, pulling you closer. You shoved him in the chest, but he didn’t budge. You felt sudden fear wash over you. You just wanted to get away from him and his disgusting touch.

And then suddenly, he was being pulled away from you by someone strong, stumbling backward. Your eyes widened as you saw who it was. “What the fuck are you doing?” asked Sehun calmly, looking at him levelly in the eye.

Your ex-boyfriend roughly pulled his arm away. “Why the fuck do you care?” he sneered. “Did he hurt you?” asked Sehun, looking at you. You shook your head, swallowing.

Your ex stared at you. “Who is this guy, Y/N?” Before you could reply, Sehun spoke. “I’m her husband,” he said, smiling. “So you better get the fuck away from her.”

He gaped at Sehun. And then at you. And then he laughed. “This is a joke, right? You’re telling me you left me and then immediately found this guy to fuck and marry? Shit, Y/N. I underestimated you. I didn’t think you were such a slu—”

He was cut off by Sehun punching him square in the jaw. “Oh my god, Sehun, stop!” you yelled, grabbing him to pull him back. Your ex-boyfriend’s eyes were alive in rage as he swung forward, aiming for Sehun’s face, but he ducked in time.

Just then, as if a godsend, Junmyeon ran out of the club, panting. “Hey, hey! Break it up, man,” he said, quickly stepping between the two men. Sehun’s face was calm, like it always was, but you could see the silent fury in his eyes.

Your ex spat on the ground, his lip bleeding. “You’re fucking crazy. All of you.” “Get lost,” you said in a low voice. “I mean it. I don’t want to ever see you again.”

And then you were pulling Sehun with you and walking away, Junmyeon following behind.

You winced as Sehun slammed the door of the apartment shut. “What a fucking asshole,” he muttered, throwing himself onto the couch.

“Thanks for sticking up for me back there,” you said, awkwardly sitting down next to him. He rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to thank me. It was just my first instinct. To protect you.”

You felt a blush creep up onto your cheeks. To your astonishment, Sehun also went red, as if he was surprised at his words.

“Look, I know this is probably going to sound really strange, but I don’t think I want this divorce any more,” he blurted.

You stared at him in shock. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I think I want to stay married. To you,” he said, turning away in embarrassment. “But why?” you asked, bewildered. Was there a chance...?

“I like you, okay?” said Sehun abruptly. “I like annoying you, and I like fighting with you, and I like sitting here doing nothing with you. This sounds cheesy as fuck, but it’s true. Yo-you make me happy. Even though I know I probably don’t show it at all.”

You started to smile. “I don’t want the divorce either. I want to try and make this work. Our marriage is probably the most unconventional and crazy thing that has ever happened in my incredibly boring life so far. I never realized how much I needed someone like you, Sehun.”

He started to laugh. “I seriously did not think it would come to this. What the hell do we tell the court now?”

“That we somehow fell in love over 6 months and decided to stay together?” you suggested. Sehun raised an eyebrow. “Did you just say the L-word?”

“Maybe,” you said, feeling dangerous as you scooted closer to him. He tilted his head slightly, his lips inches from yours.

“I don’t know how long I’ve held back,” he murmured, and then his lips were on yours, and your heart was alive.

When you pulled away from the kiss, breathless, you felt as though every nerve in your body was on fire. “Well, what do you want to do with 2 million dollars?” you asked, dazed. Sehun smirked. “Late honeymoon?” You giggled. “We really won the jackpot, didn’t we?”

“I know I did,” said Sehun. “I won you.”

You burst out laughing. “Dude, if you don’t stop being so sappy I might have to re-think that divorce.”

Sehun just grinned.

“I guess what happens in Vegas doesn’t really stay in Vegas, does it?”

A/N: I really really hoped you liked it as much as I loved writing it! Seriously, this was so much fun to imagine! Please do send me your thoughts :)

2K notes · View notes

slidewhistlebj · 7 years ago

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Riren Secret Santa Fic

@constant-catastrophe I got you for the Secret Santa event, I hope you like this little ficlet I made for you!

Wants: domestic rivaere growing old together, fluffy, bonus for greying Levi and long hair!Eren

“Levi!” Eren called from the kitchen, tossing the vegetables he was cooking a few times as he waited for his husband to appear. They were having a special anniversary dinner to celebrate being together for four years and the food was pretty close to being done with no hint of Levi in the room.

Levi had been excited for the dinner for the past week, making sure that everything was going to be perfect in his own quiet little way. He had spent forever making absolutely sure to have the right music queued up on their speakers and making sure the room was perfectly clean, any dust in the room was seen as a personal offense.

Eren had almost wanted to make a comment to Levi about how nervous he seemed, but he held back. Levi hadn't been in many serious relationships before and tended to get nervous when big relationship milestones came around so Eren decided to let him work it out himself, in his own special way.

It was good for Levi to find his own way to balance nerves and fears without having Eren constantly checking in on him about it...at least that what Eren told himself as he watched Levi over the past week.

Finally Eren watched Levi enter the kitchen, having heard Eren’s call. Good, Levi looked much calmer and more relaxed than the rest of the week, it must have just been stress. Now that he was feeling better, they could have a fun evening together just like they planned.

///////////////////////////////////

He was just about ready for tonight.

Levi only needed to check over his outfit one more time, but other than that, he felt prepared for the evening in with Eren. Plopping down before at the bar that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room, Levi took Eren in as he cooked with the kind of confidence only a seasoned chef could have.

His husband was skillfully moving between all the different stations he had arranged in the kitchen, tossing vegetables in their pan on the stove before turning and cutting a few slices from the baguette he had bought then moving to checking on the chicken, making sure nothing was burning in the process.

Eren was quite the chef, if his job was anything to go by, and he had a dorky smile on his face the whole time he moved around the kitchen in a little haze, having forgotten he called his husband in the room.

Levi was happy to let Eren forget he was even there, content to watch him in his natural element. As he watched, he took in Eren’s anniversary outfit. While Levi was dressed in a button up and a tie to be a little nicer and dressed up, Eren was more casual, wearing a soft red sweater with its sleeves rolled up and his favorite dark jeans.

Neither of them were very up-tight or fancy people so a simple, relaxed dinner was more than enough for them to celebrate their four year anniversary.

Eren’s shoulder length hair was tied back, excluding a few strands that refused to cooperate, in a ponytail to keep it all out of his face. When they had gotten married, it had been shorter, but over time it grew out and they had both grown to love the new style too much to let it go.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Levi entered his music app and turned on the connection to the speakers. Pop music drifted through the room from the speakers in the living room and Levi let out a little laugh as he watched Eren do a shimmy to the beat of the song.

Eren finally turned his head and saw Levi sitting there with a soft smile on his face, watching him from the comfort of a bar stool. Smiling right back at him, Eren leaned over the counter and gave him a quick kiss.

Pulling away slightly, but not farther than a couple inches, Eren smiled sweetly before leaning in again. He paused, a hair’s breadth away from Levi’s lips, and whispered, “Did you remember to water Mrs. Smith’s flowers? We’re supposed to keep them from dying while they’re on vacation.”

Levi’s nose crinkled as he tried not to smile at Eren’s little trick. Very sneaky.

Pecking a kiss onto Eren’s lips, Levi decided to copy Eren’s move, only leaning back slightly as he whispered, “Those plants were dead when we got them and they’ll be dead when we give them back. Fuck the system.”

Eren rolled his eyes in mock annoyance as he pulled back to look at Levi fully. “Fuck what system, Levi? The ecosystem?”

Levi’s brow furrowed for a second before he smirked and responded, “If that’s what it takes!”

“I thought an old man like you would love nature. I thought the rules were the older you get, the more sentimental and sappy you become.” Eren snarked, smiling like the sun as he teased Levi.

Levi rolled his eyes as Eren started laughing at his own joke. “Har har, you’re so funny. My hair is turning more and more grey everyday and you want to just sit there and make your little snarky jokes at me! Well, two can play at that game!”

“Oh, really?” Eren smirked. “You think you can keep up with me?”

“Of course.”

“Give it your best shot.”

Levi straightened up again and surveyed Eren, looking for something he could tease him about.

“Well, I might be an old man, but you’re a…”

Levi’s voice faded as he couldn’t think of what to say. He had come up blank when he had tried find Eren’s flaws. With Eren staring at him, a wide smile on his face and soft music filtering in the room around them, Levi couldn't think of a single thing he could possibly want to change about who he was with…

“...model.”

Eren’s eyebrows furrowed and he paused, trying to figure out how Levi was getting back at him. They sat there in a strange silence for a few seconds before Eren burst out laughing. Levi joined in a few seconds later, chuckling about how ridiculous his come-back had been.

Still chuckling, Eren called out to Levi as he turned back around to attend to the food. “Can you grab some wine to go with dinner? I think we have a bottle that we didn’t finish the last time that your mom was here for a visit, it should be in the cupboard by the sink.”

Walking over to the cabinet, Levi pressed a kiss to Eren’s cheek as he passed him, smiling at the little blush that still rose to Eren’s cheeks when he didn’t expect that things like that to happen.

Opening the cupboard, Levi was just able to spy the sealed opening of the wine bottle on the very top shelf.

Goddamnit.

Levi began to wonder if Eren had planned this, making him awkwardly reach for the bottle on the top shelf as Eren just watched him struggle. His fingers were about an inch shy of the bottle, and he started getting impatient, not caring for the reminder of his height. A little snort from behind him made him turn his head to glare at Eren for watching him just as he gave a little hop to try and grab the mouth of the bottle.

Everything began to move in slow motion as the bottle’s stopper came loose in his hand and wine spilled out of the cupboard like a slow motion waterfall. Levi turned his head back to the cabinet just in time for the wine to splash his face like a bad skin care commercial.

Time regained its normal speed as Levi moved his hands to shield his face, squinting to keep the wine from getting in his eyes. The stream quickly stopped, leaving only an empty silence behind, neither Eren nor Levi were sure how to break the tension.

Levi ended up breaking the quiet with a stream of curses that could make a sailor cry as he tried to wipe off the wine that had fallen on him.

Quickly grabbing some paper towels, Eren came to his rescue, cleaning off his face and dabbing at his now stained shirt and pants. Eren tried to give Levi his space to vent at the mishap, but as he let loose a new stream of curses, Eren couldn’t stifle his giggles anymore.

Levi paused in his plan to curse the entire universe out of existence for fucking his night with Eren over when he opened his eyes and saw Eren barely hiding his laugher, little snorts and shaking shoulders giving him away.

“What,” Levi asked incredulously, “could possibly be funny about this right now?”

Eren just smiled at him and responded, “I don’t mean to be rude, sweetheart! I promise! it’s just that you stressed out so much about having the perfect anniversary dinner over this past week that I don’t think you even realized that this is the perfect night to represent of our relationship. We are just trying to figure out how to adult together, everything doesn’t need to be perfect for us to figure out who we are. This is the best possible way I could could think to celebrate our anniversary.”

Levi paused for a few seconds as he thought it over before he grinned at Eren in one of those rare smiles that seemed to blind Eren every time he saw it.

Taking a step back from Eren so there was some distance between them, Levi slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet box as he bent down on one knee in the puddled wine on the floor. Neither of them even seemed to notice it staining his pants further as Levi finally worked up the nerve to speak.

“I meant for this to be a lot more dramatic and...not so covered in wine...but you’re completely right. Those fairytale proposals that we all see on TV just aren’t for us. We spend our weekends playing video games together and claim that we see Bigfoot everytime we go hiking. We aren’t a textbook couple, but that just makes us all the better because of it. I wake up never knowing where my day might lead with you, everything is spontaneous and sometimes ridiculous, but there has never been a single moment where I haven’t known you are the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Eren teared up as he watched Levi speak, the truth of everything he was saying was clear in his eyes which were so hopeful as they looked up at Eren for a sign that he understood what he was trying to say.

“Eren, you are the love of my life. Every single day seems brighter just because you're in it with me and I wouldn’t be half the man I am now without you. You are my love, my life, and most importantly, my home. So...will you do me the honor of being my husband as well?”

Throwing himself forward, Eren pressed his lips to Levi’s in a tender kiss, both flushed from the abnormally long speech Levi gave. Eren’s arm’s came to wrap around Levi’s neck as he held Levi as close as he could.

Pulling back slightly, Levi had to make sure. “That...That’s a yes, right?”

Eren snorted as he nodded tearfully, not really trusting his voice.

Levi smiled at him as he slipped the ring onto Eren’s finger before laced their fingers together in a tight grip like they couldn’t let go of one another.

They met in the middle for another sweet kiss before Levi whispered, “I can smell the food burning… should we get up and take care of that?”

“Fuck the food! I just got proposed to, nothing is interrupting this.”

“Message received: Fuck the food and fuck the ecosystem!”

“...Shut up and kiss me, you asshole…”

“Anything for my lovely fiance.”

“Say that again.”

“Fiance.”

“I can't wait until you say husband.”

“Just trust me, I won’t let you wait long for that.”

“Good, I’m counting on it.”

#ererisecretsanta2k17 #83 #older levi #long haired eren #eren #levi #riren #fluff #cuties in love #proposal #sweet awkward babies

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years ago

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND August 16, 2019 – GOOD BOYS, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT, WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE and more!

Five more new wide releases this week, three of which I’ve seen, although one is embargoed until Wednesday night i.e. after this column “goes to press.”

My favorite movie of the weekend is Universal’s R-rated comedy GOOD BOYS from Bad Teacher writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the latter making his directorial debut. It’s been one of my most anticipated movies of the year, since I’ve loved all the trailers I’ve seen. Maybe it’s just because I still have the mentality of a 10-year-old, and I generally enjoy R-rated comedy, the raunchier the better, but I’ve also been a pretty diehard fan of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s work and been itching to see this movie since it debuted at SXSW all the way back in March. It’s a nice comedic turn for Room and Wonder star Jacob Tremblay and he seems to have great chemistry with Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon, but I guess we’ll see if this is the next Superbad (after the attempt by Booksmart to be, that is)…

Mini-Review:The best comedies deliver the simplest of premises but try to fill every second with jokes that find a way to connect. In that sense, Good Boydelivers big time.

Tremblay, Williams and Noon are best friends who dub themselves the “Bean Bag Boys” who are about to enter the 6thgrade and are desperate to be seen as cool by the other kids. When Tremblay’s Max is invited to a “kissing party” by one of the cooler kids, he brings his best friends Lucas and Thor along, but first, they have to find out how to kiss.

If you’ve seen the trailers, you probably already have some idea of the hijinks they get into. Sure, there’s a danger of some of the best jokes being used in the trailer, and there’s a lot of that at least in the first half, but other jokes play out much better in the movie than they do in short bursts of marketing.

Mind you, I wasn’t a fan of the filmmaker’s Bad Teacher but having the control of directing allows them to take the humor inherent in watching young actors swearing and getting up to some crazy shit makes Good Boyswork well beyond my already high expectations. Tremblay transitions so smoothly into comedy, using all his adorable sweetness in new ways, and the other two actors are just as funny.

Like Booksmart, and yes, Superbad, and other comedies as well, this is a simple story about a group of kids on a mission to get to a party and the adventures and mishaps they get into along the way. This includes having a run-in with two older girls whose molly ends up in the boy’s hands, one of the longer over-arching subplots which leads the boys into deeper and deeper shit.

You have to give Stupnitsky a lot of credit to be able to get so much funny stuff out of the movie’s young cast and just being able to work with kids in general, but especially getting them to do and say such funny stuff without (hopefully) scarring them for life. (And if there’s an opportunity for a third movie in a Will Forte awkward Dad trilogy, I cannot wait!)

At times Good Boys goes into some obvious territory as it heads into the final act – just like in Booksmart and many of Rogen/Goldberg’s comedies, the friends have a falling out -- but it recovers nicely, keeping the laughs coming as it resolves many of the jokes set-up much earlier in the movie with a solid pay-offs.

Basically, I haven’t laughed this hard in a very long time.

Rating: 8.5/10

I did finally get to see Gurinder Chadha’s BLINDED BY THE LIGHT (New Line/WB), which was all the rave out of Sundance (and I kind of missed at CinemaCon cause the screening was too late at night). It stars Viveik Chalra as Javed, a young man living in Luton, England in the mid-80s, who wants to be writer, much to the chagrin of his traditionalist Pakistani father (Kulvinder Ghir). When he meets a classmate named Roops (Aaron Phagura), Javed is turned onto Bruce Springsteen, and hearing his music inspires him to go for his dreams, including his classmate Eliza (Nell Williams). This musical comedy is based on the memoir “Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll” by Sarfraz Manzoor, and it uses a LOT of Bruce Springsteen in the movie, for better or worse.

Let me explain…

I have never been a fan of Bruce Springsteen. Sure, I’ve always been familiar with his music, but maybe it was because I lived in New England and was more into prog rock and new wave/punk that I just never really cared to buy any of his records. (Also, I was never into the whole “rah rah USA” themes that were emerging in the ‘80s around the time of “Born in the USA.”) Oddly, the one Springsteen album I DO own and enjoy is “Magic,” which is about as big an anomaly to the rest of his discography as you can get. It’s with that in mind that I went into see Chadha’s latest movie unsure if I could bear so much Springsteen in such a short period of time…

Mini-Review: Making a movie based on a memoir generally has its limitations that may sometimes limit or constrict a filmmaker, and that might be the case with Blinded by the Light, based on Sarfraz Manzoor’s book, since he also co-wrote the screenplay.

We meet Javed (Viveik Chalra) as a boy as he hangs with his best friend Matt and navigates living in a strict Pakistani household in Luton, England with a father who wants everything a certain way. The idea of his son becoming a writer is foreign to Javed’s father Malik (beautifully portrayed by Kulvinder Ghir) but Javed perseveres and takes a creative writing class in school that inspires him to continue. (He’s driven by his teacher, played by Hayley (Agent Carter) Atwell, but gives up frequently out of frustration.)

Surprisingly, I could relate to a lot of what Javed is going through Blinded by the Light, even though I myself didn’t start writing until a much later age. The biggest immediate problem with the film is that it takes quite some time for Viveik Chalra to show any sort of personality, and this is the movie’s lead, someone that you’re supposed to care about.

Surely, there will be comparisons to other music movies of the year including the recent hit Yesterday, which under the aegis of Danny Boyle, was just a tighter piece of storytelling, maybe because he was not beholden to a real-life person like this and Rocketman.

Still, the movie does go off on too many tangents that don’t seem necessary to the overall story, like spending time with Javed’s sister at a daytime disco, something that was obviously supposed to explain her situation, but just feels extraneous. Also, the whole subplot with Javed’s childhood friend Matt feeling like Javed is growing apart from him feels unnecessary and both things take away from the main story.

The thing is that I love all the ‘80s new wave and pop that permeates the movie’s first half hour and when it’s replaced by “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Born to Run” and other Springsteen hits, it just wasn’t as enjoyable to me.

I totally can understand Chadha relating to what Sarfraz went through in terms of racism and dealing with the National Front in the ‘80s, and that aspect of the movie really comes through the best. Similarly, I enjoyed the budding romance between Javed and his classmate Eliza, although the way the film breaks out into song seems rather silly and off-putting compared to how this same thing was done in Rocketman.

Essentially, Blinded by the Light is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a lot to like about it, even if you’re not a fan of “The Boss.” It’s a film that has tonal issues and could have used some tighter editing but generally gets Sarfraz’s story across in a relatable way.

Rating: 8/10

I have seen Richard Linklater’s new film WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE (U.A. Releasing), starring Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer and newcomer, but I’m under embargo so I’ll have to add the review later on Wednesday night. I can say that Blanchett plays Bernadette Fox and she’s a rather difficult woman, although you do generally root for her when she gets into a feud with her neighbor, played by Wiig. The movie won’t really be for everyone, although I guess I can find 30-something-plus women finding it empowering but I’ll save my thoughts for the review.

Mini-Review:

There are times when I feel bad for the pressures Richard Linklater must face just by being Richard Linklater. He makes a movie like Before Midnight or Boyhood which just puts a bigger onus on him to live up to those movies, even when he wants to do something lighter or less weighty. After 2017’s Last Flag Flying, which dealt with heady topics like war in a fairly light way, Bernadette must have seemed like the perfect antiseptic.

Cate Blanchet’s Bernadette Fox was once one of the hottest up and coming architects in L.A. but after a series of disappointments, she moves to Seattle with her tech-savvy husband Elgie (Billy Crudup) where they have a now-teenage daughter named Bee (newcomer Emma Nelson). The thing is that Bernadette is rather abrasive, and she’s made enemies in the community, particularly her neighbor (Kristen Wiig) who has been complaining about blackberry bushes that are infiltrating her own yard. One thing leads to another and then another and before you know it, Bernadette has decided to pull a runner.

I should really like this movie more. I loved Ben Stiller’s remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Bernadette is very much in a similar vein but about a middle-aged woman trying to find herself.

The movie just putters around for a good hour or more trying to be funny or witty and generally failing at being even remotely entertaining. It finally gets into gear when the story moves to Antarctica as Elgie and Bee try to find Bernadette, who has gone off on a voyage to the South Pole. (Trust me, to explain her logic would involve so much time and effort that I’m not going to bother.)

The movie offers such a sweet payoff ending, but it’s hard to discount the rest of the movie leading up to that, and it never really earns that payoff since it’s wasted much of the early part of the movie trying to be a budget-rate version of HBO’s Big Little Lies.

Even the title is rather deceptive, because it’s not about everyone looking for Bernadette as much as the more metaphysical “Where’d you go?” as in “what happened to that promising architecture career you gave up?” That is what you're dealing with here.

It’s hard to completely fault Linklater for trying something different, but Bernadette is not the witty mainstream comedy it’s being advertised as and probably veers more into Cameron Crowe’s recent, experimental work in terms of tone and pacing. I’m trying hard not to outright name the movie, but you probably know the one I’m referring to. Think Hawaii.

In other words,Bernadette won’t be for everyone. I wish it luck finding its fans, but this is likely to be a cult movie that only finds a rather small following. I’m honestly surprised this isn’t a Netflix movie.

Rating: 5.5/10

Also, Entertainment Studios is releasing the underwater thriller sequel47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED on Friday night (with Thursday previews). The first movie was a surprise hit, and it was an enjoyable entry into the shark movie oeuvre, so we’ll have to see how director Johannes Roberts takes the concept to a new level with a cast that includes a couple second-gen actors like Sistine Stallone and Corrine Foxx, the daughters of Sly Stallone and Jamie Foxx.

I was invited to see Sony’s THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2, but I saw the first movie, so I didn’t feel like waking up early on a Saturday to catch the press screening. Basically, this is what it is with most of the same voice cast joined by Leslie Jones, Tiffany Haddish (of course) and a few others. It looks cute and I’m sure the characters have some fans from the multitude of games, but I’m not sure a late summer release is the way to go with this rather than just holding it for Sept. where Sony had success with the Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

Before we get to the limited releases, I want to shine a special spotlight on Film at Lincoln Center’s 12th installment of its annual “Scary Movies” series, which will kick off on Friday with Dan Berk and Robert Olsen’s Villains, starring Maika Monroe (It Follows) and Bill Skarsgard (from It) as a renegade couple who break into a house in the woods. This year’s closing night film (and party!) on August 21 is Radio Silence’s gory Ready or Not, essentially on the same night of its nationwide release. Also, Andrés Kaiser’s Feral will get its New York Premiere (also Friday), as will Søren Juul Petersen’s Finale. Ari Aster will debut his longer director’s cut of his recent horror film Midsommar, but what I’m really excited about is the “Terrible Bears” double feature of the 1976 movie Grizzly and a 40thanniversary screening of John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy, two movies that scared the shit out of me as a kid and guaranteed I’d never go camping – I’ll be there for that double feature on Saturday. Basically, it’s six days of scary fun and movies that shouldn’t be missed seeing them with an audience.

LIMITED RELEASES

It’s a wild and eclectic mix of limited releases this week, beginning with Victor Kossakovsky’s doc AQUARELA (Sony Pictures Classics), opening in New York and L.A. and playing at 48FPS in the theaters capable of that tech. Kossokovsky’s film centers around the theme of water, and it travels across the globe filming all sorts of scenes most humans will never have had a chance to see from rescuing cars that have fallen through the ice at Russia’s Lake Bailal to Venezuela’s Angel Falls to Miami being hit by a hurricane. The film does have a meditative quality that I quite enjoyed, but as with many cinema verité films, there just wasn’t enough of a narrative, so you never really know what you’re watching. It’s beautifully-shot with some of the most impressive cinematography you’re likely to see (and shot in 96 FPS to really create such vivid clarity). I also kind of liked some of the music, but even at a short 90 minutes I found myself getting bored, so this probably won’t be for everyone.

Although I mentioned I’m not a fan of cinema verité docs, I thoroughly enjoyed Iván Osnovikoff and Betinna Perut’s LOS REYES (Grasshopper Film), which looks at two homeless dogs, Chola and Football, that live at a skatepark in Santiago, Chile. The movie basically films the two dogs and follows their exploits 24/7 and pieces together a compelling story that shows these animals to have true emotions equal to that of any human. The footage of the dogs is superimposed with dialogue between some of the skaters (and drugdealers) that convene at the park, which is an interesting dichotomy to watch. It’s a beautiful film that opens Wednesday at Film Forum on Wednesday, and while I will recommend it to dog lovers, I will mention one caveat that there is a sadder portion to the movie that might upset those who love watching the dogs. (In other words, I’m not sure it would be a good movie for younger kids.)

Yet ANOTHER cinema verité doc out this weekend is Roberto Minervini’s What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire (KimStim), the filmmaker’s follow-up to his Texas Trilogy. This one is a portrait of disparate African-Americans in New Orleans dealing with the cultural racism that has kept them down their entire lives. I can’t say that I was a huge fan of the movie, because I tend to prefer docs that have a stronger narrative rather than being random scenes – beautifully-shot in black and white, mind you. After a preview screening at the Maysles Documentary Center up in Harlem on Wednesday night, the movie will open at Film at Lincoln Center on Friday… and then it’s back at the Maysles for five days starting August 23, before it goes to L.A. Laemmle Glendale on Sept. 6 and other cities after that.

Not cinema verité but still a documentary, kind of, is Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger’s COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD (Magnolia), which begins as his examination to try to prove that UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld’s 1961 plane crash in Congo was a deliberate assassination attempt. In trying to solve the case about what happened, the filmmaker -- who inserts himself into the movie similarly as Werner Herzog might, almost to a fault -- discovers something even more nefarious involving Apartheid in South Africa. I will give Brügger points for being innovative with this quirky pseudo-doc, but after two hours, the movie leaves you with more questions than answers, which is frustrating. It opens in New York, L.A., San Fran, Philly and a couple other theaters this weekend.

From GKIDs comes Salvador Simó’s animated BUÑUEL IN THE LABYRINTH OF THE TURTLES which follows the Spanish surrealist who has been shunned from making films in France and has had a falling out with his collaborator Salvador Dali. Broke, he returns to Spain where his poet friend Ramón Acin offers to fund his next movie if he wins the lottery, which he does, as the two of them go into the mountains to film the documentary Las Hurdes in the impoverished village.

This is a really interesting film, not only because the story itself is quite fascinating, but also Simó’s decision to use animation to tell the story. The animation is fairly simplistic, but it works, and it gets even more interesting as Simó actually intersperses footage from the documentary Las Hurdes into the animation showing them make the movie. I honestly know very little about Buñuel other than his classic works, so it’s interesting to see his transition after the disappointing showing for his feature L’Age D’Or, as well as how both his provocative and more humanistic sides come out while making the movie. Simó’s film will open at the Quad Cinema in New York and L.A.’s Landmark Nuart on Friday, plus other cities later.

Shinsuko (Bleach) Sato’s action epic KINGDOM (FUNimation Films), based on the Japanese manga, will open in select theaters nationwide Friday. Oddly, it’s set in China during the 3rd Century where the kingdom of Qin is separated into seven divisions constantly battling against each other. The story mainly focuses on two boys who were raised as slaves and then separated, one to go work under the king.This film was also frustrating, because I generally love this genre, but the storytelling was all over the place in terms of tone and the pacing was off, especially with the sporadic spacing of the action scenes. Also, it covers some of the same territory as Zhang Yimou’s Hero, which is one of my favorite Asian martial arts films of all time, and this pales by comparison. I’ll be curious to see how wide FUNimation Films releases this on Friday and if there’s enough of a fanbase for the Manga stateside for it to have any sort of impact, but I was generally disappointed.

Opening at the IFC Center Wednesday is Rhys Ernst’s coming-of-age comedy (of sorts) ADAM, which premiered at Sundance this year. It stars Nicholas Alexander as high school senior Adam Freeman who goes to visit his older sister Casey (Margaret Qualley) in New York City over the summer and falls for Bobbi Salvör Menuez’s lesbian Gillian who presumes that Adam is trans, and he doesn’t bother to correct her. This is a really fascinating film written by Ariel Schrag, writer on “The L Word,” that takes an honest look at gender and sexuality in a way I haven’t really seen in many movies. It’s a light film with humor but it handles the topic in a serious and almost educational way for those of us CIS-hetero-males who may still be somewhat lost when it comes to some aspects of the LGBTQ+ community. The cast is fantastic, particularly Alexander and Menuez, but also Leo Sheng as Casey’s roommate who befriends Adam. It’s kind of interesting seeing Qualley playing a modern-day woman – the movie actually takes place in 2006 – since I’ve only seen her in period films like Novitiate and Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, but her role is fairly minor even if it helps explore the different types of lesbians. The movie has sweet moments but most of it works due to Schrag’s fine script and Ernst’s ability to get such great performances out of the cast. A worthy addition to the conversation.

Also opening at the IFC Center Friday isArgentine filmmaker Lucio Castro’s debut End of the Century (Cinema Guild), which follows a 30-something Argentine poet named Ocho (Juan Barberini) who travels to Barcelona where he falls for as Spaniard from Berlin named Javi (Ramón Pujol) and after a few failed attempts to meet, they finally hook-up.

Also opening at the Maysles Thursday night is Danniel Krikke’s Scared of Revolution (Film Movement), a documentary about Last Poets performer Umar Bin Hassan, who is struggling as he reaches his 70s decades after influencing many later hip-hop artists.

Opening on Thursday in about 200 theaters is the Bollywood release Mission Mangal (FIP) from director Jagan Shakti, based on the true story of the women scientists who take part in India’s space program. Akshay Kumar plays Rakesh Dhawan and Vidya Balan is Tara Shinde, who lead a team of scientists to launch India’s first satellite to Mars.

After that is a bunch of odds and ends…

William McGregor’s thriller Gwen (RLJEFilms/Shudder) stars Eleanor Worthington-Cox as the title character whose world is collapsing around as she deals with a malevolent presence, while the Korean thriller The Divine Fury (Well GO USA) is about an MMA fighter who helps an exorcist fight evil.

Nick Hamm’s comedic crime-thriller Driven (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), starring Jason Sudeikis, Lee Pace, Judy Greer and Justin Bartha with Pace playing John DeLorean and Sudeikis playing his ex-con FBI informant friend Jim Hoffman who lured him into a cocaine trafficking ring. It gets a theatrical and On Demand release almost a year after it premiered at Toronto.

Opening in L.A. on Friday and then in New York on August 23 is Nick Richey’s teen drama Low Low (Halfway Crooks Entertainment, Gravitas Ventures); the Jonathan Rhys-Myers-led suspense thriller Awake (Cinedigm) directed by Alex Cher and Fedor Lyass; and Brazilian-American director Alexandre Moratto’s gay drama Socrates (Breaking Glass Pictures), which opens at the Laemmle Music Hall in L.A. on Friday and at New York’s Cinema Village on August 23.

STREAMING AND CABLE

By now, you’ve probably already heard the consternation of Marlon Wayans going full Eddie Murphy for his comedy SEXTUPLETS premiering on Netflix Friday. The concept involves Wayans as an expectant father who learns that he’s actually 1/6thof a series of sextuplets, so he goes out to meet them… and they’re all played by Wayans in various make-up prosthetic and fat suits.

Netflix is also debuting the new docu-series Happy Jail about a Philippines jail that becomes known for a viral Michael Jackson video that’s then taken charge by a convict.

I’m embarrassed to say that I still haven’t seen the first season of Mindhunter, but the 2ndseason premieres on Friday as well.

Also Friday, there’s an animated movie called Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus which continues from the popular Adult Swim cartoon show from the early ‘00s.

REPERTORY

Opening on Thursday night nationwide is Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now Final Cut, the 3-hour plus version of his 1979 movie being released in IMAX theaters on its 40th Anniversary following its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Check theater listings as it’s only playing once a day at some theatres and might only be for a few days.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Starting this Friday is the new series Minelli Widescreen, as in Vincente Minelli, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind films like Gigi (1958), An American in Paris (1958), Some Came Running (1958), Bells are Ringing (1960) and many more, all shown using the filmmaker’s 2:35:1 widescreen frame, so this should be something special. This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is Leos Carax’s 2012 film Holy Motors and the Playtime: Family Matinees is the 1973 film (one of my favorites) The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. This week’s installment of “Godard/Karina Late Nights” is Alphaville (1965) on Thursday through Saturday nights. Unless it’s extended, Thursday will be your last chance to see the 4k restoration of Juraj Herz’s 1969 film The Cremator. It’s a very strange movie, kind of like if David Lynch directed an Addams Family movie, but then it gets far darker and more nefarious. Not to be shown up by BAM’s recent Millennial series, Metrograph is bringing back two of what I consider the most overrated movies of the year i.e. two movies that Millennials love – Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir and Claire Dennis’ English debut High Life, starring Robert Pattinson. I didn’t care for either movie.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Just because it’s his theater and he can do whatever he wants Quentin Tarantino continues to use the theater to mostly show Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood through the end of August. As far as rep stuff, this Wed’s matinee is the Rock Hudson-Doris Day film Lover Come Back (1961), the weekend’s KIDDEE MATINEE is Norman Tokar’s 1969 film Rascaland then Monday’s matinee is James Mangold’s Girl, Interruptedfrom 1999, for which Angelina Jolie won an Oscar.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The Burt Lancaster series ends Thursday so you have one last chance to see Criss Cross, Elmer Gantry, The Rose Tattoo and Conversation Piece, as another fantastic rep series comes to a close. Starting Friday is the next three-week series called “Marty and Jay’s Double Features.” The “Marty” is one Martin Scorsese and the Jay is film critic Jay Cocks, and they’ve put together a pretty amazing line-up, beginning with Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959) paired with Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956) on Friday, Saturday is Renoir’sThe Golden Coach (1952) with Minnelli’s The Band Wagon (1953), and a double feature of Olivier’s Richard III (1955) with Roger Corman’s The Tomb of Ligeia (1964). By the way, those are the only days you’ll be able to see these movies, since they won’t be screening multiple times. The one exception is Sunday and Monday’s double feature of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975) with a very rare Peter Sellers short called The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn from 1956. I’m not going to go through the whole series but click on the link above and start planning accordingly. Remember, it’s two classic films for the price of one!

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Not to be outshone by Tarantino and the New Bev, the theaters is doing “Once Upon a Time” double features… no, not Tarantino’s movie but a double feature of Once Upon a Time in China (1991) and its 1992 sequel Once Upon a Time in China 2on Thursday, then on Friday, Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) with the 2012 Turkish film Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. Of course, they’ll show Charles Bronson’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) on Saturday and then the Sergio Leone crime-thriller Once Upon a Time in America (1984), starring De Niro and James Woods, on Sunday

AERO (LA):

Weds night, the AERO is screening the musical comedy How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (1967) with star Robert Morse in person! Thursday begins a series called “The Neo-Noir of John Dahl” with filmmaker John Dahl in person for double features of The Last Seduction (1994) and Rounders (1998) on Thursday, then Val Kilmer’s Kill Me Again (1989) and Nicolas Cage’s Red Rock West (1993) on Friday. The “Highballs and Screwballs” series continues Saturday with The Lady Eve (1941), starring Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, and Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street(1945). The AERO has also started a “Dysfunctional Family Matinees” series with Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953)screening Tuesday afternoon.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

You have a couple more days to catch a few of the “Beach Reads: From Sun to Screen” movies, basically Airport, The Deep and The Island on Wednesday, and then Hotel, Valley of the Dolls and The Love Machine on Thursday. Beginning Friday is a restoration DCP of Jacqueline Audry’s Olivia (1951) set in a French finishing school where an English girl finds herself falling for her teacher Clara.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

This week’s Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Satyajit Ray’s 1955 film Pather Panchali, Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is chosen by some guy named “Ezra” who picked Lexi Alexander’s 2008 movie Punisher: War Zone, while Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is… once again… James Cameron’s Aliens. (Seriously, these movies really seem to be on a loop.) On Tuesday, as part of its “Movies with MZS” aka film critic Matt Zoller Seitz, the IFC will screen James Cameron’s 198 movie The Abyss in 35mm print)

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Punks, Poets & Valley Girls: Women Filmmakers in 1980s America continues through the weekend, screening Julia Bashore’s 1986 film Kamikaze Hearts, Kathryn Bigelow’s 1987 vampire flick Near Dark, Allison Anders’ Border Radio (also from ’87), and then from 1988, there’s Genevieve Roberts’ Casual Sex? And Penny Marshall’s Big, Martha Coolidge’s 1983 film Valley Girl, and Amy Heckerling’s classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High from 1982. On Sunday, the series will screen Mary Lambert’s Pet Sematary with some of her music videos. Also, on Thursday night, BAM is screening Spike Lee’s School Daze (1988).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

With Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance premiering later this month, MOMI is going to show the original The Dark Crystal… and while you’re there, you might as well check out the Jim Henson Exhibit, which has been running there since January.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

The downtown New York theater will screen Truffaut’s 400 Blows (1959) on Weds and Saturday and Jacques Demy’s musical The Young Girls of Rochefort(1968) on Thursday and Sunday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum.

Next week, fewer movies as we get further into the “Dog Days of Summer” although I’m kind of looking forward to seeing Angel Has Fallen, the third movie in the Gerard Butler action franchise.

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend GoodBoys AngryGirds BlindedByTheLight WheredYouGoBernadette Movies Reviews

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themomentofdavyprentiss · 8 years ago

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Not Your Average Zutara Fic Rec

So I’ve gone through a LOT of Zutara fanfiction, probably too much if I’m being honest, and finding good fics can be really hard. When looking up fic rec lists I’ve noticed that a lot of the lists are just the same select fanfictions recommended over and over (We get it, everyone and their mother loves ‘His Majesty Prefers Blue’ and ‘Stormbenders’ [I never finished HMPB, sue me]).

So this list is for all of you who are in my shoes and can’t seem to find anything besides the same ten or fifteen stories recommended and are desperate for something new. Everything listed is complete! (If I listed the incompletes/abandoned stories I’d have a lot more chaptered stories listed… RIP ‘The Confrontational Approach’…)

I have a lot of bookmarked stories that I have yet to read and am in the middle of (Almost caught up on @firelordandlady ‘s ‘Say Anything’!), so I’ll try to update this when I finish something I think deserves a recommendation.

Chaptered

In the Same Candlelight by Like a Dove

In a world where there is no war, Zuko and Katara spend their summers together. Growing up is messy, embarrassing, and at times sad, but they think it might be okay because they have each other. Edited summary.

I know. I KNOW. I LITERALLY JUST SAID I WASN’T GOING TO RECOMMEND FANFICS THAT ARE ON EVERYONE’S LIST. But I NEED to mention this one. I spent so long not interested in this fic. I don’t like drastic AU’s, or modern AU’s. My taste is strictly canon divergence, so I didn’t think I would like this. I WAS SO WRONG. Trust me, if you are like me and don’t like big AU’s, read this anyway. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. Characterization is still so spot on, even with such a different take. Aang is precious. There is nothing but fluff, fluff, and fluff. It will melt you. You will probably die and your spirit will rise up smiling and beaming out rainbows and sunshine. That’s what happened to me.

Lilacs and Lily Pads by sadladybug

A tale of clumsy courtship and calamitous court weddings, featuring awkward family encounters, floral mishaps, cultural complications, and good old fashioned fluff and conflict. Takes place in the five years following war’s end. For Zutara Week 2016. A prequel to Bones.

Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow is a very commonly recommended Zutara fic (And for good reason, I shed many tears reading it). But this two-shot (A companion to Bones, a smut one shot) by the same author is really underrated and beautifully written. It follows Zuko and Katara as they try to plan their wedding, as well as shows two scenes from before they got engaged that solidified the relationship to be one they knew would last. Just really well done overall and very very sweet.

EDIT: I talked with the author and apparently it isn’t finished?? But they are apparently working on the next chapters so yay!! And each chapter is independent so it doesn’t feel unfinished.

The Slow Path by Tazainian Devil

Eight years after the fall of Ozai, Aang returns to the friends he left behind - Taang, Zutara, Sukka

This is technically a Taang fic, and if I’m being honest I kind of just skimmed through the non-zutara chapters, but the Zutara storyline was good enough that I think it’s definitely worth the read. And the overall plot has a great premise. Be warned, it has a sequel that was never finished.

Another Word For Alchemy by FanPanda13

Five years have passed since the Avatar defeated Fire Lord Ozai, and the members of the Gaang have all gone in their own direction. But when Aang invites them all to a Peace Summit at the North Pole and tells them of his new project, for which he will need their support, the group comes together again for adventure, fun and romance. AU. Zutara. COMPLETE.

So this fic is crazy for me. At first, it started as just really good natured fluff. The writing wasn’t anything fantastic (Although I loved how it broke the 4th wall and didn’t take itself seriously), and there were some definite OOC moments. But I had so much FUN with it. The plot (while definitely not the focus as everyone is more concerned about when Zuko and Katara will get together) was interesting, and there were some really sweet moments. It was also HILARIOUS and I had multiple moments where I genuinely laughed out loud. But then about five chapters before the end, the quality SKY ROCKETED. As the plot and mystery come together, the characters all come together in a moment that truly feels like it came from the show. Even the writing quality increases by a lot and I was genuinely shocked and impressed. Definitely recommend.

Kyoshi Hold ‘Em by cupid-painted-blind

When a blizzard shuts down the fourth annual Peace Summit, the group has to find some way to pass the time. /Zutara, Taang, Jet/Mai, Jet/Everyone, Sukka

If you’re looking for a good crack fic, look no further. It’s post war and utter nonsense. Jet is alive for some reason??? No one questions it and he’s shipped with pretty much everyone. It’s funny, it’s decently written, there are drinking and sexy time shenanigans, and overall just lighthearted. Also, it does a great job of being a crack fic without crossing the line and becoming unfunny and just a trash fic. A lot struggle to find the balance and resort to going over the top and ridiculous, but this one does a really good job.

Come With Me by Steamboat Ghost

Coauthored by fuzzytomato. Troubled over his newly restored honor, Zuko finds solace in the familiar guise of the Blue Spirit. In a chance meeting with the Painted Lady, a friendship is forged as the two heroes seek to help the Fire Nation’s neglected.

I’ll admit it: I’ve never gotten into Blutara fanfictions. I only read the first couple chapters of HMPB and dropped it after the tree scene. I don’t know, it felt really OOC for me and I may go back and read it again just because EVERYONE raves about it, but IDK. I’ve never been a huge Blutara fan because while I love the concept, I’d much rather see the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit come together as equals. Most fics present Zuko behind his mask to Katara, and it feels imbalanced. There aren’t a lot of stories where we see their alter persona’s come together even though that’s the entire point of the parallel between the two. Insert this fic. I only wish there was a sequel dealing with Zuko in the Gaang after these events. Hey, a girl can dream.

A Zutara Story Anastasia by LastSunset

Katara, the only suviving waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, joins two con men, Zuko and Iroh, while a fearful admiral chases for her death. A Zutara Story. Based on the movie Anastasia.

So this isn’t so much a retelling of Anastasia but with Katara and Zuko as it is a fanfic version of the movie but with the characters names and world changed. It takes a lot of lines from the movie. But WHO CARES? It’s Anastasia and Zutara!!! What more do you need???

Oneshot

this burden you bear by cowlicklesschick

Word travels, and war stories will be told round campfires and on freighter ships until every person in the world knows what Master Katara did for the new Fire Lord. She fights the burning in her throat at the thought of people knowing why she had to heal him in the first place. Post-war Zutara.

This is an angst-with-a-happy-ending, which I say is the absolute BEST type of angst. Katara deals with the guilt of what Zuko did for her as the Fire Nation celebrates what she did to save his life during the Agni Kai. The two come together beautifully while struggling to see the feelings they both share. Really well written and like I said, it has a happy ending, which we all need.

The Best of Me by Laririn-Shadow

The night before his eighteenth birthday Zuko wraps a bandage around his left wrist. He has a country to run and no time for frivolous things. It will make everything easier if he waits. Zutara Soulmates AU

Soulmate AU’s usually aren’t my thing (With the glaring exception of one Until Dawn Soulmate AU, but that’s besides the point), but I really enjoyed this oneshot. It isn’t sweeping or insanely romantic and the reveal isn’t “OMG I’VE LOVED YOU THIS WHOLE TIME” But it’s a subtle love that grows, which I really like.

my salvation, he’s not anything by sarsaparillia

Let’s run away and start another war. — Zuko/Katara.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What can I say? I love the ‘Let’s run away together, consequences be damned’ trope. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Time is Ripe by Casa Circe

ZUTARA WEEK 2012 Day Seven: Seasons. There are many stages that a heart goes through before it can finally be ready for the love it was meant to have. The road is often a rocky one but eventually, it leads you home.

A oneshot for the Zutara Week 2012 prompt ‘Seasons’. Not too much to say about it. Short, sweet, and well written. What more do you need?

Serendipity by Boriqua-chan

Iroh goes hunting for tea leaves and finds something…interesting. /Zutara week, day 1/

Secret relationships! Fluff! Happiness! And all from Uncle Iroh’s perspective!! Everything I love in one great oneshot!

Too Close for Comfort also by Casa Circe

ZUTARA WEEK 2010 Day Three: Pain. After watching “The Ember Island Players”, no one is in the mood for teasing. But a little slip of the tongue leads to the painful realization that the play was more accurate than they were willing to admit.

There are two Zutara plots/tropes that I am a complete and utter SLUT for. The first is the ‘Let’s talk about that EIP show’ trope. This is one of my favorites.

The Color of Truth is Red by Mrs. Pettyfer

Written for Zutara Week prompt “awkward.” Zuko and Katara discuss the Ember Island Players.

Another post EIP oneshot

Enlightenment by Blade Quill

Choices are made on the day of Zuko’s coronation, and sometimes, enlightenment is just the simple truth at hand. Zutara. AU of the final moments of the Book 3 Finale

The OTHER plot/trope I’m a slut for is finale rewrites. LET ME SEE THEM COME TOGETHER AFTER HE TAKES LIGHTNING FOR HER. Ugh, I love it.

Framework by profoundlycan

What if in “Sozin’s Comet” Katara had come into the room instead of Mai? Zuko/Katara. Prequel to Schema.

Another finale rewrite! Let’s just get Mai out of the picture here…

Lightning Shocks the Heart by drunkzutarafeels

Why do our hearts remain dormant until a climactic moment makes time stand still?

And here’s yet another finale rewrite. There is a really popular Zutara gifset that someone animated of the Agni Kai ‘Thank you’ scene, but Katara kisses Zuko after she hugs him. This is the fanfiction equivalent of that gif set.

Sunrise by lewilder

The days go on and on, and even if she feels more comfort from the moon, Katara learns to cherish the promise of each new sunrise. Zutara AU, largely finale-centric. Oneshot.

LAST FINALE AU I PROMISE. Really sweet, starts right after The Southern Raiders and goes past canon.

all the ghosts we cannot kill (we learn to love) by raisindeatre

Zuko and Katara; the moments we didn’t see. Or: Maybe we are all somebody’s ghost. And maybe sometimes we can be more than that.

“…My quarrel has only ever been with you, Zuko,” she says, his name sharp on her tongue. “This has only ever been about me and you.”

“You’re wrong,” he rasps, his voice rough in the late afternoon sunlight that falls around them, tangles them in golden nets. “This has only ever been about me and the Avatar. Not you and me. What we hold between us has nothing to do with it.”

This is a really beautiful one-shot that follows a battered, war torn and hardened Zuko and Katara through the scenes we DIDN’T see throughout the entire show. A Zutara must-read.

Drabble Collection/Series

And Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Advocaat

A collection of humorous and crack-tastic oneshots corresponding to the days of Zutara Month

Really great Zutara Month themed drabbles, and it contains the only body swapping plot that I’ve read and really enjoyed. Also the chapters ‘Potential’ and ‘Festival’ are some of my all time favorites.

Zuko Was No Coward by hootowl

Zuko was many things, but a coward he was not. A collection of Zutara100 prompts. Title may change.

Definitely some heartbreakers and angsty drabbles in here, but all well written and thoroughly enjoyable. If you read ANYTHING from this list, read chapter two of this drabble collection. I MELTED when I read it. It’s perfection. Aunt Wu’s prediction has always been a plotline I’ve loved in Zutara fanfiction, and this one just does it PERFECTLY.

Zutara Week 2012 by ichilover3

A collection of oneshots inspired by the prompts for Zutara Week

Not much more to say. The first, third, and fourth prompts are my favorite from this series.

Zutara Week 2015 by bianca_anna

It started at a tea shop and ended with forever. My entries for Zutara Week 2015. I hope you enjoy them.

Oh my GOODNESS. So they’re Zutara Week prompts, but all set in the same universe. The Zutara!Family depicted in these drabbles has become my headcanon. I’ve seen many a Zutara family, but this one is by far my FAVORITE. This is now my official family for them. I want the very last chapter fully animated because it’s so good and epic and I want more of this families adventures.

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara fanfic #zutara fanfic rec #zutara fanfiction recommendations #fanfiction masterpost #100 #200 #300 #400 #500 #600 #700 #800 #900 #1k #susannah recs things

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sconesteaandmysteries · 7 years ago

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The Eye on the Sparrow, Chapter Four

Next chapter. That will probably be all for this fic this week. Hopefully, I’ll post more of it next week.

Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three

Summary: Sid meets up with an old friend...

Chapter Four

The rain that lasted most of the day eventually gave way to a cool, crisp twilight. It was the sort of evening that felt perfect to Sid for a night out to himself. Thus, after he drove Lady Felicia back home from the Bolton’s party, he stopped by his caravan, changed out of his chauffeur’s uniform, and headed off to the Red Lion.

He had about the uninvited guests who dropped by the party from Lady Felicia as he drove her home. From what she said, it sounded like something Sid almost regretted missing. Almost. After all, there was the consolation of hanging around the kitchen and having all the leftovers he wanted. As well as getting to know the Bolton’s newest maid.

Sid walked up to the bar and ordered himself a beer. He had hoped to run into his new acquaintance at the pub tonight. Although, he also knew that that was dependent on whether or not she could get her share of the cleanup from the party done early enough. He took his time drinking his first two beers and listened in on a few conversations to pass the time. Not only was it mildly entertaining, but he never knew when something he heard could prove useful to the Father during an investigation at some point.

He hung around for a couple of hours, but saw no sign of the girl he had planned on meeting. Disappointed, Sid started to head for the bar again to get one more for the road before heading back to his caravan for an early night for a change.

“Sid Carter…and here I thought I’d never see you again.”

Sid turned from the bar to see who had spoken to him and was stunned by what he saw. The man behind him had a tweed suit and a mustache and had aged a few years since he had seen him last. It took him a few seconds to get past these superficial changes, but once he did, a huge grin appeared on his face.

“Nicky? Nicky Anders? Is that really you?” Sid walked over and shook Nicky’s hand and patted his arm. “I don’t believe it. Look at you. Looks like you made out all right.”

“And you’re still here in Kembleford,” Nicky said, patting Sid’s shoulder. “Somehow, I always knew you’d end up staying here. And what about that priest? Father Brown? Did he get back all right? And what about you?”

“Yeah, he came back just before the war ended,” Sid replied. “As for me, there’s not much to tell. I still do odd jobs and handyman work. On top of that you can add being a chauffeur for a lady.”

“Sid Carter, going straight and doing honest work?” Nicky said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well, mostly honest work,” Sid chuckled. “But what about you? I never did hear what happened to you after you got out of Kembleford.”

“Honesty, I’m sorry about that,” Nicky said. “I really am. I was just so desperate to leave, I suppose I took that out on you. And then I got so busy with my new life, the years just sort of slipped away. You are right though that my fortunes have definitely changed.”

Nicky walked over toward the bar with Sid walking alongside him. “Before I get into that though, I’m feeling rather parched.”

“Sure,” Sid said. He waved to get the attention of the bartender. “Two beers.”

“And I’m buying,” Nicky said, holding up a ten shilling note. Sid grinned back at him.

“Well, I’m not going to argue that,” he said. “So come on, what did happen?”

Nicky held up his hand to wait until they had gotten their beers and he had paid for them. Then they moved to sit at one of the tables near the back.

“I got a job,” Nicky said, sipping his drink. “A proper one. You heard of Andrew Carstairs? The retail mogul?”

“Yeah, Lady F…I mean, Lady Felicia…she’s the lady I work for,” Sid said. “She mentioned he showed up at a party I took her to earlier today. From what she said, he sounds like a real piece of work.”

“Well, I can’t agree with you too much there,” Nicky chuckled. “Because he’s my employer now.”

“You’re kidding,” Sid replied, smirking. Nicky took a long drag on his beer before laughing again.

“It’s true,” he insisted. “You’re looking at Mr. Carstairs’ personal assistant.”

“Right,” Sid chuckled. “And how did you swing that, eh? Whatever it was, it must have been a whopper of a scheme.”

“It was nothing as underhanded as you’re implying,” Nicky smiled. “He happened to know my previous employer, who recommended me for the job.”

“Maybe so, but you don’t exactly strike me as the typewriter and shorthand type,” Sid countered. “So what are you doing for him?”

“All sorts of things,” Nicky shrugged. He gulped down most of his beer before continuing. “I look after things for him. Check up on the other people who work for him to make sure they’re doing their jobs. When he’s thinking about making a business deal with someone, I go out ahead of him to get the ‘lay of the land’ so to speak. And, of course, I do any other odd jobs that need doing.”

“And he pays you pretty well for all that then?” Sid asked.

“Enough to keep my comfortable,” Nicky said. “For now anyway.”

“You thinking of making a change in the near future?”

“Let’s just say that I always like to keep my options open,” Nicky said, finishing his beer. “It’s no good to let yourself stagnate. Right?”

“I guess,” Sid shrugged. “You never were one for letting the grass grow under your feet.”

“That’s why I was always the one who was better at spotting opportunities,” Nicky laughed. “Especially when we were working together.”

“Hang on,” Sid said, sitting upright in his chair. “I was the one who told you about that Davers job and how loose the old man was with his money. And that was one of the best jobs we ever pulled. Oh and what about that woman with her music box collection. Or did you forget about how I had to hang around and listen to all those blinking music boxes for a week so we could work out a plan?”

“You’re forgetting though that I was the one who made all those plans run smoothly,” Nicky argued. “That’s why we worked so well together. I was the brains. You were the brawn.”

“Funny, I don’t remember it like that,” Sid smirked.

“You always did have a bad memory,” Nicky smirked back. “It’s why you need someone to keep you in line.”

After that, the conversation moved between playful bickering and fond recollections of the various schemes and mishaps the two of them had gotten into as boys. It felt a bit odd to Sid to be able to laugh so much about those times now. Back then, Nicky was facing poverty and he was still dealing with the loss of his parents and then with Father Brown leaving Kembleford for the war. But somehow, the passage of time had smoothed away most of the unhappy parts of that time which allowed the good memories shine through.

Or maybe it was just easier to remember the good times while things were currently better in his life.

As they downed some more beers, Sid also contemplated the sense of relief that he had over seeing Nicky again. He had always wondered what had happened to him after they had parted ways. Nicky was clever, of course, but he also had a tendency to get more than a little shortsighted in his quest for more money. Sid worried that that aspect of Nicky’s personality could get him mixed up with the wrong people and that that could lead to Nicky spending a long time in prison…or worse.

Instead, it looked as if Nicky had charmed and conned his way into a prosperous and, on the surface anyway, legal way of life. Sid was happy for him as he remembered how much hardship Nicky and his family had suffered.

On a more personal level, Sid was also pleased that their friendship had not been broken beyond repair. Nicky had been one of the closest friends Sid had ever had. It felt good to reconnect with him, especially now that neither of them was doing badly in life.

Sid finished off his latest pint and let out a loud burp before leaning back in his chair. “So, how long do you think you’ll be in Kembleford?”

“I don’t know,” Nicky said before draining what was left in his glass. “A week at least. Mr. Carstairs is looking at some business opportunities around here. Says that there’s real potential out in these parts.”

“Good luck to him then,” Sid nodded. “In the meantime, maybe the two of us could meet up again. I know a place where you can get the best shepherd’s pie in all of Kembleford.”

“I’d like that,” Nicky said. “And perhaps I can offer something to you as well. Like a chance to do some high-paying work?”

“Sounds promising. What kind of work did you have in mind?”

“Too early to say,” Nicky answered. “It’ll depend on what my boss wants done. But when something comes up, I could put in a good word for you. Who knows? It could lead to something more permanent. We could be partners again.”

Sid smiled at him. The prospect of working with Nicky again and making a good living while doing it did appeal to him. However, the vague way Nicky talked about it made Sid wonder if what they would be doing would be entirely legal. Not that that alone was enough to deter Sid, but these days it did give him some pause. Plus, a permanent position could mean having to leave Kembleford which he also wasn’t sure about.

“Yeah, let me know,” Sid said. “And I’ll be sure to think about it.”

“Well don’t take too long to think about it,” Nicky cautioned. “If something does come up, you won’t want to let it pass you by ‘cause you might not get another opportunity.”

Sid nodded again and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. He wasn’t all that sure about his chances to work with Nicky again long term.

However, he was determined to not let his chance to mend their friendship slip by him.

Later that night, after the moon had started to wane in the sky, a figure dressed in black snuck onto the Bolton estate.

Slowly and carefully, they crept up to the main house and managed to slip in through an open window near the foyer. They had to wait patiently whenever a servant appeared nearby, but their patience paid off as they slipped past all of them and managed to make it over to the study. They opened the door and made sure to close it with great care so it wouldn’t creak.

Then the figure walked around the room, as if to admire all the lavish furnishings and large inventory of books. It wasn’t long though before they walked over to their intended destination: a small stand next to the oak desk that sat in the back of the room. The stand held a small collection of crystal bottles, including one that held some whiskey.

They opened a window and dumped the remainder of the whiskey into the bushes outside. Then they pulled another bottle out of a pouch that was slung around their shoulder. The contents were poured into the now empty container and appeared to be identical to what had been in there before.

Soon, the bottle was filled and returned to its previous spot on the stand. The empty bottle that the figure had brought with them was put back into the pouch. Then they climbed out of the window and dashed off into the night, quickly being swallowed by the darkness.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow their mission would be complete. And Alistair Bolton would pay for what he had done.

#father brown #fanfic #my father brown posts

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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Adam Gase made the biggest coaching mistake of NFL Week 2 (on purpose!)

Gase nearly cost the Dolphins a win by gifting the Chargers a free timeout, but his decision might not have been without merit.

After postponing their Week 1 contest due to Hurricane Irma, the Miami Dolphins opened their season by taking on the Los Angeles Chargers in StubHub Center. It was a low-scoring, back-and-forth affair, with the Dolphins eventually gaining a two-point lead with 1:05 left in the game.

And then things got weird, leading to arguably the worst coaching decision of Week 2. Or was it? Let’s go over the end of the game.

Philip Rivers got the ball and drove the Chargers into field goal range. After taking their final timeout at the 19-second mark, Rivers used a QB sneak to get the ball near the middle of the field. That decision was questionable enough, leaving the clock running and the Chargers scrambling back to the line of scrimmage. Their only good option was spiking the ball and giving the field goal unit time to set up, only the Chargers were subbing in personnel and taking too long to get set on the line as the seconds ticked down.

The Dolphins could’ve sat back and let chaos ensue, but Adam Gase strangely made the decision for LA, calling a timeout with nine seconds left. This gave the Chargers time to regroup and set up their field goal properly, which could’ve been disastrous if the kick was good. Alas, poor Younghoe Koo can’t catch a break — the rookie’s 44-yard field goal was wide right, missing his second potential game-winner in two weeks. Miami escaped LA with the 19-17 win.

At first glance, Gase’s decision looks like a comical blunder. Taking timeouts for the other team is almost never a good idea, much less with the game on the line. However, there’s one possible justification for the move, if you’re willing to be generous.

Bolts couldn't take a knee twice. Were going to have plenty of time to attempt FG. Dolphins very smart to call TO so they at least get KR.

— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) September 17, 2017

The Chargers were going to spot it, spike it, then kick it. Dolphins called TO so they had shot at getting ball back in the event of a make.

— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) September 17, 2017

Gase himself defended the timeout with that rationale, via the Miami Herald:

“We were trying to leave enough time where if he made it, we could run another play. [Chargers quarterback] Phillip [Rivers] was stopping all those guys trying to run off the field. He was going to clock it with two seconds left. We tried to call it with 12 seconds left, we got 10. So if he kicks it and makes it, we got a chance to maybe running around, throw the ball around to get something going.”

Either way, the field goal was shanked so Gase’s decision didn’t matter in the long run, but those are some awfully specific circumstances under which the timeout would’ve been a good idea. For it to work out, you also need a great kickoff return that doesn’t kill too many seconds, and then a Jay Cutler Hail Mary. Cutler was decent enough in the game, but let’s just say he’s no Aaron Rodgers on the Hail Mary. All’s well that ends well, I guess.

Gase made possibly the biggest mistake of Week 2 even though his team won, which is an improvement over last week. With no obvious Chuck Pagano-level blunders, this week’s coaching mishaps are more of the garden variety type. Let’s go over the big ones made in Week 2.

Sean McDermott doesn’t pay attention to the clock

The Buffalo Bills had no answers on offense, getting completely shut down by the Carolina Panthers for most of Sunday. However, the Panthers’ offense was also putrid, so the Bills inexplicably had a chance to win the game when they got the ball down, 9-3, at the end.

Tyrod Taylor was stringing throws together and Buffalo marched down the field for the first time pretty much all day. It was an encouraging drive, but the Bills apparently forgot that the clock was running and they had two timeouts left. After a 4-yard scramble by Taylor to the Carolina 42, over 20 seconds elapsed before the Bills ran their next play, an incomplete pass to Zay Jones. It took another Taylor scramble before Buffalo finally called its second timeout, setting up fourth-and-11 at the 33 and a desperate heave near the end zone that bounced off Jones’ hands.

It wasn’t a good throw by Taylor, but the Bills could’ve had a much better shot if they didn’t waste time and got a chance to run more plays. By leaving yards on the field and a timeout in their pocket, the Bills cost themselves a chance to spring the road upset.

Mike Zimmer gets way, way too cute

I love fake punts, don’t get me wrong. When pulled off well at the right time, they can help change the game. There’s a time and place to do a fake punt, however, and that time is probably not deep in your own territory when you’re down 11 points on the road.

Apparently the Minnesota Vikings didn’t get the memo.

Never mind the terrible Pop Warner-style pass, that’s just a bad spot to be running a fake punt in. The Steelers scored a field goal shortly afterwards, going up 17-3 and effectively putting the game away in the third quarter.

Vance Joseph makes a rookie mistake

The Denver Broncos are 2-0 and this absolutely did not matter in their 42-17 beatdown over the Dallas Cowboys, but at least Joseph is good-natured enough to call out his own mistakes.

Joseph had funny admission on making "rookie coaching mistake" by using TO at end of half when unnecessary. "On me,'' he said. #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) September 18, 2017

Speaking of the Cowboys, where was Ezekiel Elliott?

I mean, besides that one play.

Playing the Broncos’ defense at Mile High is always a formidable task, but it’s kind of baffling that Jason Garrett didn’t use Elliott as heavily as usual. Giving him only nine carries is nigh-inexcusable when the entire offense is designed to feature Elliott. Dak Prescott should not be throwing 50 times in any circumstance. The Cowboys let the game get away from them, and the result was a deflating, head-scratching performance on multiple levels.

John Fox. Just, in general

Mahomes is learning how a playoff-caliber veteran finds ways to beat the #Patriots Trubisky is watching his coach try to justify a mistake.

— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) September 18, 2017

After a three-turnover game, Mike Glennon is making it hard for the Bears to be patient. Well, except for Fox.

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kellyinboston · 8 years ago

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WHAT Wednesday

Hi folks. Boy, do I have a lot of things to tell you. So let’s get to it!

WHAT am I reading?

Let’s see here… I finished the book All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. Here is the description:

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

Thoughts? Mmm…so I liked it. This is another young adult book where there are the two main characters that are a boy and a girl and they are both dealing with various issues. I may need a break from these types of stories. But aside from that, I enjoyed it enough. There was something that happened in the book that really surprised me, since it was a young adult book. So that was nice – to be surprised. I don’t think I would recommend it, but I didn’t hate it. So confusing!

I am now back to reading The Chronicles of Narnia. I know what you are thinking – geeze Kelly how long have you been reading that book. The answer is since January, that is how long, so back off. It is a long book (700+ pages), I am about 78% of the way through it. I think there are like 7 stories within the book and I will read a story, take a break and ready another book, then go back and read another story, then take a break…alright you get it. Anyways, I hope to be done in the next couple weeks, because, you guessed it, I am almost finished with one of the stories and I am going to take a break!

Another thing I am excited to tell you is I am listening to my first audio book. I found this app, called Hoopla, and it has free audio books. I don’t really know what the catch is, but I am just rolling with it. I think the catch is that there are not a ton of options. But enough to keep me interested. I am listening to A Man Called Ove. I have heard about this book a lot and was anxious to listen to it because I heard the audio version is better than reading it. It is about 9 hours long and I have about 45 minutes left, I hope to finish it today. I am liking it. Here is the description:

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

There is not a ton of action in the book, but I like the characters and the unwinding of Ove’s back story. I find that the author does a lot of elaborate comparisons, for example (just making this up right now) he would write something like “the woman had a white head on her forehead that looked like a volcano erupting with snow” (a writer I am not!) – but you get the idea. These comparisons are very frequent and a bit annoying, but what can you do!?!!

When I finished this book there are a few more books I see on the app that I would like to listen to. So more audio books may be in my future!

Phew…that was a lot of book talk, huh?

Wait, I am not done. So, I am traveling to Denmark for work this Saturday (will be there a week) so I have a couple long plane rides in my future…what am I going to read next. Ekkk..I don’t know. I will definitely be bringing my Kindle. I will keep you updated.

ONE MORE THING! So once I get back from my work trip and finish Narnia I am going to start The Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This has been on my list for like 10 years now. It is nonfiction about President Lincoln…it will be my Everest. 916 pages…but I have heard fabulous things. Sounds like a perfect summer read, huh?

WHAT are we watching?

Well, the NBA playoffs started, so a lot of basketball. Celtics are down 2 games, not looking too good.

I started the West Wing. Maybe 7 episodes in. I am enjoying it.

Better Call Saul started a couple weeks ago and I am anxious to watch it with Neil…but basketball.

WHAT is up with the family?

A few things, thanks for asking.

Neil fixed the washer and dryer, and get this, the dryer actually dries. Wow! So for 2 years we had a washer and a partial dryer (would dry clothes only to a certain extent, then we would need to hang them over the loft bannister so they could dry fully), now we have a fully functioning washer/dryer – Neil is a Rockstar!

As for Snoop – well big news in these parts. Yesterday I came home from work and she greeted me at the door. So what is the big deal Kelly? Doesn’t Snoop always meet you at the door? No, she doesn’t because she is usually in her crate during the day. Neil and I have wanted to transition her out of her crate for the daytime for a while now but we have been hesitant because it is 9 hours of us not being home. So we talked about just “pulling the bandaid” and doing it but that made me nervous. So I told Neil when he leaves her out (he leaves for work like an hour after I do so he is the one that puts her in the crate) to just not tell me and so I wouldn’t be nervous all day at work, so hence the surprise of her out of her crate yesterday. So…how did she do? She did great. No accidents, no chewing, nothing. So now I think we will continue to leave her crate free. Is there bond to be some mishaps, probably, but hopefully we are on the right track!

(you talking to me?)

WHAT is going on in the kitchen?

So now that I have new colleagues to impress I am baking a little more. I like to bring cookies/muffins in and get compliments. I have a big ego.

Also, the other night I made walnut crusted chicken for dinner. The picture is not great, but the chicken was pretty good. Neil liked it a lot!

My news years resolution of cooking one new meal a month is not going great (I am 2/4), but I am determined to succeed from here on out!

WHAT am I looking forward to?

This weekend we had such nice weather, I am looking forward to more days like that. I say this every year, but I mean it this year, I am going to take advantage of the nice weather, whether that means sitting on our patio at night, going to different trails with Snoop, doing more weekend getaways. Whatever, just enjoy it more! This is our last summer in Boston and I want to enjoy it!

Getting back from my work trip. I know I haven’t even gone yet! Don’t get me wrong, going to Denmark for work is a great opportunity and I am looking forward to the training sessions I am attending, but traveling to Europe for a week is a lot. To be honest I get stressed about Snoop (Neil takes great care of her, but he works long hours).

Peach/watermelon season!

Thanks for reading!

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