#The server is also currently being used for me to rant and rave to people about one piece

[ssreeder]

hiiii is it okay if I ask for the liab discord?

Yeah of course here you go!

[lassluna]

Captain Swan January Joy Day 6:  Plan B

AN: Sorry for the late night addition, but it’s here! My addition for @csjanuaryjoy. Thank you @lenfaz for organizing this this year. 

Words: 2k+

Summary: It’s New Years Eve and Emma has plans. It’s a good plan, she’s going to bring her boyfriend to a New Years Eve party where her brother won’t be able to kill him. 

Except now Emma is inconveniently boyfriend-less, and all her friends are expecting him.

Emma Swan needs a new plan.

Ao3  FFn

Emma Swan had been dating Walsh Greene for three months.

It had been a rather good three months if Emma’s being honest. She’s spent too long dating the wrong kind of people so for a second, she thinks maybe possibly, Walsh might be different, that he might possibly make her happy.

Emma Swan didn’t do happy very easily, it comes from being a foster child for the first 15 years of her life. She’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop. She thought that for Walsh, maybe she could try to be happy.

Only problem was, that David, her adoptive brother, knows Walsh. They’d met on a case and Walsh had rubbed him the wrong way. Emma doesn’t know the whole story, but it had to do with Walsh not being the most cooperative witness and hitting on Mary Margret in front of David.

So Emma hasn’t really told any of her friends, including Mary Margret, that she’s been dating Walsh. But they know that there’s someone, and they’re itching to meet him. David even promised to refrain from his protective brother speech.

It’s how Emma got convinced to invite her new boyfriend to Ruby’s annual holiday party. She thought maybe David wouldn’t make much of a scene in front of everyone and maybe he could see that the guy might make Emma happy.

It had been a decent plan, not perfect, but decent. At least she’d get a midnight kiss. Emma had never had anyone to kiss at midnight before. She thought it would be a nice way to start the New Year.

Unfortunately, Emma once again found herself dating the wrong sort of person. She spotted Walsh making out with Zelena Mills in his office on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve of all days! He’d told her that he was putting some finishing touches on her present so Emma was trying to be romantic and surprise him.

Needless to say, he was surprised, and she was now out of a date.

Honestly, Emma shouldn’t be surprised.

But it had Emma in her current predicament sitting at a diner across town drinking a quick glass of rum, debating skipping the party all together since she isn’t exactly thrilled to have to tell her friends that she’d gotten dumped right before New Year’s. The whole party would be turned into everyone pitying her.

She also doesn’t want to lie and say he had to work, then it would be everyone asking questions like who he was and why he had to work tonight of all nights. Her brother was a detective; he’d be able to weasel the truth from her eventually.

Which left Emma here, alone in a dinner that was about to close in an hour. Then she’d probably go back to her lonely apartment to drink the bottle of rum Elsa had gotten her for Christmas to think about the fact that her life is a mess.

Happy New Years to her.

“Can I get you anything else love?” The waiter asks, his accent catching her attention. She can see his yes, blue as can be, looking at her red dress. She knows she looks great, far better dressed than she usually wore to her favorite diner.

“Another rum and coke and a boyfriend to bring to a party.” She says sarcastically, placing her head down onto the table. Emma dreads tomorrow where she either has to lie to her brother or tell him the truth. Emma was so backed into a corner.

“Boyfriend? I’d imagine a lass as beautiful as yourself would have no problem getting a boyfriend.” The guy says, giving her a curious expression. He looks back towards the kitchen.

Emma shakes her head. “I seem to be a terrible judge of character.” She admits. “My friends are waiting to meet my mystery guy, but I caught him cheating on me with his coworker.” Emma must be really feeling sorry for herself if she’s just spilling her soul to the first waiter she sees, even if he’s actually really cute. “Now I’m stuck spending my New Years alone, all my friends seem to have coupled up, I refuse to be a third wheel.” He looks thoughtfully at her, he goes and gets her drink and Emma finds herself watching the guy putter around the kitchen.

Now that she’s looking closely, ‘really cute’ seems like an understatement. He was dressed in uniform, jeans and a T-shirt with the dinner’s logo printed, but despite it, he is hot. Hair dark and almost purposefully messy, all lean muscle and that accent…

“That seems rough.” He admits as he returns. “I’m spending New Year’s here myself, so I get it.” This time it’s Emma looking at him curiously.

“No family?” She asks. “Sorry, that’s kind of personal.” She says quickly. “You’re trying to get me served and out of here, you’re not here to listen to me rant and rave and-“She rambles but he waves her concerns off. He looks around and then sits at the booth across from her.

“Mother died when I was a boy and our father left soon after.” He explains. “My elder brother raised me but he’s deployed this year.” He says, sounding a bit sad.

“Orphan” She replies. “I got adopted when I was 15. My brother is at this party and I’m tired of him trying to take care of me and constantly worry about me.” He nods. “The guy I was seeing, my brother didn’t approve so I kept it a secret, now I’m looking at starting 2018 with a big fat I told you so from David.”

He runs his hands through his hair suddenly, and Emma catches a slight blush covering his face. “I don’t have New Year’s plans. The diner is closing right about now.” He says quickly. She narrows a look at him, not sure what he’s implying. “I could be your boyfriend.”

Emma blinks. “Er temporary one.” He corrects. “I happen to be a bit of a charmer, and I promised my brother I’d try not to be alone without him.” He explains, scratching behind his ear. “We could be in a new relationship, so we wouldn’t know everything about each other anyway, maybe let us both start the new year with a bit of a bang.”

It’s not a bad plan. She could tell everyone they didn’t work out in a week or two, he wasn’t bad looking and he seemed nice enough.

“I don’t even know you name.” Emma says. He smirks, holding out his hand.

“Killian Jones, and you love? Would you be my girlfriend for the rest of the year?”

“Why not. I’m Emma, Emma Swan.” She introduces, shaking his hand. “And I’d love to.”

-/-

Emma pays the only other server in the diner as Killian gets ready. He insists on changing his clothes into something that doesn’t smell like grilled cheese and onion rings.

“See you next year Belle.” Killian calls, coming to join her. Emma has to take a double take.

Killian was hot before. But his t-shirt is replaced by a dark blue buttoned down shirt, dark jeans and- “Is that eyeliner?” She says before she can catch herself.

The waitress, Belle, chuckles. “He loves the stuff, says it brings out his eyes.”

Killian throws Belle a slight glare before looking back at Emma. “It’s New Year’s isn’t it? Can’t a man look a little roughish on a fake date?” He asks with a slight tease. Emma chuckles.

“Fine, let’s go, I’ll fill you in on the guests on our way.” She says, grabbing his hand.

What has she gotten herself into?

-/-

“Alright, so you need to learn the basics.” Emma starts, dialing the uber on her phone. “Ruby and Dorothy are hosting, they’ve been together for about a year now, Ruby will most likely hit on you a bit. Don’t be alarmed, she does that on most first meetings, Dorothy’s more reserved.” Killian nods.

“David and Mary Margret are going to be further back, probably near the snacks, Mary Margret has a tendency to hostess even if it’s not her party. David will probably be hanging around her, he gets nervous during parties. David will probably be spending the whole night scowling at you.” She admits. “Now there’s Anna and Kristoff-“ Killian shakes his head.

“And what about you?” He asks.

“Well I’ll be arriving with you Jones.” She chuckles.

“I mean is, we’ve supposedly been dating for a few months, I should know a bit more about you than your friends.” He insists.

He does have a point on that. Emma takes a deep breath. ��My name is Emma, and I’m a bail bond person.” She introduces. “I track down people who don’t show up for their court date.” He looks impressed.

“Hunting down criminals Swan?” He asks. “That proves my theory right.” Emma raises a brow.

“Theory? You have a theory?” Killian rubs behind his ear, shifting on his feet.

“You look like someone who doesn’t need anyone to save them.” He says, just looking at her, like that’s all he wants to ever do.

“How long have you worked as a waiter?” Emma asks, because she needs to change the subject. She needs him to stop looking at her. Why had she agreed to this ridiculous plan?

“First and only day actually.” He admits. “I’m a ship captain, I drive around showing tourists different views of Boston.” She thinks that’s actually quite interesting.

“So you’re a pirate.” She realizes. Killian shakes his head.

“A pirate?” He repeats.

“You’re in mostly leather and you have eyeliner.” She explains. “That makes you a pirate.” She punctuates his word with a poke in the arm.

Killian grins. Emma quite likes his smile.

“I guess you are on a not date with a pirate, Swan.”

-/-

Emma hesitates in front of Ruby’s door, Killian besides her.

“Are you sure about this?” She asks. “Last chance for you to run.” Because this was a ridiculous idea. She was ridiculous for even contemplating it.

“I’m on board if you are love.” He says. “But I’ll leave if this makes you uncomfortable.” He insists, eyebrows raising flirtatiously. Emma rolls her eyes.

“Such a gentleman.” She replies.

“I’m always a gentleman, love.” He says getting a step closer.

He’s very close, and Emma thinks she quite like that. She isn’t sure what she should do about it, a couple thought come quickly to mind, one of which is to kiss the smirk right off his face.

The door opens before she can make up her mind. Emma instantly turns towards it, trying to hide the blush on her face.

��Emma! You’re here!” Ruby exclaims loudly, enveloping her in a hug. “I haven’t seen you since we went to Kansas!” Clearly the brunette has already hit the campaign. She looks around, eyes locking on Killian. “So you did bring your mystery guy.” She looks him over in typical Ruby fashion.

Killian holds out his hand. “Ruby I presume, thank you for inviting me into your home for the New Year.” She takes it, giving the he’s hot eyes.

Oh she already knows that.

“Come on in you two!” Ruby exclaims, pulling them in. David and Mary Margret are already here. She informs her. It doesn’t take long for Emma to spot the couple near the food.

“Be careful of David, he has been known to shoot Emma’s boyfriends.” Ruby informs him with a pat on the shoulder. Killian whirls around towards her, a brow raises curiously.

“The guy deserved it.” Emma notes in a hushed tone, grabbing him by the hand. “Let’s see how much of a charmer you are.”

Mary Margret moves first, eyes lighting up as she embraces Emma. “Happy New Year!” She says, looking excited. “And you brought your new boyfriend!” She exclaims, moving to introduce herself. “I’m Mary Margret, Emma’s sister in law.” She says, “This is my husband David.”

David has his arms crossed and is glaring harshly in Killian’s direction.

“Nice to meet you.” Killian says shaking her hand. “And you must be the brother, I’ve heard so much about you.” Killian says trying to shake David’s hand. David doesn’t cooperate.

“Strange since I haven’t heard a thing about you.” He notes. “Is there a reason for that?”

Emma suppresses a groan. This is not going well.

But Killian does not seem deterred. “We wanted to keep things private while we were getting to know each other.” He states.

“And do you? Think you know my sister?” Mary Margret elbows David, but he continues onward. “You do know I’m a cop right? That means I carry a firearm at all times.” He insists, taking a step forward.

“I wouldn’t presume to know your sister better than you do mate, after all can I truly know her without meeting the people closest to her?” He asks. “That’s why I’m here to get to know the people in Swan’s life.”

David’s scowl melts a bit. Emma’s eyes widen slightly, she exchanges a look with Mary Margret.

“What do you do?” David asks, his arms uncross.

“I think David likes him.” Mary Margret whispers her way. “Where did you find him?” Emma watching as David even smiles at Killian.

“Totally by accident.”

-/-

The guy is charming. Like really charming. “I think I just saw my Christmas miracle.” Emma whispers under her breath. David had to be dragged away from Killian’s side by Mary Margret; otherwise the pair of them might have wasted the night away talking about who knew more about Boston’s history.

“I don’t see the big deal, your brother seems nice.” Killian insists, nursing a glass of eggnog.

“David hates all my boyfriends, and I dated a doctor once.” Emma presses, the guy had been a total creep, but still. It was just Emma’s luck that the one guy David approves of is the one guy Emma isn’t dating.

“Happy to be of service.” He announces. “I actually quite enjoyed the conversation.”

Emma could tell. She could also tell that he enjoyed talking with most of her friends as they went around. It was everything Emma could have ever wanted from a date.

Except he wasn’t her date, not really.

“Fireworks, everyone, onto the balcony, it’s almost midnight.” Ruby calls, pulling Dorothy along with her. Emma rolls her eyes and follows behind.

It’s Elsa that does the countdown.

She looks at Killian during it, wondering if he would even want to-

He smirks. “I’m in if you are.” He assures her in a quiet voice, practically reading her mind.

“It’s midnight! Happy New Year!” Elsa calls out.

Emma doesn’t hesitate; she grabs him by his jacket and tugs him into the kiss. If Killian was surprised at all, he didn’t show it because he kisses her back just as fiercely as she had kissed him.

It was probably the best kiss she’d ever had.

“Ahem.” David says, making them break away, a blush crossing over her face. He was back to scowling. Emma stuck her tongue out at her brother.

She knows she’s going to have to tell him eventually, but not now, and not tomorrow.

She plans on asking out the pirate properly in the morning.

It was going to be a good year.

[mochibuni]

I watch a lot of YouTube, and I think some great and quality YouTube channels, and I really feel like putting out some goodness today. So here is a list of my YouTube watch list, with descriptions and why I think they're worth watching. Updated 3/16/2020.

GAMING

brutalmoose - Ian's reviews tend to be around edutainment games and old PC games, which he delivers his brand of comedy in a dry and deadpan tone. Which is hilariously contrasted by the comedic editing of his videos, some the most creative I've ever seen. I can't even adequately describe a typical video from him, other than it's creative and hilarious. I enjoy his style so much that I'll watch his reviews on 60/70's educational films.

The Completionist - Once a week Jirard chronicles his journey and struggles in 100% completing a video game. His reviews are earnest with a touch of comedy, but largely trying to accurately convey the sense of the game and his experience with it. He does, however, make bad decisions like 100% completing Hyrule Warrios and Fire Emblem Blazing Sword, which of course it's fun to laugh at his agony.

Game Theory - I usually stick to MattPat's videos, but all of them are quality in both editing and substance. However I enjoy MattPat's style and delivery the most. Even if I 100% don't agree with his theory, I 100% enjoy listening and watching him talk about it. He has energy and a great sense of humor, his voice really sells what he's presenting, but I also find a kind of mellowness to it that I enjoy just listening to. He also hosts a live stream with his wife playing games together, and they are adorable to watch.

Kshaway - If you're a League player, you probably already know about Kshaway. He makes the Wood Division series, chronicling everyone and his own fails and bugs with the game. His video style has no voice overs, just well timed music and text for the punch line.

Did You Know Gaming? - They do what they say, offering 5 to 10 minute videos with lesser known facts and production history on video games.

Pokemon Rusty - Made by Dorkly, this is a parody series following Pokemon trainer Rusty as he attempts to become a Pokemon Master in all the wrong ways. It is graphic with very adult humor, but I laugh ridiculous amounts at each video.

MOVIES AND TV

Film Theory - The sister channel to Game Theory and it does the same thing, only this time it’s about tv shows, movies, and web series (remember Salad Fingers? Mattpat made a great video series about it). They also do Did You Know Movies from time to time.

Be Kind Rewind - One of my new faves, she follows the history and culture surrounding movies by discussing female Oscar wins and their cultural significance.

Folding Ideas - Foldable discusses film theory and larger themes usually with movies. His 50 Shades series is probably my favorite, followed by how he accidentally made colonialism in his Minecraft server.

Jenny Nicholson - It’s like listening to your best fandom friend rant and rave with you at 3am in your bedrooms. Jenny has a very lowkey tone and attitude wrapped in a very silly and dry sense of humor. She talks about movies and theme parks. Her review of Avatar Land is probably my favorite.

Lindsay Ellis - I’m not even sure where to being with Lindsay’s work, I adore every video she’s made thus far. It is all film critical theory, but like talking to your smart and sarcastic fandom friend who goes out of their way to explain critical theory concepts.

New Rockstars - These are the guys going over every trailer, every second of a movie looking for easter eggs and fodder for their theories. Really great if you’re into superhero blockbuster movies.

OTHER MEDIA

Comicstorian - I love this channel, they break down comics (either series or single issues) and read them dramatically with visuals. Periodically they also give complete histories of comic book characters, especially when there is a universe reboot.

NerdSync - Somewhat similar to Comicstorian, NerdSync delves into the history and stories of comic books. They’ve moved down the path of being more history based, which is great for me since I know little about the American comic book industry. 

Sideways - Remember the music theory video about singing in native languages using Moana as an example? Yeah it’s this guy’s channel, and while he has few videos, all of them are great. My favorite is his analysis of Rogue One’s score.

Atop the Fourth Wall - Linkara reviews comic books, but I largely come here to watch his retrospectives on Power Rangers.

THEME PARKS

Magic Journeys - Largely a Disney centric channel, Mig V and Lovely Jannell explore any and all types of food at the Disney parks, largely sprinkling their videos with relevant Disney history. They’re expanding to other parks in the area, but Disneyland and California Adventure are where they film. Mig edits their videos wonderfully and I greatly appreciate the bits of history he provides. Jannell also makes sure to try a variety of dishes for those with dietary restrictions and has recently branched out into trying kid’s meals. They also started a Disney Foodie group on Facebook.

Defunctland - This channel talks about the history of now defunct theme park rides.

Theme Park History - This channel also talks about theme park history, defunct or currently running.

Expedition Theme Park - Okay sometimes you just need multiple channels of the same content. Another theme park history channel.

FOOD/COOKING

Laura in the Kitchen - Laura cooks largely easy to make, no hassle meals and deserts, and is warm and personable at the same time. I’ve tried many of her recipes and each have come out very well. I also find Laura very endearing, with her genuine love of food and cooking coming through in every video.

Maangchi - Maangchi is the adorable and sweet host of her Korean based cooking channel. She provides step by step instructions, with tips and tricks, on several Korean dishes. She also talks about her time in Korea, relating dishes to stories of her life there. I have made several of Maangchi’s recipes as well, but I’d watch just about anything from her as she’s sweet, funny, and has a soothing presence to her. She’s basically everyone’s Korean Mom.

Strictly Dumpling - Mike Chen talks all about his favorite Asian food, largely Chinese, as he travels around exploring and eating at Asian restaurants. And when I say Chinese, I mean that he talks specifically about provinces and the differences and types of food each have. He also has a variety of cooking videos and traveling videos. Mike is informative, energetic, and hilarious, with a little bit of Chinese humor peppered in that makes Dan laugh.

How To Cake It - If you’ve seen the gif set of the realistic watermelon cake, then you know what Yolanda can do. She makes elaborate cakes ranging from multi-tier to recreating non-cake objects. Yo gives step by step instructions on how she makes her cakes and also sells baking supplies and cake inspired shirts on her website.

Binging with Babish - A charming and dead pan cooking series recreating food from various media. This channel became a must for Dan based on the sense of humor alone.

Destination Flavour - A mini series that aired in Australia, you can find the whole series on YouTube and I highly recommend it. Chef Adam Liaw travels to 9 different prefectures in Japan exploring the local food, culture, and recipes.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - An older documentary about the history of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Britain, also all on YouTube. I love this documentary, it’s very thorough and I learned tons about British food and eating customs that of course influenced my own culture.

Lofty Pursuits - Based in their candy store in Florida, watch the workers at Public Displays of Confection make pulled hard candy.

ARIKITCHEN - A Korean baker with super cute bakes and a personality to match. Most of her videos have English subs.

Christy Carlson Romano - THAT’S RIGHT, REN STEVENS/KIM POSSIBLE HAS A YOUTUBE CHANNEL! It’s usually cooking videos where she invites celebrities she’s worked with to make fanservicey foods.

CULTURE

CGP Grey - This channel is rarely updated, but goes in depth into cultural and political ideologies and misunderstandings in an easy to understand way. His videos are worth a watch if you’ve ever been confused about “once removed” family members or don’t understand how the electoral college works in America.

Begin Japanology - An ongoing NHK series exploring Japan, each 30~ minute video explores one item in depth, from sushi, to mushrooms, to the importance of umbrellas in Japan. These videos are in English and are also dubbed, though many of them have deleted audio in places due to copyright restrictions.

Japanology Plus - The sequel and current version of Japanology that continues to explore Japan and sometimes revisit old videos to update them.

Lunch On! - Also provided by NHK, it explores what the Japanese eat for lunch and the history and culture surrounding those dishes. The segments also tend to explain and explore the background of the people they’re following for lunch, such as the balloon industry or bus scheduling.

ARIRANG TV - A Korean channel, it provides a variety of subbed and dubbed videos about Korea. I usually just watch the food videos, but they also have videos about current affairs, media, and variety programs.

Crash Course - If you haven’t seen this show before, it’s mini video essays hosted by John Green discussing history, literature, science, and so on.

MISC

Buzzfeed Unsolved - Another Buzzfeed series, this time exploring the supernatural with a believer and a non-believer. This series is just hilarious, the supernatural cases are presented in a matter of fact way with visuals, but often intercut with commentary from the two about the cases that brings a nice comedic tone to the otherwise serious video.

Bright Sun Films - Jake’s current video series explores buildings and establishments that were abandoned, their history, as well as projects that were cancelled. Most videos are about the Disney Corporation, but also include Target in Canada, Blockbuster, and the McDonald’s Barge. His videos are well researched, great visuals, and his voice and personality are great to listen to.

AKB48 - 48g is one of the biggest music franchises in Japan, based on the idea of Idols You Can Meet. Since the COVID outbreak in Japan, AKB has been streaming their daily theater show on YouTube. If you want to relax to some cute Japanese pop for a few hours, check out their VODs.

Laura Price - Laura is a professional artist and most of her videos are either about her life as an artist or tips and tricks on art.

Royalty Soaps - Soap making! I find Katie really relaxing to watch and listen to, and she often talks about her soap making process.

Safiya Nygaard - Quirky and adventurous, Safiya tends to make beauty and fashion try videos, and some travel videos as well. Safiya is probably one of those YouTubers you need to watch a video of to see if you’ll like because her channel is all about her and her husband’s Tyler’s personality.

The Try Guys - Four very different guys who try things together. I’m assuming you all know who the Try Guys are, but.

Watcher - Shane, Ryan, and Steven left Buzzfeed to make their own video channel and brought many of their ideas over from there. Shane and Ryan continue to be a delight together in just about everything they do. So far my favorite is Shane’s Puppet History Theater.

ENGLISH SUBS

AIDOL - One of the last English subbers, though they update infrequently now. This links to their DailyMotion account as AKB videos are largely removed from YouTube quickly. If you enjoy the older AKB generations, this is a great resource of older subs.

Animegg.org - My go to English subs place if Crunchyroll doesn’t have what I’m looking for. Their adds aren’t evasive and they accept adblock.