#but I sure as hell am still gonna learn how to use the thing instead of staring at them like they're to blame for the existence of qr codes

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request: wrong number au, Eddie texts Gareth something personal but puts in 1 wrong number & ends up texting Steve. The two of them hit it off & start chatting & then when they meet IRL they are completely head over heels in love & its cute as fuck

MY LOVE MY LOVE MY LOVE!!! LOVE A GOOD WRONG NUMBER AU!!! I can't believe I've never written it before now. I also had to actually include Gareth because I am actually obsessed with him lately, and I just think it's really neat that we can make these characters our own. This was such a fun and cute request! I didn't do the inappropriate route because I thought this was hilarious so sorry about that. I made up for it with something else! - Mickala ❤️

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GARE BEAR! You won’t believe it but i dropped my phone in a sewer. Lost everything.

He had never been so happy about having his closest friends’ numbers memorized. His phone was somewhere under the streets of Chicago, floating through dirty water and sewage, dying a slow and painful death.

He texted everyone else one at a time, let them know he had a new number and to completely delete the old one because it would never be recovered.

They were used to things like this happening; He lost his phone annually at this point and it was cheaper just to get a new number than transfer everything to a new one.

He went to dial Wayne, the old school part of him insisting on phone calls instead of texts still, when Gareth’s name popped up with a new text.

Not sure who Gare Bear is, but sorry about your phone. That’s shitty.

Eddie let out a loud laugh.

did you mean to make a pun?

Did it make you laugh?

yes

Then yes.

Eddie sat down on a bench, entirely focused on his conversation with this stranger.

Did you find your Gare Bear yet?

Not yet but i think i’m pretty happy talking to you for now

Smooth, Eddie.

Admittedly, he was in a hell of a dry spell.

Going on almost two years, actually.

A little flirting with a stranger never hurt anybody, not when he clearly needed some practice.

Not sure if your Gare Bear would like it very much though

Wait, what?

Eddie stared at his phone, trying to comprehend what that could mean. Why would Gareth not want him talking to a stranger?

I hope you find your partner though!

Oh.

Oh!

Eddie hit the call button in the corner before he could even register what he was doing.

“Hello?”

Oh no, he sounded hot.

“Hi. So, Gareth is very much not my partner. He probably actually wishes I would really forget his number,” Eddie rushed out.

“Um. Okay?”

“He’s been my best friend for ten years and he thinks I’m a mess. Not a partner,” Eddie further clarified.

“Got it. Not a partner.”

“Yes, exactly.”

They stayed silent for a moment before Eddie coughed.

“I’m Eddie, by the way.”

“Steve. Sorry about your phone, seriously that sucks,” he sounded genuinely apologetic, like he personally threw Eddie’s phone in the sewer.

“Oh, no big deal. I lose my phone more often than I go out with someone,” Eddie said.

Why did he say that?

Steve let out a laugh and it was like music.

Eddie couldn’t help the smile taking over his face at his laugh, already knew he wasn’t gonna be able to let this guy go without learning more about him.

“So you’re, what? Celibate?” Steve asked.

“Far from it. Well, maybe not far from it. Temporarily, maybe. It’s been a while,” Eddie admitted.

“How long?” Steve asked, a loud bang coming from his end of the phone. “Sorry, I had to go outside for some privacy.”

Eddie wasn’t going to read into that. He wasn’t.

“Two years give or take. I mean I’m not counting shitty dates that ended before they got worse. So, yeah. Two years.”

“Been a year for me, but. Yeah, I get it. My last relationship didn’t end on the best terms. She decided I was too in love with her I guess,” Steve sighed, voice sounding pained.

She.

Steve was probably straight.

There was no way he’d be lucky enough for Steve to like men.

Or for Steve to like him.

“I can’t really imagine breaking up with someone because they loved me too much. I’m usually the one who falls too hard,” Eddie admitted.

“Yeah, well, same here,” Steve sounded sad, a bit withdrawn.

Eddie wanted to hear him laugh again.

“I doubt either of us have ever fallen as hard as my phone did down a drain,” Eddie said sadly.

Steve let out a loud laugh and Eddie smiled.

“This might sound crazy, but I’m kind of glad your phone decided to live in the sewers,” Steve said when he finally calmed down. “And maybe a little too happy that you typed your friend’s number wrong.”

“Oh really? Why’s that?”

Was this flirting? Was he successfully having a flirtatious conversation with a potentially very hot guy?

“So I can be bold and ask if you maybe wanted to meet up somewhere?” Steve asked hesitantly.

“So you’re in Chicago?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“For the last five years, yeah.”

“You busy tonight?”

Eddie’s heart stopped.

He was really going to meet up with a stranger just because he liked his laugh and hoped he was hot.

He’d done more with less.

“Yeah, actually. I’m getting dinner with this guy I accidentally texted,” Eddie smirked, looking down at his feet.

“Dinner? What a lucky guy. Where are you going?” Steve sounded amused.

“Well, it depends on what he likes. I’ve been craving some pierogies. Ever been to Staropolska?” Eddie asked.

Gareth’s family owned it, and he used to eat there two or three times a week while they were in college, usually working off his bill in the kitchen doing dishes after.

He hadn’t been in a couple months, work keeping him busy and his budget being pretty tight when he moved into a studio apartment by himself.

He had enough to treat himself tonight though.

“The one on Milwaukee? Yeah. One of my favorite places to get devolay,” Steve sounded surprised that he knew it.

“You won’t believe this, but the friend I was trying to text when I got you, his family owns that place.”

“No way! Then we have to. We owe it to the guy who has almost my exact phone number,” Steve responded.

“Meet you there at seven?” Eddie asked, suddenly more nervous.

“Seven sounds good.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Steve giggled. Eddie fell in love.

“We should probably hang up.”

“Should we?” Eddie asked, not wanting to stop talking to him yet.

“Yes, I have to do my hair. Gotta impress the guy who drops his phone in the sewer and texts strangers about it.”

“He sounds like a loser. Don’t put too much effort in,” Eddie sighed. “But okay. See you at seven.”

“See you then.”

They both stayed on the line for a minute.

“Okay. For real. Bye,” Steve laughed.

“Bye, Stevie.”

He hung up before he could convince himself to talk to him for the rest of the afternoon.

He breathed out a loud sigh, smiling as he realized he had a date.

He dialed Gareth’s real number immediately.

“Gareth, I have a date!”

“What is this number, Eddie?”

“Oh, I dropped my phone in the sewers. Not important. I have a date!”

“Jesus Christ. Okay. Come over then.”

—-----------------------------------

Gareth had been his pre-date hype man since high school, though he wasn’t very good at it.

Mostly he calmed Eddie’s nerves and helped make sure his hair didn’t look like he just woke up, which was often its unfortunate state of being.

“So, you don’t know this guy,” Gareth said from his bed.

“No.”

“And you talked for like two seconds and decided you’re in love with him,” he continued.

“Yes.”

“And you think this is totally normal and sane?”

“I didn’t say that. But we just…I dunno. We clicked. I haven’t been that at ease with someone in a long time. It felt natural,” Eddie fell back on his bed, starfishing so his arm and leg hit Gareth’s legs.

“Dude, I’m not discouraging it. I’m happy for you. I just don’t want you to be disappointed if it isn’t as easy when you meet,” Gareth said softly.

“Yeah, thanks. I think it’ll be okay, though.”

“Alright. Tell babcia I’m coming by tomorrow for lunch.”

Eddie sat up and gave Gareth a quick hug.

“Thanks Gare Bear!”

—-------------------------------------------

He arrived 20 minutes early so he could sneak in the back to say hi to Gareth’s grandmother, who still insisted on getting her hands on the food every day for a couple of hours despite being nearly 80 years old.

“Babcia!”

“Eddie! My kochany! You forget to visit and I forget what you look like!” she rushed over, flour and oil stains all over her apron.

He should have kept some distance so his shirt didn’t get ruined, but he ignored the part of his brain telling him to look perfect for his date so he could get a hug.

“You know I have to watch my money,” he said against her shoulder.

“And you know I feed you for free if you clean up after yourself. No excuse,” she pulled away and looked him over. “You look handsome. Why?”

Eddie put his hands on his hips.

“What? Don’t I always look handsome?”

“Of course, but this is different. Your hair is smooth and you smell like the perfume store,” she smirked. “Is it a girl? Or a boy? Or a someone?”

“It’s a boy. We’ve never met in person, so I wanted to make a good first impression,” he admitted.

“Oh! How lovely! What’s his name?” She was back to kneading dough, but kept her eyes on him.

“Steve. He actually has been here before, loves the devolay?”

Babcia froze.

“Steve? Oh goodness.” She turned to the sink and washed her hands, muttering under her breath about something.

Eddie’s heart sank. Babcia didn’t seem happy about this.

“What’s wrong? You know him?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Is he not a good guy? Has he been mean to you? I’ll call and cancel right now,” he insisted, reaching for his phone in his pocket.

“No, no. Nothing like that. He is a very sweet boy. He got broken up with in this restaurant a few months back. Tore me to pieces. He just sat here for hours crying. I moved him to a corner booth for his privacy and he left me a $100 tip and ever since then when he comes in I make sure to give him as many szarlotka as he wants.” She touched Eddie’s shoulder. “You be good to him. He has a nice heart.”

Eddie’s mind raced.

Why had Steve agreed to come here for a date if this is where he’d been broken up with? Why did he even bother coming back if it held such bad memories?

What if he didn’t see this as a date?

The front door chimed and he heard the employee at the front welcome someone.

“He will be good for you, drogi.”

Eddie nodded before making his way to the front, stopping in his tracks when he saw the most beautiful man he’d ever seen standing at the podium, talking to the employee with a smile.

“That’s him,” Babcia said from behind him. “Go get him.”

She shoved him forward, nearly making him trip, which caught the attention of Steve.

He looked over with a curious smile, and then realization seemed to hit him.

“Steve?” Eddie managed to ask, loud enough to be heard over the few full tables in the restaurant.

“Eddie?” he asked back, hesitantly moving towards him.

“I, um,” Eddie started, then cleared his throat. “I usually sit by the window, if that’s okay?”

“That’s perfect,” Steve nodded.

It was cliche, like the room around them closed into just them existing together, like the stars had aligned exactly right for this moment to happen.

They sat down at the table Eddie usually sat at, staring across the table at each other in slight awe.

Eddie really hoped that Steve was having the same feelings he was.

But one thing was stopping Eddie from being completely enraptured.

“Is this a date?” he asked suddenly.

“What?” Steve seemed surprised by his question. “I mean, yeah. I’d like it to be. I thought it was.”

Eddie nodded once, but remained quiet, thinking.

“Oh God, it wasn’t, was it? You were just being nice. What is it with this restaurant? If I didn’t love the food so much or babcia, I would never step foot here again, I swear-”

Eddie put his hand on Steve’s to calm him down, frown on his face.

“Woah. What?”

“I just. I don’t have the best history with dates here and I guess I didn’t learn the first time something bad happened, and now I’m being too much too fast again in this place and-”

Eddie pulled Steve’s hand up to his face, placing a soft kiss to his knuckles.

“Stevie, calm down. This is a date. I’ll have as many dates here as you want to to get rid of whatever negative stuff you associate with this place. Babcia would hate that I ruined this place for you,” he said quietly.

Steve seemed to relax at his words.

And if you wanna tell me about what happened, you can. If it’ll help,” Eddie offered.

Before Steve could reply, Gareth’s cousin, Ben, came to take their order.

It was a quick order, both knowing exactly what they wanted, and then Steve looked back at him.

“It’s just. My last girlfriend, who I was with for almost three years, dumped me here. It was kind of out of the blue for me, and I had a really hard time that night.”

Eddie felt his heart break.

How could someone do that to Steve? He didn’t need to know him better to know that he didn’t deserve that, especially not if babcia had taken him under her wing so quickly.

“She must be awful to have let you go like that,” Eddie squeezed Steve’s hand in his, resisting the urge to go to his side of the table and hold him.

Steve shrugged and looked down at their hands.

“I mean, I should have known. She was never much for romance or spending time together that didn’t involve work or school. I was looking at engagement rings and she was looking at apartments to get away from me. I was just…really blinded by what I thought was love,” Steve smiled sadly at him.

“It wasn’t?”

“Well, it may have been a type of love. It was more comfort than anything. She was kind of all I had for the first year we were together, and I think I just ignored how unhealthy that was for both of us. And then I met Robin in college, and she was like the opposite of Nancy in every way. A few months before Nancy broke up with me, I told her that Robin’s parents kicked her out when she came out to them and that she needed a place to stay until we graduated. She agreed, then never made any attempt at getting to know her. And I didn’t read into it, Nancy isn’t like, super talkative with people she isn’t already close with, and Robin just kinda stayed to herself when Nancy was home.” Steve took a shaky breath. “But it turns out she didn’t bother getting to know her because she already knew she was gonna break up with me and leave the apartment to me and Robin, so.she just. Didn’t bother. Robin warned me, but I didn’t listen.”

Eddie wanted to cry.

Steve’s voice was full of pain, but not in a way that told him he still loved her, or still hoped they would get back together. More that she broke a part of him that he still hadn’t been able to fix no matter how hard he tried or wanted to.

“Was she jealous?” Eddie asked, trying so hard to understand what could have happened.

“I dunno. I mean, Robin’s a lesbian, and I definitely never had feelings for her anyway. Nancy was always so sure of herself, I can’t imagine she’d be jealous.”

“It sounds like she didn’t appreciate you very much.”

“What do you mean?” Steve didn’t sound mad, just curious.

“Well, she didn’t even make an effort to get to know your best friend, right? And it sounds like she was too busy focusing on her future to even think about what you looked like in it, and instead of trying to plan it with you, she made a future for her. She sounds a bit selfish,” Eddie shrugged.

Instead of being upset, Steve laughed.

God, Eddie loved that laugh.

“Sorry, it’s just that you sound exactly like Robin. You’d probably be two peas in a pod.”

“Tell me about her,” Eddie genuinely wanted to know more about the person who kept Steve going.

Their food arrived in the middle of the story of how Steve and Robin met, but it didn’t stop him from continuing.

Eddie listened with a fond smile, filling in Steve’s gaps of silence as he chewed a bite of food with questions or something related to what he’d been talking about.

It was easy.

It was fun.

Halfway through the meal, Steve’s foot rested against one of his and it felt like electricity shooting through his bones.

Eddie told him about Gareth, and his family who had pretty much adopted him when they both moved here from a small town in Indiana. He talked about his uncle who raised him for most of his life, who visited every Christmas despite being on a really tight budget.

Time passed quickly, but not at all.

They hadn’t realized how long they’d been sitting there until babcia came out without her apron to hand deliver an apple tart.

“You boys enjoy. I’ll see you both soon!” she said as she smacked a kiss on top of each of their heads.

Both of them blushed, but tried to cover it up with a bite of food.

As they finished, Steve looked outside to see how dark it was, how few people were left walking the streets.

“Guess we should head out,” he muttered, sounding like that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Would you wanna come to my place? We don’t have to do anything except talk, I promise. I just don’t really want this to end yet,” Eddie suggested.

“Really? I haven’t bored you?” Steve asked, just a hint of self-deprecation in his tone.

Eddie shook his head.

“Not at all. I’d really like to get a chance to love you the way you deserve,” Eddie said.

Steve’s eyes widened.

Eddie should back up, should say something less intense.

But if this ruined it, then at least he said what he was thinking.

“You think you could love me?” Steve asked, barely more than a whisper.

“I think I already do a little,” Eddie admitted.

Steve blinked at him for a moment, mouth slightly agape.

“I need to kiss you,” he finally said.

“Now? Here?” Eddie smiled.

“Now. Here.”

“I won’t stop you.”

Steve stood from the table and stood in front of Eddie, placing both hands on his cheeks and leaning down.

Their lips brushed in a barely-there kiss, softer than Eddie expected.

Steve stayed there for a moment, eyes closed, and Eddie couldn’t help the words tumbling from him.

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

If someone had said it to him, he would think they were just trying to get him into their bed, but that wasn’t the case here and he hoped Steve knew that.

“People used to call me a charmer, but I don’t think I’m half as good at it as you,” Steve whispered, his breath ghosting against Eddie’s lips.

“Just honest.”

“Take me home,” Steve said, opening his eyes and staring at Eddie, his eyes glowing with something close to love.

—-------------------------------------

They stayed up all night, never doing more than kissing and mapping out patterns on each others’ skin.

They talked about everything, even the painful parts of life, even the parts that they hadn’t shared with anyone else.

It didn’t make any sense that someone who had been a stranger not even 24 hours ago could already mean so much.

When the sun started to shine through the curtains of Eddie’s apartment, Steve sighed and buried his face in Eddie’s neck.

“I have to go to work,” though he burrowed his entire body further into the bed and Eddie’s side.

“You could call in sick,” Eddie suggested, pressing a kiss to the top of Steve’s head.

“Robin would kill me.”

He and Robin worked together as team teachers at an elementary school. When one of them missed, it left the other with 34 kids alone.

Plus, Steve loved his job, worked hard to be a teacher, and hated missing a day if he didn’t need to.

“Maybe you could bring Robin here after work? I can make dinner?” Eddie’s job was pretty easy, marketing for an Indie record label based out of New York remotely really kept him busy for a couple hours a day and the rest of the time was spent writing his own music.

Steve sat up and looked down at him, his hair ruffled from Eddie running his fingers through it for the last eight hours.

“You’d wanna meet Robin?”

“Yeah, if you want me to. She sounds like fun.”

Steve started crying.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry. Good job, Munson, already ruined something good,” Eddie was reaching for a tissue from his bedside table.

“No, no, I’m sorry. I’m just tired and emotional. And just. It means a lot that you’d wanna meet her,” Steve said between gasps for air as he continued to cry.

“Of course I do. I could even invite Gareth over, too, if you want. He won’t believe that our date went well,” Eddie joked, brushing the tears away from Steve’s cheeks.

“I’d love to meet him,” Steve said, sniffling.

“When can you guys get here?”

“Usually we’re done by four, but sometimes we stay later to finish grading stuff. Maybe we should say six?”

“Got it. Any allergies?”

“Robin is allergic to shellfish. She says she is. I think she just doesn’t like them,” Steve rolled his eyes.

“No shellfish, got it. Any preferences, my love?”

Steve blushed at the term of endearment, looking down before he leaned in to kiss Eddie softly.

“Anything you make will be great.”

“You wanna borrow some clothes for work?” Eddie asked.

“Do you have any business casual stuff?”

Eddie gagged.

“Unfortunately, it’s required for the job sometimes. Far left of the closet should have something,” he nodded towards the small closet by the bathroom.

Eddie watched as Steve walked over and picked out his only pair of khaki pants and a navy button down. Steve looked back at him and winked before he nodded towards the bathroom.

“Could use some help working the shower if you’re willing to,” he smirked.

Eddie jumped up from the bed and ran into the bathroom, ignoring the way Steve was laughing.

“The hot water is tricky sometimes. I should probably get in there too to make sure it stays hot,” Eddie said as he stripped off his pants.

“Definitely. Wouldn’t want me to get cold,” Steve put a hand on his shoulder to slow him down. “Kiss me?”

Eddie leaned in to kiss him slowly, letting his tongue brush along his lips just to get a taste.

“Okay?” Eddie checked in.

“Yeah. You remember what you said last night? About loving me like I deserve?”

Eddie nodded.

“I want you to. And I want to love you back.”

“I think we can arrange that.”

[nqmonarch]

Red Flags in HSR Characters

I have a problem of simping for the most red flagged characters except I can't handle red flags. Like violence makes me nope the fuck out of any relationship, I am so scared of getting hurt in any way, shape, or form. In real life I'm fucking terrified of being manipulated into being dependent on someone because I've experienced that shit and it isn't fun. Hate being insulted, degraded, all of that.

But the red flagged characters are just too cool???

Like Dr. Ratio, sure he's a pompous shit and would probably end up degrading you which I hate but he's so cool?! So I need to find some way to make him into this weird yellow flag without making myself into some super genius because no way is that gonna happen.

So instead put him in like a tutor AU, he's teaching you and when you get something wrong he gives you such a side ways insult. Like it takes a minute to realize it's an insult, it's worded in such a creative peculiar way. The second it registers you begin doing ten times worse on every question. It doesn't take long for him to realize that being told you're shit isn't inspiring to everyone. So he takes a... kinder approach. He's still a hard ass and strict but he's actively trying to do better and you can tell, when he starts a sentence suddenly stops and then brings that sentence in a completely different direction. You both end up learning. You end up learning the material and he ends up learning how to be somewhat better at dealing with people whose ideal day isn't being insulted.

Then there's the aeons. i simp for all of them, like how can you not??? Especially Nanook (using he/him pronouns for Nanook), Yaoshi, IX, and Aha. Now first off IX isn't a red flag IX is a lovely little black hole who I will defend with my life. But the other three??? They're as red as a stop sign.

Like sure, Nanook would probably destroy you the first chance he gets. Maybe Nanook is the destruction because he wants to be destroyed. I, I don't know man. Like he's so beautiful but how the hell do you even write romance with him? That isn't just like destroying the love interest.

Maybe he's had an insatiable urge to destroy everything ever since the dawn of his existence and he can't remember why. He's always been filled with rage, hatred, toward everything that's existed. Then he sees you and it all comes rushing back toward him. Your death, the hole it filled, the only thing that could really be blamed was the universe. It was everyone and everything's fault. So he would destroy it all to protect you.

Still a red flag but man I'm trying my best, no matter what Nanook will always be a red flag. Yaoshi on the other hand... surely there's a way I can make Yaoshi into a yellow flag after all they just want to help.

Yaoshi who would save your entire planet, heal every individual part of the ecosystem and every person, just to see you smile. They would ask nothing in return and instead remain by your side, enjoying the beautiful of the world. Then the mara strikes, people begin to lose their minds and themselves and you're left to beg them for a way to reverse this. But this is the price of life.

Yaoshi assures you that this is natural but they still watch on in horror as you inevitably succumb to the mara as well. Only then do they try to figure out how to fix it.

The further I get the more hopeless I become. Then there's Aha...

They probably found you entertaining at first, a human full of surprises and excitement, someone that could survive any trial. Then you grew on them a bit more and they found himself becoming attached. Aha wasn't supposed to be attached but this of course just makes an opportunity for more entertainment! Now they're actually invested and can experience the nail biting tension of all this drama!

Just another form of entertainment, it'll be a shame when you're gone though.

Then there's all the other beautiful red flags Ruan Mei, Jing Liu, Blade, Luocha, and Aventurine and Sunday seem like red flags as well even though they're not out. Like if bad to date why do I want to date?

Their red flags are a part of them and it's hard to work around it, so sometimes you just gotta embrace it. Life's rough man. In the end it's my fault for liking red flags. I'll just stick to Jing Yuan for now, peak husband material.

[metalforth]

interest /ˈɪntrɪst/

[noun] 1. the feeling of wanting to know or learn about something or someone.

pairing: edenlock (sherlock holmes/eden singh)

word count: 785

warnings: mention of religion, canon-typical mention of murder and corpses, sherlock being himself

“Why does your new forensic photographer wear a crucifix?”

D.I. Lestrade looks at Sherlock Holmes with a confused expression. Not unlike when Sherlock explains things.

“I said, ‘why does your new forensic photographer wear a crucifix?’” Sherlock repeats. “He doesn’t seem the religious type.”

“How the hell am I supposed to know? He just joined us a week ago.”

“Yes, I know,” Sherlock says, as he always does. “But I’m told ordinary people make small talk and are eager to know new people, so why haven’t you?”

“Well…” Lestrade looks over at the new photographer, a young man with a somewhat pale olive complexion, and then looks back at Sherlock. “He’s like you. Quiet. Smart. Sarcastic. He doesn’t really speak unless he’s spoken to. … Or to make some smartarse comment.”

“Hm.” Sherlock stares for a moment. Dark hair, big dark eyes, round glasses sitting on his nose. Eden Singh is… interesting.

“Molly, have you got that cadaver in yet-?” Sherlock pauses and looks ever so slightly towards Molly Hooper and… Eden Singh. What he’s doing at Bart’s, Sherlock has no clue. He turns back to his microscope and continues to analyse whatever sample he’s looking at, trying to get the sudden appearance of Eden out of his mind. “So,” he starts again. “Cadaver?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s- it’s in. But Eden has some pictures you might wanna see first,” Molly says, nodding her head slightly, gesturing at Eden who stands behind her, looking a bit bored. Eden just takes a folder out of his bag, and puts it gently on the table next to the other samples Sherlock plans to look at.

“Crime scene photos?” Sherlock asks without looking away.

“Yeah. You weren’t there even after Lestrade called, so…” Eden shrugs his shoulders a bit.

“Yes, because it wasn’t interesting.”

“I’d say otherwise,” Eden counters.

Sherlock looks at Eden from the corner of his eyes. “And why’s that?”

“Why don’t you have a look?” Eden tilts his head, and his wavy dark hair moves with him. Sherlock smiles slightly. Rarely does an ordinary person interest him like this.

Eden crouches down to get a close up of a particularly nasty stab wound. He looks up when he hears footsteps. Lestrade, accompanied by Sherlock. Eden begins to step back to let Sherlock do… whatever it is that he does, when Sherlock speaks. “You’re alright. I’m just observing.”

“… Right.” Eden goes back to taking the photos, but he can’t help but feel like Sherlock is a bit more interested in him, rather than in the victim splayed out in front of them. He shivers slightly, and continues his job for another couple minutes, before getting up.

He turns to Lestrade as he walks out, lowering his voice. “You bring him to look at these scenes, yeah?”

Lestrade nods. “Yeah. You got a problem with it as well?”

“No,” Eden says, looking back at Sherlock as he practically shines with excitement over a poor man’s corpse. “Just… tell him to look at the vic instead of me.”

Eden, of course, still being the newbie of the homicide division two years later, gets shackled with the task of bringing Sherlock in for yet another case this time. He stands in the doorway of Sherlock’s new flat, looking around.

“How’d you even afford this? It’s not like we pay you or anythin’,” Eden says. It’s a good sized place, in a good part of London.

“Flat share,” Sherlock responds without hesitation, putting his violin down as he turns around. “Why? What would this rent get me in Wolverhampton?”

Eden frowns at the mention of his hometown. “… I’m not even gonna ask how-”

“Accent. So obviously Black Country, anyone would realise it. Plus, half your clothes come from charity shops which means you likely didn’t have many international fashion retailers near you growing up. Sure, could’ve been any other city, but you mentioned New Cross once, so… Wolverhampton.”

“… Creep.” Eden shakes his head. “Anyway, we got-”

“Double murder, yes. Not very interesting. The brother did it. No, hang on… uncle.”

“What is the point of even speaking to you?” Eden says, more to himself than anything. “I’m not going back without you, y’know. I’m handing you to Lestrade whether you like it or not.”

“As if you could ever overpower me.” Sherlock rolls his eyes. “Fine, I’ve nothing better to do anyway.”

Eden watches as Sherlock grabs his coat and scarf, before he moves past Eden to the front door.

“Well?” Sherlock looks back at Eden. “Aren’t you coming?” He smirks a bit. He can’t help it. If it had been anyone else, he’d have told them to go away. Sherlock just thinks that Eden is… interesting.

[jinwoosbabyboo]

Hello, nikaa! I feel like it's been ages since I last seen your posts on my feed 🤔 But I see that you're almost always active here. Anyway today I want to yap + request something hehe. I recently had my first ever kiss and I'm in my late, late 20s lol! I know, I know. I'm a late bloomer hahah. But the thing is I think I can confidently say now that I am not a fan of mouth kissing. I used to have a neutral opinion about it but now that I've experienced it myself I don't think I would be so eager to kiss someone's lips anymore. The closeness and the intense feeling got me feeling icky, well maybe because I'm so used to keeping people at a safe distance and kissing mouth-to-mouth is wayyy too close to my liking. Idk am I the only one like this? There's nothing wrong with the man I kissed, and when I tell him about this he said it's probably because it's a new experience and letting a person into my strictly guarded personal space can be scary and uncomfortable. He did asked me what kinds of kiss I'd be okay with and I told him I love forehead and cheek kisses. So he did just that! But he would sneakily kiss my earlobe whenever he's reaching for my cheeks. It's been almost 4 months since we started seeing and getting to know each other and we haven't done any nsfw things lol except for that kiss. He knew I don't have any dating experience in my whole (almost) 30 years of life so he suggested taking things at my own pace. Oh and out of habit, I sometimes introduced him as my friend because I'm not used to say the word boyfriend and he was like "sure I'm just your friend for now but pretty soon I'm gonna be your bestie and before you know it we're gonna be hubby and wifey so watch me" 😆. He's very patient in helping me discover what I like and what I don't in romantic relationship and I'm grateful for having met him 😊

So I'm wondering how would the lads men react when they found out their SO is not a fan of mouth kissing? She's be fine with a peckbon the lips but she won't initiate it. But kisses on any other body parts?? Y E S. And she's not shy on peppering the boys's face and neck and shoulders and pecs with kisses but just not the mouth. Would they find it hard to try and respect the boundary at first? Because we know how they looove deep kisses (like caleb's and zayne's hungry kisses? Sylus's gentle but passionate kiss? Rafayel's needy kiss? Xavier's i'm-just-a-sweet-boy-but-am-horny kiss? Fck) 🥵. Or would they be the "practice makes perfect" kind of men who insist on taking tiny baby steps with baby girl because wdym you don't like french kiss? You just never experienced a good one! I so wanna know what your take on this. And ngl sometimes I feel bad at my "friend" because he deserves so much better, someone who's ready for a romantic rekationship instead of me who's still learning like a kid even though I'm almost a few years away from turning 30. Also I miss you but take your time and I hope you have an awesome week! ❤️❤️❤️

I love a long yapper message in my inbox ☺️ It probably seems like you haven't seen my posts in ages because im not posting as much as I used to.

You know I've heard of this before I think it has a name, but I can't remember it right now. It's actually pretty normal to not like a kiss on the lips. Like you said it could be linked with just not being used to it so if you want to try and kiss him again later down the line when you're more comfortable I say do it and if you still don't like it then you know it's for sure something that you just don't like.

It reminds of people who cut their hair because they have sensory issues and don't like feeling the hair on their neck or remove the tags from their shirts before they're hyperaware of them and it drives them crazy.

Anyway I'm glad he's super understanding with you in this time of transition I know it's hard (I put mine through hell before he even got a kiss on the cheek 😭) and I honestly don't blame you for waiting so long considering 99.9% of men aren't even worth a quick .25 second glance.

I wish you nothing but prosperity and happiness in your relationship 🩵 (When you get the courage introduce him as your boyfriend and I bet he gets super giddy)

Now about your request ... This got my creative side flowing! I was like "Damn how many other kisses can you do?" and MAAAANNN my fingers started flying on the keyboard. Should be up soon ; at the time of me writing this I have only two men left to write for (somebody be proud of me im trying 🥲)

I miss you guys too 😘 I still love y'all even if I disappear like CoryxKenshin & Berleezy

[mandyqueersolid]

I can usually forgive the way Doctor Who wears its production issues on its sleeve, but this one is hard.

I’m sad and angry about Gatwa leaving, but it’s very understandable given where the show is right now. I know people have been calling it unfair for him as if he was fired from the show, but honestly, how can he sign on for another season he doesn’t know when/if will happen? How does he negotiate a new contract for something that isn’t even guaranteed, and why would he let a nebulous 3rd season tie him down and potentially get in the way of bigger projects?

So, while I’ll miss him in the show, I understand that. I just wish the actual narrative of him leaving was in any way fulfilling.

Because what do you mean he did all that and it’s not even his goddamn baby???

His entire sacrifice… was pointless. As much as everyone declared that they needed to bring Poppy into existence, they already said that Poppy still existed. As a space baby. They confirmed they still had memory of that so it was still part of that reality. Or will have already been a Space Baby whatever the fuck verb tense.

Did Space Baby find a home? Not anymore! Now you’re Belinda’s problem, and despite Belinda having no indication that she wanted a child, that’s now everything about her! And sure, I get that when she is living the reality of her child, the idea of losing said child is devastating, but it felt like zero through line between the Belinda we’d seen all season, who had a happy and full life with a family and friends to the point where the only thing she wanted was to go back, vs the Belinda at the end who was solely wrapped up in her kid. Maybe it’s my aggressive childlessness, but it annoyed me.

I imagine the reason why it couldn’t be His Goddamn Baby other than then having to later explain how that black baby becomes a white lady in that Tennant ep (coming soon to a Big Finish box set near you) is that the Doctor wouldn’t want to leave their kid but very obviously cannot have cool adventures with a toddler hanging around. And I was totally prepared for this to be the moment, after The Rani gave us that important reminder of bigeneration, that we would have had 14 back, the Doctor specifically designated for domesticity and learning to heal and living with Donna who already knows how to take care of natural hair. Like hey, time to put all that therapy to the test, as you now have to not push your problems onto an impressionable child! Coming Soon to a Big Finish Box Set Near You!

I also, and this is silly on my part, expected 14 in the TARDIS instead of 13. And I thought he’d sacrifice himself so that we could still get 15. That wasn’t going to happen, but for a moment I let myself get my hopes up. I did enjoy seeing 13 for her part though.

But instead we get nothing. A child that already existed being instead sent to a woman who’d shown no indication of wanting a child before one was already in her lap, and a wasted sacrifice that was mostly a reminder that hey, we don’t know if this show is even going to be around anymore!

Also why the hell didn’t we get anything with Ruby at the end? They were just hella fuckin mean to her and ignoring her then acting like she was doing microaggressions for saying “hey a baby DISAPPEARED” and then she doesn’t even get a goodbye??? You told the Jesus star instead??????

Anyway I am actually not mad about the Billie Piper thing. It’s a cheap attention grab to get us all posting, but I was mad about that the first time around with David and boy if I didn’t enjoy what we ended up getting from that.

And if nothing else, that’s gonna make for some MESSY selfcest on AO3 and I’m gonna need one of y’all to link me to that the minute it drops, please and thank you.

[tora-the-cat]

That's some real shit you just said about Hinata in Boruto!! It'd make so much more sense for her to be very indulgent with her children, and it'd better explain why Boruto acts the way that he does.

Instead of being afraid OF her, the more in-character reason should've been because he hates the idea of DISAPPOINTING her. Like god damn, Hinata and Temari are two entirely different characters with veeeeeeeeeery different temperaments; Shikadai fearing Temari MAKES SENSE. She can be scary as hell and she's got no qualms with using corporal punishment!! WHY WOULD HINATA DO THE SAME AWFUL SHIT SHE GOT PUT THROUGH to her own kids?????? It doesn't make sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah yeah, I get that narratively, it ties back into Naruto thinking "Moms are scary" and continues the idea that the more things change, the more they stay the same. BUT. Boruto and Himawari should've thought that AFTER Hinata popped a can of whoop ass on someone who threatened her family; NOT by unleashing her wrath on her fucking kids!!!!!!!!!!

And I'm not too sure if you're reading the Boruto manga too or if it's just the anime, but there's a scene in the manga that's HIGHLY out of character as well. When I saw it I was just like, "Wtf????" So unfortunately it's not just an anime specific problem... :(

Right??? Hinata and Naruto are both the kinds of parents that would spoil their kids fucking rotten, cause they just don't know any better. poor auntie Sakura had to teach Boruto table manners because Hinata is scared of being too assertive and Naruto never learned them. Hinata and Naruto would NOT be perfect parents, but they'd be bad parents in a very specific way. They'd be overindulgent. Naruto would treat them like adults WAY too young without realizing it's bad. Hinata would never believe a bad thing a teacher said about her kid if the teacher was not LITERALLY Shino Aburame (this is, in fact, why Shino is Boruto's teacher. I will be taking no further questions). And we almost see this in the show!! Boruto IS arrogant! He IS selfish! He has never been denied a thing in his life! His mommy says he's a miracle!!!

But then. Boruto talks about Hinata. and it's just like....'haha, moms, am I right? moms? all moms are exactly the same? annoying and scary but only COMEDICALLY scary. because they're women' and like. sigh. so close Ikemoto now try again without the sexism. And maybe. Read Naruto?

Yes!! You see, Boruto being afraid of disappointing Hinata makes a lot of sense!!! Honestly, another point on Hinata and Naruto being flawed parents is that Boruto....probably has to do a fair amount of emotional labor at home. Not gonna get into it cause that would be its own post, but Boruto is probably VERY aware of his mom's emotional state and REALLY hesitant to upset her, just cause it sucks when his mom is upset and it always feels at least a little like his fault. #eldestkidproblems or whatever ykyk. Being afraid of disappointing her would just make so much sense given the characters and their dynamics, while still filling the purpose of showing how light Boruto gets off for domestic terrorism lmao

As far as the 'moms are scary' throughline....We've got plenty of scary moms. Naruto thought moms were scary because he grew up a pariah that was probably threatened by MANY moms to not talk to their kids, he's not familiar with 'protective anger' because no one has ever gotten angry on his behalf, and Kishimoto thinks its funny to pretend women pose any threat to his cool male characters #feminism. It just so HAPPENS that if he DID have a living mom she would've been scary as shit, but. in canon it's just not a perspective it really makes sense for Boruto to have picked up because it was cultivated by very specific rearing factors.

Much as I would LOVE for Hinata to have a badass protective moment, I sadly doubt it's gonna happen, given that post shippuden Hinata seems to just....not be a shinobi anymore. which, and I say this with full scincerity, good for her! But like. the fact that she can't even stick to a wall to LITERALLY save her life in The Last is. blood boiling lmao. And! even if she did get a little protective moment, it'd be cool for her kids to realize how cool she is, but even then they wouldn't really be scared of her, you know? Like event trying to give Boruto the benefit of the doubt, there's no angle I can come at this where it makes sense for Boruto to be SCARED of Hinata Uzumaki.

I have watched an entire six episodes of the Boruto anime, and all due respect I have less then zero intention of reading the manga. As you can see, I'm clearly having a great time. SO I have NOT read that scene, but I'm more then happy to take your word for it lmao. thanks for the ask <3

[whyamiherewhosummonedme]

As a bona fide DMC enjoyer for about however long it's been since DMC4SE released. Gotta say. Not sure how I feel about the new anime?

Spoiler alert below, some thoughts

Objectively, this series is fucking amazing. The team behind it very clearly love and adore DMC. This whole show is a loveletter to the games, the characters, and the world. But it felt... I don't know? Maybe it's just because it's a new universe. An animeverse as an alternative to the gameverse. And like. The characterization is all incredibly on point. Like. Yeah, Lady would join the military if Arkham died there and then. Yeah, she is fucking racist as hell. Yeah, Dante is a disaster in every single way and she even points out his usage of humor to cover his insecurities. Yeah, Vergil is the storm that is approaching (WHICH IS SO FUCKING FUNNY. HE SAYS THE FUCKING LINE. IT'S BEYOND FUNNY.) Yes, I WOULD fuck the White Rabbit in every single form.

But. Idk. I see people talking about the ending being off and I agree very much. It throws Lady's characterization, which has been great so far if not my preferred kind of Lady (and not my preferred Dante at the beginning but that's just because I am a demonic Dante enjoyer). Vengeful Lady is better than racist Lady in my humble opinion and I wish they had more of that. Could've just had Arkham involved somehow idk. But like. Her whole thing is learning to understand, but she... Doesn't. Instead, she condemns Dante to imprisonment and Hell/Makai to the full force of American colonialism (AMERICAN IDIOT BEING PLAYED OVER THAT SCENE CRACKED ME UP. PERFECT BTW. If it weren't for the butchering of Lady in those last couple, like, 30 seconds that allowed it to happen I would consider it one of the best parts). And then it's implied afterwards that Vergil... Joins Mundus of his own free will. Which. Yknow. Uh. Well. Erm.

(Also ngl I'm kinda pissed at using the fall scene for the White Rabbit. Like. No!!!! He has no personal connection there!!!!! I know it's a fanservice cameo but it doesn't mean anything like that!!!!!!!! THAT'S FOR VERGIL MAKING A DECISION THAT WILL HAUNT BOTH BROTHERS THE REST OF THEIR LIVES)

But yeah uhhhh. Mixed feelings about the animeverse. Maybe just because it's new and I'm not used to there being any kind of alternate DMC universe aside from the reboot that never happened fuck you, maybe it's because it left off on a cliffhanger and the story's nowhere near finished yet (still miffed abt the cliffhanger tbh. Like. DMC shouldn't end on cliffhangers, it should end on "and then everything was calm for a while" timeskips that let Dante get more wrinkles), maybe it's just me being confused as to why they gave Agni and Rudra actual heads

But yeah. Mixed feelings.

I'm gonna go play DMC5 again now

[sonicanvas]

Since this is gonna be a personal view of me going through MK1 and I have been giving you the design perspective of Reptile, let's look on my personal take of the lore as my excuse to tell you how much I like him

First things first, I consider myself pretty new in MK, being my introduction to it was MK11. Due to how small the roster was, I didn't know Reptile was present at all. To my personal view at the time, he was just...another lizard monster jobber like Baraka. I admit his design in MKX was badass, but that's pretty much it.

Going into MK, I'm not sure if I'm gonna like it, knowing how they treated my first floodgate character in MK11 being Sindel. As I stated about Reptile, I love Sindel's design. I can see how she was probably inspired by Elvira(idk who that is but she looks exactly like her so lmk) and her MK11 design being a love letter to the Mortal Kombat movies back in 1995. Most MK11 character designs are, in exception to... Liu Kang and Kung Lao, for some reason, and well, the new additions(either brought in from MKX or completely new)

Safe bet they still haven't get a permission from Robin Shou to capitalize on a Liu Kang skin. Will be nice if they have it tho.

So, how did I get here?

Strangely enough, it was because I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and someone sent me the "KK in a wheelchair" meme.

Then I discovered SonicHaXD, then the other guys next to him, TrueUnderDawg and the4thSnake.

I already know the4thSnake from his Tekken videos so it wasn't as big of a jump to try looking at other lore-related stuff he did with MK. The leap of faith, however, was in TrueUnderDawg, since he was mostly sharing gameplay-related videos. I already despised him for using AI-generated image as a thumbnail while a quick edit using official renders wouldn't hurt anyone, or yk...pay an artist?

...and there comes the lore parts and I fell down the Reptile hole.

Watching the lore videos I was like

Learning that he was one of the OGs, next to Sub-Zero and Scorpion, on top of his lizard ability making him...basically a Reversed Druid, was the biggest bombshell dropped on me because how could NRS decide to fumble him

I saw him again in the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie, but then again, he's just...another lizard guy jobber. I love that his story revolved around him, being the last Saurian that only wants to help his people to have a new home after Shang Tsung pretty much fumbled them...like the NRS writers fumbling him on every turn. Even the 3D Era shows no mercy to his lore for him to only show up as a vessel for Onaga.

Then I heard those leaks about Reptile joining in M1K. My heart was racing like hell, thinking they would probably fumble him even worse.

And then...the reveal

And I read the official bio they gave to him, which so far, I am completely in love with the way it took a different twist from the original lore. So instead of him being the last hope of his people, he was betrayed by them for being what he is.

Although I would find the joining a circus part is unnecessary, and the part where Shang Tsung took his family, doesn't have to be a wife and child. I understand they want to draw parallels once Baraka got his own chapter to spare Syzoth, but the "family" can be...his own parents or relatives. Maybe he used to have brothers or sisters, knowing reptilians lay eggs in batches, even off-season and for crocodiles, whether the baby is gonna be male or female is decided according to temperature of environments where the egg was laid.

And to a case of Komodo Dragon, the hatchlings would immediately climb trees because the parents tend to cannibalize their own babies, which works well to Syzoth's narrative of being "the odd one's out" on a constant survival mode from birth, because...even his parents didn't want him, but he didn't know that so he often blame himself for showing his human form one time and wished he never did, while also thinking that living with humans as a Zaterran with the ability to look "human" is a psychological torture on itself, considering his diet consist of bugs or even human flesh to some extent.

We could keep the traveling part because he would stumble on Shang Tsung currently on his travel to look for some ingredients of his drugs and thought that guy could probably "cure" his affliction, and helped him with his researches through any means; either stealing some shit or kill some shit. He didn't care about the consequences for as long as he believed Shang Tsung can help him, to the point of General Shao trusting them with Mileena's treatment...

...until Shang Tsung decided to stab him on the back by using Syzoth's abilities against him—staging murders in favor or General Shao and throws all the blame at him, giving an excuse for General Shao and his men to hold Syzoth's family in hostage, to the point of our main Story Mode.

Syzoth was like "You promised to cure me. We had a deal!"

But Shang Tsung was like, "There was never a cure, Syzoth. You're just born like that. Oh, and I got rid of your family. They never want you anyway."

Syzoth, holding a pent up anger, really wants to take it on Shang Tsung, but he's already gone. No family, no home, and nowhere to go. He was in a conflict, not only with Shang Tsung, but also with himself. He hates that Shang manipulated him, but he also hates to accept that his family never loved him for what he is, only for another person to abuse him again...for what he is and what he can do. He's constantly living in fear of being alienated, so he did everything he knew to gain some sort of validation, or even affection, only to make things worse on his end. His journey was for him to learn not only to accept the multiple facets of himself, but also a healthier relationship with others.

Especially knowing this would align much better with his Tower Ending. Though on my personal Headcanon, he got a job as Royal Emissary to bridge a connection between Outworld and Earthrealm, where Kenshi's "Special Forces" route comes in.

Though a personal story of how I end up shipping Syzoth and Kenshi, is gonna be a separate story to tell

[crusty-chronicles]

hii! after reading ur moon and son halloween special, it got me thinking ab kurapika and yn. if its not too much to ask, could you do a small special where kurapika figures out why yn hates their clan? it could be a drabble, short chapter, hcs, whatever youd like to write, i was js super curious for what kurapikas reaction would be

love ur writing 🩷🩵

I'm gonna start this off with a minor spoiler warning for the end chapters of Moon and Sun. Nothing too big so don't worry.

Okay, we Good? There's only four people who really know about what happened with Y/n and their clan. Gon, Killua, Kite, and Ging. The first three are for obvious reasons. Now the only reason Ging knows is because he's got a part to play in future chapters, which I will not be disclosing at this time. That being said, what Kurapika knows/ learns about is a very watered down version of events. Below is a oneshot of how he finds out and reacts.

The Difference Between You and I

⛓️⛓️⛓️⛓️⛓️⛓️⛓️

It was ironic, really, when you looked back on what happened a few days ago. You didn't think you had it in you anymore to dislike someone so much. Especially since he was one of the boys' closest friends.

You wanted your first meeting to be friendly, even if a part of you was still bitter he hadn't bothered to see Gon at the hospital. You'd hoped to get along with him as well as you did with Leorio.

 But opposites attract you suppose.

The two of them couldn't have been any more different from each other. Leorio was a stubborn loudmouth depending on who he interacted with. Acting purely on impulse most of the time. Yet despite that, he had a heart of gold from what you could tell.

Treating Gon and Killua with as much care as you did. Wanting to be a doctor in order to help those who couldn't afford proper medical care. Hell, he was even currently helping you with your ‘condition.’

Kurapika, on the other hand, was quiet and reserved. At least from what the boys had told you. Though you noticed he also seemed distant. Rarely ever picking up his phone and even rarer were the times he'd actually show up in person.

But you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

If the boys loved him, how bad could he really be? 

And if Leorio was dating him, then surely he had some redeeming qualities.

Well turns out fate had a funny way of playing things out. Irony at its best. 

—----------------------

You'd arrived in York New about the same time as the boys. Having come for your ‘usual’ checkup. Something you blamed on that damn cat along with yourself. 

You'd agreed beforehand to meet up right after for lunch. The three of you communicating through a small group chat. Although you were still struggling with the newer technology. Not yet used to actually having a phone. But you digress.

It was during Leorio's final evaluation that you were made aware of the blonde’s presence.

“You getting anything?” He asked.

You shook your head, unable to focus your eyes. Six months and your nen was still shot. What a pain.

“Don't push yourself. Remember, we still have a few treatments to test out. You're not out of luck just yet.”

“I know. I just kinda want the process to be over already, you know? Get things back to normal.” Well, as normal as you could be.

Leorio was about to respond before a ‘ding’ from his phone went off. He gave an apologetic look as he checked what it was. 

Although he knew you didn't mind, he still wanted to be professional. This was his job and he took pride in it. Despite his nonchalant demeanor.

“Woah! Kurapika's in town!”

“Kurapika?” The one who usually ignores all his calls? The one who put revenge before his dying friend? But you thought better than to say that out loud. Instead you settled on-

“He's…blonde, right?”

Leorio looked up at you with a bewildered expression. Out of all the things you could say, it was that. It was almost enough to make him laugh.

“Yes? You know, you've got an odd way of remembering people.”

“But I'm not wrong, am I? You gonna see him after this?” You asked with a teasing smirk.

“Yeah. It's been a while. I think the boys would be happy to see him too.” He gestured to the three kids that sat waiting outside of your room.

Two of which were now excitedly staring at their phones. The third sleeping contently on her brother's shoulder.

“You should meet him too.” Leorio suggested.

And although you appreciated the offer, it didn't feel right for you to tag along. You didn't want things to potentially be awkward. Plus, you weren't the best with new people.

“I don't wanna intrude. I'd rather the four of you catch up. Like old times. Well maybe not the four of you if Alluka has anything to say about it.” Already knowing the small girl went everywhere Killua did. 

“You'd really do that. I know it's been months since you spent time with the boys.”

“Yeah but it's been a year since they even heard from Kurapika. Besides, I'll meet him when I pick the boys up. I'm here for three more days after all. And then~you and Kurapika could spend some time by yourselves.”

His face flushed a bright red at the insinuation. Playfully shoving your head to the side.

“About time you paid me back for all the times I watched the boys for you.”

—-----------------------

The two of you finished up, with Leorio briefly leaving to request his break. The kids wasted no time rushing you once you exited the room.

“Any luck this time?” Gon asked.

“Sadly, no. But there's always next time, right?” You tried to reassure. But he didn't look all that convinced. 

“If it doesn't work out, you know you can always ask Nanika to-” Killua started to offer, but you stopped him before he could finish.

“It's fine if I can't get it back. I'll just have to get used to being a normie. Unless, you've got a problem with normies?” Your tone was teasing as you ruffled the small assassin's hair. 

Your attention was redirected towards a pull on your sleeve.

“I don't mind helping Big Sib,” Alluka assured.

“I mind. I'll be okay so don't worry about it…In other news, I heard one of your friends just got here.” You quickly changed the subject. Not wanting to bring down the mood. You wanted today to be a good day.

And judging by the way both boys beamed up at you, it would be.

“Yeah! Kurapika's gonna be here for a few days! I hope you don't mind if he comes with us today.” Gon explained.

You could never really say no to that kid, even if you had already planned to give the duo space today. You returned his cheerful grin with one of your own.

“Course not. To be honest, I was gonna let the four of you reconnect in peace.”

“Peace? You make it sound like we're embarrassed of you,” Killua mumbled.

“What was that?”

“I said, ‘Four of us? What about my sister?’” he quickly covered. Though he could tell you heard what he said first. But you'd let him off the hook this time.

For now.

“Why don't I take her shopping while you guys catch up?”

“Shopping? You can afford that now?” His tone was playful, but there was a genuine hint of concern somewhere in there.

“Hey!” You scolded, about to come up with a retort before Gon stepped in.

“Yeah! They're working with Kite and his team. It's why they travel so much now.”

At the mention of the former silver haired hunter, Killua's expression soured.

“Sibling stealer.”

At that, you pinched his cheek.

“Har har. You mad at him because we're dating now or because Alluka occasionally calls him dad?”

He covered his ears, face slightly red from embarrassment as he tugged Gon away. Not bothering to wait for Leorio.

“We’re leaving now! Have her back by six!”

—-------------

Safe to say, they were overjoyed to see Kurapika again. Both boys eagerly questioning him about his new Zodiac status, while Leorio reminded them not to overwhelm him with questions.

Kurapika was glad to back, if only for a brief moment. He truly did miss them, but his mission always came first. He'd already made tremendous progress recovering his clan’s eyes. His new Zodiac status aiding in his endeavors.

But through pursuing his goal, he'd evidently missed out on a lot with his friends and partner. 

The boys were 13 going on 14 now. Gon had achieved his own goal and met Ging. Traveling with him up until a month ago.

Killua had managed to finally get away from his family, bringing his little sister with him. The two of them also traveling around. Which begs the question, where was she currently?

Leorio had become a doctor, having just been promoted to a zodiac after the election. Which Kurapika did watch, very much proud of how far he got.

Yes, so much had changed.

He supposed it was bittersweet in a way. The three of them already shooting for a new goal while he was still trying to complete his. 

But he truly was grateful for the time he spent with them today. That he was still considered important to them despite his distance. He made a mental note to try harder once he left.

It wasn't before very long that Leorio had to return to work. His break over too soon for the blonde's liking. 

So with a smooch on his cheek and a ‘ewww!’ from the boys, Leorio was off. Leaving Kurapika with the duo. 

Now while you were aware of Kurapika, he had no idea of your existence until the boys mentioned you in passing.

—-----------------------

A desert of some kind sat in front of them.

“Y/n would for sure love this. Do you think we should take them some?” Killua asked, the question directed towards Gon.

“They’ll be upset if we don't. And you know what that means.” Gon responded.

“They won't carry us for a week. You think we're getting too old for that?” But before their conversation could continue, Kurapika spoke up. Curious about the new name they mentioned.

“Y/n?”

Both boys looked up at him surprised before remembering the two of you had never met.

“Y/n’s the person that’s been taking care of us since Greed Island. They're our big sibling,” Gon proudly announced while Killua nodded along.

You seemed to be very close to them.

“Right now they're with Alluka. They wanted to give the four of us a chance to catch up.” Killua added.

That explained why his sister wasn't here. And if Killua trusted you with her, then you must've been reliable too.

A good person.

“Tell me more about them.”

—-----------------------

Truthfully, all odds pointed at the two of you getting along. You were cut from the same cloth, so to speak. Both coming from strong clans. Both losing them during your childhood.

Your lazy demeanor would have paired nicely with his quiet one. You always were more comfortable around less energetic people. 

His analytical skills were on par with yours. A strong head on both of your shoulders. 

Even if you were still upset with Kurapika, the two boys knew you'd get along with him in time. Sure you'd probably chew him out for not answering his phone, but you'd warm up to him nevertheless.

So what was it exactly that put you at odds with each other?

The catalyst that sparked endless animosity between you?

Well, it just so happened to be the subject of your clan that started it.

It was an accident, truly. Gon didn't mean for it to slip out. He just got so excited telling Kurapika about you that he forgot some details weren't meant to be shared.

“You know, I'm kinda glad Nanika erased their memories. Y/n is a lot happier now that they're clan isn't looking for them anymore. They weren't good people to begin with so don't feel too bad about it.”

Gon had been explaining before slapping a hand over his mouth. Him and Killua looking at each other with wide eyes. Gazes briefly glancing over towards Kurapika for his reaction.

They knew he could be touchy with the subject. Watching him carefully to see if his eyes changed. Instead, they were met with a suspicious stare. Not exactly positive, but not really negative either.

“What do mean their clan isn't looking for them anymore? Did something happen between them?”

Because Kurapika, for the life of him, couldn't fathom a family giving up on one of their own. But the subject wasn't as black and white as he suspected.

“We're not really supposed to say. It's not like they told us not to tell anyone, but it's their privacy. You know?” Gon informed.

Not only was it your business, but it was also something you trusted the two of them with. And he was the last person who should be spilling your secrets.

The two boys once again eyed each other. You wouldn't be mad if they told Kurapika. So long as he didn't bring it up directly to you.

Besides, the chain user would just ask you in person if he didn't get an answer. He was direct by nature. Something you would respect, but not if it concerned your ‘family.’

So what was the worse outcome?

They say nothing and Kurapika asks you directly about it. Or he finds out another way.

The second option: they partially explain the situation. Not getting into too much detail, but enough to satisfy their friend’s curiosity.

“If it's not something you want to discuss, then I won't-” but Killua stopped him from finishing his sentence.

“If we tell you, you have to promise you won't say we told you anything. Got it?” 

It wasn't that they were wary of their friend, god no. They just didn't want the two of you butting heads in the future. 

Kurapika gave a small nod.

“Y/n doesn't get along well with their clan. They haven't since they were a little kid. They just don't feel comfortable or safe around them anymore.” Gon started.

“Why?”

“They sorta had a disagreement with them. And that's putting it very lightly. An argument about how things were being done. And how their practices were wrong. That's all we can really say.” Killua continued.

The rest would have to come directly from you. If you ever got around to trusting Kurapika. Something that sadly wouldn't come to fruition.

“So they're estranged from their clan because of a disagreement?” And for whatever reason, that made Kurapika upset.

Your clan was alive and healthy. They'd been looking for you. And here you were being petty. Avoiding them because of it.

When all his people were slaughtered like nothing. Never even having the chance to say goodbye. 

He wanted to think there was more to it. That there was something big the boys weren't telling him. And there was, but he'd never get to learn about what it was.

How similar your grief was to his with him losing Pairo and you losing Kari.

The rest of the afternoon felt tense. Kurapika tried not to show his discomfort, but both boys could tell anyways. Seems the two of you wouldn't get along after all.

It was only a matter of time before you went to get them. Alluka trailing happily behind you with an ice cream cone as you struggled with her bags. Most of which were toys. 

Both boys quickly grabbed a few from you to lighten the load. Your eyes drifting over to the blonde behind them.

So that was Kurapika.

“Alluka! You can't just make them carry everything. Next time help.” Killua scolded.

Said girl, looked up at her big brother with a pout. 

“I did. Mama/Papa said no.”

Her answer prompted a small glare from him. This time directed at you.

“You have her spoiled.”

“You’re just jealous I don't baby you anymore.” You retorted.

“I think it's because Alluka's a girl.” Gon added as he took another bag from you.

“She's not just a girl. She's a princess!” You lightly pinched her cheeks, causing her to let out a squeal.

You looked up to see their blonde friend standing awkwardly away. Perhaps not wanting to interrupt the four of you. 

“You gonna introduce me to your friend?” 

At the sound of your voice he straightened up. Both boys urging you towards him.

“Y/n, this is Kurapika. Kurapika, Y/n.”

It was a brief introduction. Well, you supposed it was time for you to plaster on a smile and try to befriend him. Hopefully things would go well.

“Hi. So you're the infamous Kurapika? Glad you could make a special guest appearance today. I hope the boys weren't too much.” 

You extended your hand in greeting. Wishing you could focus your eyes on him to get a proper read of what he was feeling. He reciprocated your handshake with less enthusiasm than you were expecting.

To be fair, he probably just found out about you.

“Likewise. It's a pleasure to meet the person who they've been talking my ear off about for the last two hours. Apologies for interrupting your time together.”

He was surprisingly polite. Honestly, you were expecting him to be somewhat rowdy like the rest of their friends. Not that you minded.

You needed another levelheaded friend to talk to. And if you were correct, he was about two years younger than you. 

But then things quickly started going downhill.

“My intel tells me you come from a clan like me? Do I have that right?” He asked, unawares that was not the right thing to say. Despite his intention to strike up a friendly conversation.

“Intel?” Your tone was panicked.

 The mere mention of your past life enough to make you spiral. Something both boys could tell was happening from the way you stiffened.

“Uh Kurapika. Maybe now's not the-” Gon tried, but it was too late.

“I don't belong to any clan. I never did, so don't you ever bring it up again.” Ice.

Your demeanor was cold, an indication that you were mad. Though you tried to calm yourself. Maybe he didn't know not to ask that.

He couldn't have known.

You just didn't want to talk about it with anyone. Especially not a stranger you just met. 

“Damn. I knew we shouldn't have told him.” Killua said, already knowing where this conversation was heading. He quickly covered Alluka's ears.

“I don't understand why you're so upset about it. Could the disagreement you had really be that irksome to you.” The blonde's tone dismissive. 

The thing that inevitably set you off.

Irksome.

Like they didn't just try to kill you half a year ago. Like they didn't murder your sister right in front of you. Like they didn't turn your best friend against you.

“I said drop it. It's none of your business. But you know what should've been, since you're so keen on family.”

“Y/n don't-” Gon tried once more, tugging on your arm to get you attention.

“Checking up on your friends every once in a while. Do you even know about what happened to these two?”

“Guys,” Killua warned.

“Of course I know. You think I'm an idiot not to know about the Chimera Ant situation?” Kurapika's voice increasing in volume to match yours.

“Yeah? You know about Illumi hunting down Killua and his sister while his family watched? About the two of them almost being killed to better their psycho family's power? You know about Gon being hospitalized? About how nothing short of a miracle saved his life? You know about all that?”

Judging by the shocked expression on his face, he didn't know. He glanced over to the two boys to verify. And when they looked down to avoid his eyes, he knew you weren't lying.

He hadn't been a very good friend, had he?

“Didn't think so. So next time you think I owe you anything, think about how you've never given anyone anything. I don't owe you shit. I don't owe you an explanation and I sure as hell don't owe you my time!” 

Was it a petty argument that got way out of hand?

Absolutely.

The truth is, if you could get past your one difference, the two of you would see you have a lot in common. Might've even become good friends.

 But you can never trust someone who takes the people they care about for granted. Who had the opportunity to support their friend on their deathbed instead of chasing after shadows of the past. Who only lets anger and hatred guide their actions.

And Kurapika could never befriend someone who doesn't understand how good they have it. Who still has the opportunity to see their family instead of their corpses. And maybe he's envious of the fact. He'd give anything to spend five minutes with his clan while you can't even bare thinking about them for five seconds.

And while you two disliked each other, you'd just have to learn to tolerate the other for the sake of your friends.

—-------------

MASTERLIST

An: I didn't know if I should add tags to this one because technically it's not apart of our main story. More like an expansion on the lore, if you can even call it that. Now, I love Kurapika, I really do. But I feel like our insert from Moon and Sun would absolutely despise him. On the bright side, I should be able to start uploading a little more frequently now. Might even get back to weekly updates. We'll see~

[scarabsinthestardust]

Better in the Morning // Ch. 17

MASTERLIST

word count: 3000+

This one isn't quite the end, but I'm also not going to officially take this one off of hiatus. There's a few more things in the works for Kya and Jake, and I'll post them as I spit them out, but I am nowhere near turning them into anything solid just yet.

CHAPTER WARNINGS: language; pregnancy; childbirth; anxiety; severe depression; tiny mention of SIDS; mentions of strained parental relationship; probably some bad Spanish lol

We had a baby shower in March, when the weather was still cool, and we could hold it outside. I didn’t want anything huge or extravagant, and I certainly didn’t want to deal with a hundred and one guests. Jake was more than happy to comply with my requests, but Josh got a little over-excited and invited more than a few extra people. I couldn’t stay mad at him, though. He was ecstatic about becoming an uncle; he hadn’t even laid eyes on her yet and he already loved his niece more than anything else.

He was also never going to let me live it down that he ‘knew it was going to be a girl.’

“It really isn’t that unbelievable,” I told him. “It was only gonna go one of two ways.”

“Yeah, but I picked the right one.”

“I don’t know. What if she comes out an Appalachian cryptid instead?” Finn joked, shrugging his shoulders.

“Is that supposed to be a jab at me?” asked Jake as he placed the last of the gifts in a box to carry them inside. He tried to play along, but I could see he was already getting irritated. Something about Finn just rubbed him the wrong way. I played mediator, as always, and sent Jake off to take care of something else before he got too snippy with his brother’s boyfriend.

We had a name picked out but agreed not to tell anyone until after she was born. Watching Sam whine and beg to know the name was funnier than I could have imagined. Josh was surprisingly accepting of the mystery, content to call her whatever silly nickname sounded good at the time – he was partial to Nugget, but every once in a while, he would call her a little squid, which I begrudgingly learned to accept.

And then two weeks before my due date, it happened.

Early in the morning, Josh insisted on coming over and spending the day with us. The night before, I couldn’t get comfortable enough to get any decent sleep, so I was exhausted, which in turn made me irritable. I felt like Josh was in my way everywhere I went, much like a cat that has to weave between your legs as you walk. I’d snapped at him more than once, and Jake took to trying to distract his brother (or convince him to leave) so I could get some rest. But he still managed to weasel away and find me again.

I was on the couch watching some trash TV, having given up ages ago on trying to take a nap. I let out a frustrated sigh when Josh came into the room, asking if I needed anything and how I was feeling.

“Joshua, I love you. But for the love of God, what the fuck do you want? Why are you even here?!”

I felt bad for yelling at him and started to apologize, but the shit-eating grin on his face stopped me in my tracks. “I want to be here when it happens.”

“She’s not due for two weeks. There is no way in hell you’re staying here for two fucking weeks.”

“Oh, she’s not gonna wait.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever you say. Now, please leave me alone, just for a little while.”

“Fine, but it’s gonna happen today. I know it.”

I brushed him off and groaned in annoyance as I shifted on the couch. I told myself he was delusional if he thought he could really know that the baby was going to come early. There was no way he knew before I did.

And then four hours later, while I was on the back porch for some fresh air, a particularly sharp cramp had me doubled over. It was followed by the feeling of wetness pooling between my legs, soaking through my sweatpants, and it wasn’t the fun kind. My water had broken.

I sucked in a deep breath and focused on keeping myself calm, for everyone’s sake. We practiced this; we made sure we were more than prepared for almost any scenario. I refused to panic. At least on the outside. I opened up the back door and called for Jake. “Remember, we promised we wouldn’t freak out.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his eyes widened in shock and he swallowed down the urge to do exactly that.

The ride to the hospital wasn’t too terrible. Jake sat with me, consistently voicing encouragement and reassurances, while an extremely excited (and smug) Josh drove.

At the hospital, the contractions started to hit me full force. I squeezed Jake’s hand while he talked me through them. I know I was cussing up a storm, which isn’t shocking on a normal day, and Jake wasn’t put off at all when I ranted through a contraction about how much of a terrible idea this was and that I was never, ever doing this again.

I would love to say that I did everything naturally, with no drugs, but let’s be real – that shit fucking hurt. And I was practically begging for the epidural.

“I’m gonna kill your brother,” I grumbled. “This is all his fault.”

“That’s just the drugs talking, babe. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.” He was just joking, of course, and I loved that goofy smile he gave me.

I was in labor for six hours. I hear that’s not half bad for first timers. Giving birth? Not my favorite experience. But when I heard my daughter cry and they handed me the little bundle for the first time, it reminded me why we were here, and it made everything worth it.

Jake did wonderfully throughout the whole thing. He almost passed out once, but he refused to leave my side. When he was finally able to lay eyes on her, he cried. I think the fact that everything was real hit him all at once, and it was a bit overwhelming, but there was nothing but love in his eyes when he saw her.

I passed out myself, once the adrenaline wore off. I heard later that Jake held her almost the entire time I was asleep, like he was afraid she’d disappear if he let her go.

As soon as I was awake and had enough energy for company, albeit only a small amount, the rest of the guys slowly filed in to meet their new niece. Jake had dimmed the lights for me, and didn’t have to remind the guys to keep their voices down. Sam looked as though he was on the verge of tears. Danny was grinning ear-to-ear as he watched her sleep, wrapped up in her pink blanket in my arms. “She’s beautiful,” he said.

“You did good, mama.” Josh was keeping his distance, which was surprising; I thought he would be the first to be begging to hold her. He was standing near the door, wringing his hands nervously.

“Josh? C’mere. Come see her.”

Jake offered some encouragement and coaxed his twin to step further into the room. I don’t think I’d ever seen him look so… afraid.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” he whispered.

I motioned for him to sit on the edge of the hospital bed. “She’s gonna love you,” I said. “And you’re gonna be an amazing uncle to her, I know it.” I grabbed his hand and brought it up to touch her tiny one. “Her name’s Marcy. After my mom. Marcy Jade.”

Josh’s eyes could have lit up the room when he looked at her. Her fingers tightened up around his one and he exhaled, as if he’d been holding his breath. “Marcy Jade Kiszka. Welcome to the world, nugget.”

~

Since I was lucky enough to be spared any complications during and after giving birth, we were discharged and sent home within 24 hours. I was still sore, and couldn’t move around too well, but I was beyond grateful to be home. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable the hospital bed was until I was at home in ours.

I knew it was going to be a huge adjustment for both of us, but the next few days were rough. Neither of us slept, but it wasn’t because Marcy kept us up, anymore than you’d expect her to anyways. Jake and I were terrified that something would happen to her if we fell asleep. I had fallen down the internet rabbit hole on SIDS and was giving myself nightmares. And it doesn’t help that there’s no warning signs and nothing we would be able to do about it anyways. The anxiety made me nauseous, so it was difficult to eat at times, which then made me worry that she wasn’t getting enough nutrients from me.

But despite the piling of my own fears, I was greeted by her happy little coos every day. Even when she was crying to be fed or her diaper changed, those noises were what soothed me as I tried to navigate being a new mother. She was eating as she should and behaving as you would expect a newborn to do. For her three-day checkup, the pediatrician was satisfied with her weight gain and size and sent us home with a clean bill of health.

Jake was an absolute godsend. He was almost always up before me and rushing to tend to our daughter, urging me to go back to sleep. On more than one occasion, I found him either in the nursery or the living room, rocking her as he sang softly. His voice was a surefire way to get her back to sleep. But he was also tired. I didn’t want it to seem like I wasn’t thankful for all his help, but I was worried he wasn’t getting any rest.

“You need it more than I do,” he said when I voiced my concern.

“But this has to be a team effort, Jake. You’re gonna get burnt out if you try to take it all on by yourself.”

“I’m okay. Besides, I’d rather do as much as I can, spend as much time with her as possible while I can. I mean, we have to go back to the studio eventually. We’ll be busy. And when we inevitably go back on tour… you’ll be here alone.”

“I won’t be completely alone, though. I have Richie, and Finn. Plus, I’m sure your mom would gladly fly out If I needed her to.” Karen was already planning on being in Nashville next week to meet her new granddaughter.

My words didn’t seem to comfort him much. “What about…” He sighed and shook his head. “Never mind.”

“No, tell me,” I urged.

Something was weighing heavily on him, and I think I had an idea as to what before he even spoke. “They won’t go away, you know that. What happens next time I… have an episode? I don’t know if I’ll be able to take care of her. And it’s not fair for you to have to deal with both of us.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.” And a couple of weeks later, we had a chance to test those waters.

I found him on the back porch in the middle of the night. He was almost completely zoned out. I was at least glad the weather was warm – I could see him freezing his ass off in the winter with nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. When my attempts to get him back inside failed, I figured I would join him. I grabbed the baby monitor and checked on Marcy again – she was still fast asleep – before heading back outside. I sat on the ground next to him and leaned my head on his leg, my hand rubbing light circles on his knee.

About half an hour passed before I felt his hand on my head, and he dragged his fingers through my hair. “I’m scared, Kya.”

There were countless things he could have been referring to in that moment. “Of what, baby?”

“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m gonna fuck everything up. I can’t be enough for her…”

“You know that isn’t true. You’re already more than enough, and we’re just getting started. I can’t express how great you’ve been for both of us. You’re gonna be an amazing dad, Jake.”

“What if she forgets me when I can’t be here? If I come back from a tour and she doesn’t know who I am?”

“She barely even recognizes that she has fingers, but she knows you.” I moved closer to him and grabbed his other hand. “She knows your smell, your voice… I know you sing her to sleep a lot. She won’t forget that. And I promise you, when the time comes and you do have to leave, I will make sure she knows that her daddy will always come home to her.”

~

“Oh, she’s definitely gonna be a little diva.” Josh sat with Marcy, on a thick blanket we’d placed on the living room floor. He’d been trying to get her attention with one of the many baby toys laid out in front of him, but she wasn’t having any of it. She was much more interested in the overhead lights today. “Don’t worry, dahling, I shall instruct you in the ways of the superbitch!”

I groaned at his inability to censor himself. “If her first word is a cuss word, I’m blaming it entirely on you.”

Jake chuckled. “Now let’s be honest, that’s going to be just as much your fault, babe.” He joined them on the floor and gently tickled her belly. “Nah, she’s gonna be a guitar player like her dad.”

“Oh, yeah. At what age can I drop her off at the crossroads?”

“I’d say at least three.” Jake winked at me in response to the joke, playing off the same one I’d dropped on our first date.

The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. I glanced at Jake, confused as to who would be coming by at this time of night. We weren’t expecting anyone. His brow furrowed and he stood, grabbing his phone to check the outdoor camera first. You can’t be too careful these days.

“Oh. I think it’s your dad,” he said, still unsure

What the hell? Josh’s gaze flicked from Jake to me. “Is that bad?”

“We have a… complicated relationship.” I shrugged and gave Jake the okay to let our visitor in.

Dad didn’t speak until he was inside, the door securely shut. Jake politely greeted him, my dad slightly nodding in response, which I guess is as good of a hell as I could have expected.

“Mija.”

“Hi.” A part of me wanted to ask him what the fuck he was doing here, and what compelled him to show up uninvited, but I already knew the answer. He watched as Josh brought Marcy back to me on the couch. “Uh, this is Josh. Jake’s brother.”

Something quite comical flashed across my dad’s face as he peered wearily at Josh, before shifting to Jake, and then to me. “There’s two of them,” he said incredulously.

I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter at his expression. “Yeah, they’re twins.” As if one was already too much for him, wait until he found out there were four Kiszka siblings in total. The room fell silent again as he took in the sight of his daughter, now holding a baby of my own. “Do you wanna come meet her?”

He took a hesitant step forward. “She’s healthy?”

“Yeah, I answered with a smile. “She’s perfect.”

Jake and Josh both kept quiet but stayed nearby. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust that we were safe with my dad around, but I appreciated the extra support, just in case things did go downhill.

“We named her Marcy,” I told him. I saw the breath catch in his throat at my mother’s name.

His hand briefly covered his mouth in thought, before he stepped closer to get a better look at his granddaughter. “Castellano?”

“Nope. She’s a Kiszka.” I rolled my eyes as he cast an annoyed glance at Jake, who just chuckled. Bless him for having the balls to laugh at my father’s irritation.

He eventually cast aside his apprehension and sat next to me on the couch. I gave him no chance to argue before I was placing Marcy in his arms. She fussed a little at being jostled around so much, but he shushed her, speaking to her in Spanish, his voice low. I shared a pleased smile with Jake at the sight.

The last conversation with my dad floored me and had me thinking that maybe he was softening up in his old age. Watching him tonight, realizing that he very much was capable of being gentle and loving, I think I was right. I knew my relationship with him would never be perfect – there was too much broken trust and weariness between us. I also didn’t have any unrealistic beliefs that this meant he’d be more present, or a regular fixture in my daughter’s life. That wasn’t in his nature, and he’d disappear again soon, to be in the wind for however long he needed to. I’d be angry about it later, but right now, I didn’t have it in me to be upset about things I couldn’t change.

He stayed for longer than I’d expected, into the late hours. Josh had long since taken his departure, and Jake and I were both finding it harder and harder to suppress our yawns. A part of me didn’t want the visit to end, but I knew we all needed rest.

“I should put her to bed.”

“Here, let me,” Jake offered.

“Buenas noches, pequeñin,” my dad whispered before handing her to Jake. He stood and watched them disappear down the hall, a look on his face that I can only describe as peaceful.

“Thank you for coming,” I said as I walked him to the door.

I didn’t expect a hug, or an ‘I love you,’ but what I did get was almost better than anything I could have asked for from him. Once outside the door, he faced me and placed a calloused hand on my cheek. “You’re going to be a good mother. And I’m proud of you.”

///

TAGLIST

@hollyco @fleetingjake @musicislove3389 @josh-iamyour-mama @katuschka @lilbitx

[fandomworld9728]

The Life of the Morningstars - Chapter 9:

"Charlie!"

"Hey dad- oh!" She couldn't help the laugh that was squeezed out of her as her father hugged her.

Picking his big girl up while hugging her, Lucifer smiled up at her. She was so grown... "It's so good to see you."

Giggling down at him, she got back on her feet. He sure was stronger than he looked. When was the last time she had seen him use that strength? "It's good to see you too, dad. And welcome to The Hazbin Hotel." A proud smile graced Charlie's face as she showed him the nicely decorated lobby along with her group of friends. She was so grateful for all the work they had put into putting this together.

Before Lucifer could go explore, he was distracted by his precious little kitty coming to greet him. He couldn't resist showing her some love. "Hello Keekee. It's been a while since I last seen you. Oh! Razzle. Dazzle. Look how much you haven't grown. Still fun sized! Are you taking care of my wittle girl? You better be."

This? This was the King of Hell? This small, easily distracted, goofball? Alastor couldn't believe this. He expected much more from the all the rumors he heard about the royals. Suffice it to say, he was not impressed. 

"Wow... this place looks- uh... uh huh..." Lucifer was having a hard time coming up with something nice to say about the hotel. It was worn down and interestingly decorated. But this was Charlie's space, and he didn't want to be rude. Not his style but it wasn't his house, so he wasn't gonna complain. "It's got a lot of character. Oh! What in the unholy hell is that?!"

"Just some of the renovations we had done. Adds a bit of color, don't you think?"

"And you are?"

"Alastor." Appearing behind the king, the radio demon was already amused by his reactions. The expressions he made; how quick he was to turn around when he appeared behind using his shadow. This was going to be fun. "Pleasure to be meeting you, sire, quite a pleasure. It's nice to finally put a face to the name. You are much shorter in real life."

Did this guy just shake his cane then wipe his hand off after? Lucifer made a mental note to ask Charlie about that later. Who was this Alastor guy anyways? Turning to Charlie for answers, he didn't get a chance to ask anything before the sinner continued.

"I am the host of the hotel. You might have heard of me from my radio broadcast." 

God. Everything about this guy screamed overconfident alpha! Honestly, he had heard about the broadcast. Him and Charlie stumbled upon it once when she still lived with him and decided they liked it well enough to have it play as background noise to make the palace feel less empty. But against his better judgement, his instincts had him lashing out. "Nope! I guess that's why Charlie called it the Hazbin Hotel, ah ha-ha."

"Hahaha, it was actually my idea."

"Haha! Well, it's not very clever!"

"Haha! Fuck you."

"Okay!" Stepping in, the princess separated the two before things could escalate. When was the last time she had seen her dad like that? It didn't make- oh no. "Uh... Alastor. Are you wearing any scent patches?"

"Hm? No. Should I be?"

"Charlie, it's okay. Scents don't usually bother me much. If you guys are fine with his scent being out it's not a big deal." Lucifer knew that his own scent could be overpowering, especially since it had soured over the years, so he made sure to wear them to the hotel. Slowly let the people there get used to his scent instead of hitting them all at once with it. He learned his lesson from last time. 

"Oh. O-Okay. If you're sure. Just let me know if any scents bother you and we can see about how to adjust you to them."

"Sounds good, kiddo." This was honestly going better then he thought it would. Aside from that bastard alpha. Though... it was kind of fun being able to spat with someone like that. Because of his second gender and status as King of Hell, most people either coddled him or feared him. It was a nice change of pace. Not to mention how nice he smells- oh fuck. No. Nononono!

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[iantimony]

I didn't post last week's on dreamwidth or tumblr so I'm gonna combine this week's with last week's for crossposting! still in FL hell but things are moving along. look at neocities if you want it more granular by week.

2/25 - who would win: one 103-year-old or one palette of 60 water bottles ... had to jet down to old people land again to act as support and it is mega sucking. I didn't get the chance to make this post yesterday so I am actually typing this from the ER while we wait for her scans to come back hahahaha..... (scans came back while I was working on this: she has a fuuuuuucking spinal fracture. i am going to kill the ortho she saw last week.)

listening

a lot of just king things

never the muse (madilyn mei)

splendor & misery (clipping.) - duuuuuuude this album rules. rec from a discord server I'm in after a convo about how weird and racist tumblr is about rap music. jaw literally dropped at the second track.

relistened to montero lil nas x. still a good album.

reading

started haunting of hill house. first paragraph was so good that I had to put the book down for a second after reading it.

mirror life by kamran javadizadeh

born to (gen) and stress position (M) by friend B, see watching section. yayyyy fic

DeepSeek and the AI Murder Cult: rats strike again

in defense of pretension (Ayan Artan): read most of this, agreed with some of it in the vein of how intellectualism is very much out of 'style' right now, hit the line "you will never come across a well-read zionist", closed the tab in exasperation. while being well-read is good for a lot of things it does not inherently make you more moral, or vice versa. there are plenty of well-read zionists, right-wingers, liberatarians, [insert political ideology you disagree with here]. being exposed to a lot of viewpoints and art etc can influence your politics and ideology, sure, but like. I don't think equating intellectualism with morality is the move. bizarre take imo.

shamefully: I am reading homestuck, the beyond canon stuff. a friend recommended it and so I was like. sure. why not. I'm in rot zone.

watching

severance!!! it happened I finally watched s1. I have gone in knowing many of the major spoilers but it's a good enough show that it doesn't matter. halfway thru the s1 finale, was watching it with B but had to stop for Grandma Assistance and then it got too late to finish lol

creating a digital garden to end my doomscrolling (Anna Howard): where I got the first entry of 'reading'! this led me to:

Obsidian: The King of Learning Tools (Odysseas): okay this is what finally got me to download obsidian. I have been in notion land for many moons now but it just isn't cutting it for me for some of the things I want. I still think my dnd stuff and some other things will live in notion but I needed a brainstorming space and I think this will be it for me. we'll see! I've always liked the idea of commonplace books etc but I know myself and I know they won't be organized or legible and I will literally never look at them again which defeats the whole purpose imo so this is a digital and eaiser to reference version of that.

understimulating my overstimulated brain for a week (Michelle Gia): the counting rice killed me but also, tru as hell. third eye opened. etc. also really funny that she managed to choose the UHC assassination week to do this

Algorithms are breaking how we think (Technology Connections): you may be noticing a trend lol. this one made me go through and clear out my youtube subscription list of the channels that don't update/I'm not interested in any more and I plan on using that as my youtube home page instead going forward.

Drawing And Talking About Fairies (Stanilka): in a different vein, deeply charmed by these little guys.

playing

dnd....the one-shot turned 4? 5?-shot I made Vesper for is allllmost done, I think next game is the final battle so I will finally have to figure out how monk combat works after an insane amount of espionage-style play. there have been many moments where I had the thought "this would have been better in a non-dnd system" but this is the terminally dnd-brained group so...

fallow though I think I will start playing/reading miseriechord this afternoon or tomorrow.

making

back to pottery! made some new bowls:

the majolica on my fish plate and fern sake cups came out great thank god! I was a little heavy-handed on the underglaze for the fish so I tapped some clear on top and sent it back to the kiln but I think it should turn out great.

did not get pictures of this but: I have been trying to paint a dino fossil on the inside of a large decorative bowl for a while and realized that it might be easier to get the level of detail I want if I carve it in relief first and then flood that with white undergalze...I'm about halfway through scraping it into the bone-dry clay so lol we'll see how long that takes

fallow as all hell. some brainstorming for short stories I suppose

eating

fallow

oh EXTREMELY fallow. a lot of chinese takeout. publix rotisserie chicken.

moving

I think I'm removing this section actually. I might just keep a spreadsheet for myself because that means I can track numbers more easily :3

[quodekash]

its been an hour and a half and I am precisely 17 minutes through the episode. this is gonna be a long night

SO-

SO WHY-

SO WHY DIDNT YOU-

WHY THE HELL DID YOU NEVER FREAKING TALK TO YOUR SON ABOUT SOCCER BITCH????

HE'S CLEARLY INTERESTED IN IT TOO

maybe you could've talked to him about it when he was asking you about fifa

you recognised the game, and he said "do you know this game?" and instead of telling him what you know about the game, or how you used to play it, or engaging in some kind of conversation, you say "Ive seen a lot of young people playing it during my campaign" because all you seem to care about is politics and the campaign, and teenagers as a whole generic concept rather than as individuals, and you dont seem to think of your SON as an individual

and I get that parenting is mistakes over and over again and its a learning experience for everyone involved, but I feel like after 18 years maybe you should have a hang on like. holding a positive conversation with your son for over 90 seconds?

WHY THE HELL DID HE NEVER TALK TO HIS SON ABOUT SOCCER, THATS ALL I WANT TO KNOW

SURELY HE SAW SAILOM AND KANG TRAINING VIGOROUSLY FOR KANG TO TRY OUT FOR THE TEAM

HE COULDVE JUST GONE OUT THERE AND SAID "hey I used to play a lot, can I help give some pointers?" AND HE COULDVE PLAYED SOCCER WITH YOUR SON AND HAD A GOOD POSITIVE BONDING EXPERIENCE WITH HIM

BUT NO, INSTEAD HE DECIDES TO PAY TO GET KANG ON THE TEAM

and I get that he had good intentions, he saw that kang wanted to be on the team so he wanted to ensure that kang got what he wanted. but it would've been better to actually show an interest in his sons interests rather than keeping it on the sidelines, to let his son work for a reward rather than just giving it to him without having achieved anything.

sorry I need to shut up about this man but I have so many thoughts and he could be doing so much better but he just isn't

yes

yes

thank you sailom, thank you

yeah, that about sums it up

good job

you got there

finally

but even though its been so long of you neglecting him, it's not too late to try to slowly fix those broken bonds

if you both work together, you can work this out

(ah crap now ive got the song from high school musical 2 stuck in my head)

(what is it with this series and making me think of high school musical)

BRO JUST DID THE SPLITS

THATS IMPRESSIVE

are you okay my guy?

ahhhh

okay

so the root of the issue: terrible communication

juST TALK TO YOUR SON-

how very heartliming of them

noooooo the angst is already here

they had the scene PERFECTLY set up for a tender guynawa moment, and yet they dove right into the angst

guy was injured and in the nurse's office thing

when guy got injured, nawa looked so worried about him

there was a perfect opportunity for nawa to go visit him and tease him lovingly and for them to have a thuakan moment in the sickbay

but no, of course its episode 10 and of course they're following the msp formula where they develop the side couple an insane amount in episode 9 and then come episode 10 and its focused on one of the main character's and their parent

which like is fair, both this plotline and the msp episode 10 plotline are very important but like come on man I just want my side couple content

oh

oh crap that is bad

but he'll be fine

right?

he'll be okay

he's still alive right?

he's just unconscious

the ambos are there, they'll patch him up and he'll be okay

please

kang and kong need to repair their relationship, and it's not too late for that

right?

surely

crap im scared

they didnt kill gim in msp, I have to trust that they wont kill kong

istg if they make both the main characters orphans--

ha fun.

this is so fun.

I am highly amused in this present moment.

how wonderful it would be to see your boyfriend's father potentially dying, and then moments later to see your brother being restrained and taken out of the house, clearly being arrested for that exact crime.

just such a... joyous experience.

HOLY CRAP THE EPISODE STARTED AIRING TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES AGO AND IM ONLY JUST NOW ON 2/4, I HAVE A PROBLEM

SEE??? HE'S FINE, ITS FINE, I TOLD YOU IT WOULD BE FINE

ALL OF YOU WERE SO SO WORRIED BUT I WAS COMPLETELY CALM AND COLLECTED

HOY FRICK NOODLES COVERED IN GRAVY AND DOING THE NUTBUSH IM SO RELIEVED

CRAPPP

WHAT THE HELL??

it was an accident right?

or was he trying to keep name out of trouble

FRICK NOW THIS IS MAKING ME THINK OF FREAKING JUSTINE FROM SHAKE AND STIR PRODUCTION OF FRANKENSTEIN THAT I SAW AT QPAC THE OTHER DAY (which, by the way: so freaking good. if anyone happens to be in Brisbane for whatever reason (im not sure why any of you would, I have precisely two aussie bl mutuals, and one of them lives in Melbourne and the other is my irl friend who I watched it with) and you have a spare 50 bucks lying around (anyone under 30 can get a youth ticket for 49 bucks I believe, which is like insanely cheap for such a high quality production), GO SEE IT, THIS IS AN ORDER)

oh I got distracted

anyway AAAAAAA SAIFAH'S GOING TO JAIL FRICK FRICK FRICK FRICK FRICK

...great. wonderful. so good.

I get it, kang's feeling a lot right now, which is fair because his father got shot for goodness sake, and his father might die, and he's already lost his mother, so he needs someone to blame, and saifah confessed to it, so why wouldn't he be angry at saifah?

but the problem comes in with associating saifah with sailom because they're brothers. he has every right to be angry with saifah (although I still believe saifah didn't actually shoot him), but sailom didn't touch that gun.

and now sailom's gonna have to go back to escorting, because if kang has kicked him out then he needs some way to find money, and that's when that scene from the trailers is going to happen

well now I feel like crap

is it time for a playful guynawa scene to lighten the mood? please tell me its time for a playful guynawa scene to lighten the mood

what

hey

hang on

wait a second

you told him to do it, didn't you??

you asked for his help for a few things

is he just acting surprised? why does he have to say that? he doesnt have to say anything at all he could just be like "well this sucks" and not like condemn him or whatever, I still dont think saifah actually did anything wrong

maybe he was manipulated as well?

maybe the guy, his boss, snuck in and he was the one who shot him, and name didnt know that guy was there so in his mind it must've been saifah?

or maybe hes testing ging to see what she actually thinks on the situation

I have literally no clue right now im so confused

GUY

HES IN HOSPTIAL

HE JUST HAD SURGERY

SO

SO

IS NAWA GONNA SHOW UP?

WILL HE HAVE A GIFT BASKET OR SOMETHING?

PLEASE I JUST NEED SOME HAPPINESS

AND I NEED GUYNAWA

PLEASE GUYS

MAYBE ALL THE FRIENDS SHOW UP

AUTO AND MAX AND NAWA

AND THEN AUTO AND MAX EXCHANGE A LOOK AND LEAVE NAWA ALONE WITH HIM

PLS I NEED IT

AWWWWWWWW

GOU4ERHSGPI4ERBNDPGIV

I LOVE ALL OF THESE POEPLE SO MUCH

OH????

YES

YES YE SYE SY EYS EY EY EYSH OM SO EXCITEF OMG

AND THEY WERE THE ENTIRETY OF THE PREVIEW FOR 3/4

ARE WE GONNA GET A WHOLE TEN MINUTES OF JUST GUYNAWA????? PLEASEEEEE

OMG

I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE GIFT BASKET THING

BUT I WAS RIGHT ABOTU THE GIFT BASKET

THIS IS AMAZING

HES SO IN LOVE WITH HIM, HE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL ALONE TO GIVE A GIFT BASKET TO A GUY HE SUPPOSEDLY HATES BUT WHOM HE HAS HOMOEROTIC TENSION WITH

AAAAAAAAOUGHROJBD

I CANT BELIEVE I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE GIFT BASKET THIS IS FREAKING ADORABLE

BRO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE THIS LATE

and he doesnt have the gift basket anymore

has he already gone to visit guy and he's just come back

and we fully just missed an entire scene

guy only seems surprised that he's here outside of visiting hours

so they've already seen each other??? there was a whole scene of nawa giving guy the basket, and of them being queer as hell, and we didnt get to see it??????

TO THE ROOFTOP?

HONEY THIS IS A DATE

YOU'RE TAKING HIM ON ANOTHER DATE WITHOUT TELLING HIM ITS A DATE

JUST FREAKING MAKE OUT AREADY

also: the rooftop???? thats an inherently patpran thing. and patpran = soundwin. soooo... this is more evidence that guynawa are a different brand of soundwin

EVERYONE'S SO KIND TO HIM IM GONNA CRY

oh, honey...

ITS A DATE

ITS A FRIKIN DATE

THIS IS A FRIKIN DATE

HOLY FRICK

idk, maybe itll be easier to spot if you kiss first

2 hours of them just sitting there in silence?? when they couldve been kissing or holding hands or something?

NOOO I RAN OUT OF IMAGES HANG ON GUYNAWA JUST GIMME A SEC

(ps I forgot to actually post this one, I accidentally saved it as a draft so its coming after the final post I made lmao)

[cru5h-cascades]

LORE-fi Bag: Corrine's Journal (Part 2)

Part 2 baybeee

I should have written this in part 1 but I'm skipping around in these journal entries. I'm just writing the more story relevant entries.

August 29, 2015

Em's birthday was yesterday so as a gift I helped him get his name legally changed. Surprisingly enough he got both his first name AND last name changed. I guess he just wants to distance himself from his shitty dad as much as possible. I wouldn't blame him. But he was pretty happy after he got the paperwork done. After that we went out for an ice cream cake and I gave Em two other presents: a walkman and a tape deck. Em's also pretty interested in the ancient tech I have around the house so I figured maybe he'd probably like those too. I showed him the blank cassette tapes I have and told him he can use the tape deck to burn music onto those so he can listen to them on the walkman. He really likes that thing...

January 1, 2016

I gave Em a music box last night. I guess you could call it a late xmas present. He loves it. He played before he went to sleep after midnight. His childlike soul strikes again.

I can't help but notice Em's little mannerisms. How curious he gets about new things I bring into the house that I find while I'm out. How he has the tendency to sleep on me sometimes while we're watching TV on the couch late at night, among other things. If my parents met him they'd probably tell him to grow up or something like that. To me, those little things about him are kind of cute. He's a silly lil' guy. It's like having a big ol' cat in the house. And I like that.

May 13, 2016

So the Regina Spektor CDs I ordered came in yesterday and, as usual, Em wanted to know what was on the CDs. He played my copy of Far all. Night. He played the song Eet on that album an unholy amount of times. Oh Em... what am I going to do with you?

July 10, 2017

Em and I are gonna try making music together. I'm not really sure why it's taken me this long to make a song again. It's been a few years since I wrote Balloon Flowers and I had fun writing it. About time I started working on new music. Who knows. Maybe we could get famous off of our music. That'd be pretty cool.

But then again... Em's dad is still alive, at least as far as him and I know. If we got famous he'd probably find out. And I don't want to even consider what could happen if he did. From what Em told me about him that guy is literally the devil but instead of a pitchfork in hand he's got a beer bottle. He's probably not too happy about his son running away from home. If we do get famous... I just hope that he stays the hell away from Em.

August 4, 2017

Em's been pulling all nighters every now and then for weeks now, trying to make music. Honestly, the music he makes is pretty cool. I haven't even figured out how to make music like he does on my own. I'm jealous of him lol. But it's fine. As long as we're making music together I'm happy. But I really wonder... why does he keep staying up late to learn music stuff? Is it just to impress me? I guess that's just another "emi-isim" of his.

April 14, 2018

Em and I found this huge flower field today. I've never seen that many flowers out in the wild. It was incredible. Em brought his sketchbook and charcoal pencils and did an impressive drawing of one of the flowers we found over there. Is there anything this man can't do?

November 5, 2021

BIG NEWS. THIS ONE LADY WHO WORKS AT ONE OF THE THEATERS IN TOWN IS ORGANIZING AN EVENT HAPPENING NEXT MONTH AND WHILE AT WORK SHE CAME UP TO ME AND OFFERED ME A SPOT IN THE CONCERT. I SAID YES RIGHT THEN AND THERE. AAAAH!!! SO EXCITED!!! I NEED TO START PRACTICING FOR THE CONCERT!!!

December 10, 2021

Today's the day!! What might possibly be my big break! Em's out of the apartment right now. He said he'd be there in the theater before we start performing. Em's been acting... weird lately. Like he's planning something. Before he left he told me he had a surprise for me but I had to wait until the concert was over to get it. Goddamnit don't make me wait, Em! Well, I'm sure whatever he's got planned, it's going to be absolutely incredible. Em knows me too well. I hope he likes the concert. I wish both of us could be up there. Em deserves it. For everything he's done for me. I couldn't even imagine what life would have been like if I hadn't found him out on the streets that one day. But one thing's for sure... he's made my life so much better than how it was when I lived in Greensburg. He made me feel more free than I've ever felt before. I feel like I could die happy just knowing that I let Em into my life and we raised each other up. Gotta love Emio...

Ah! I need to start getting ready for the concert! I'll write a little bit more later. I can't wait to see what Em has in store for me!

[grimmgrinningghouls]

I'm back from GxK!! heres my thoughts

I sadly had quite a bit spoiled but nothing can compare to seeing the movie in person, it was sooo much cooler in the theatre.

I kinda knew going in there wouldn't be much Goji, but I did really like when he was on screen. and tbh I don't quite get why people are villainizing him so hard for killing Scylla?? Like she was just destroying things for funzies. She was causing unneeded destruction so Godzilla had enough of her shit and took her out. Tiamat I can kinda understand but she also could've just ran away instead of fighting him.

His evolved design grew on me HARD, like I almost prefer it to his original design. The pink was soooo cool and I loved the look of his atomic breath, I even liked him being thinner. I adored the glowing eyes too, like that was so fucking cool. I do kinda wish we saw him using his thagomizer but I liked it nevertheless, for me its not about how much we see Godzilla, its about how he's used and I feel like he was used pretty well in this movie.

And I'd also like to issue a formal apology to Kong and his fans. I wasn't familiar with his game. Godzillas still my boy but I ended up really liking Kong, his story was really heartfelt. You could really empathize and relate to Kong throughout the movie, his story, emotions, and everything about him made me really like him, I also loved his bond with Suko.

this is also the first time I've genuinely liked the human characters in a monsterverse movie, really the first time I've actively wanted more of them. Loved Bernie and Trapper, more then I expected too. I assumed Trapper was just gonna be obnoxious since he was in the trailers but I really liked him. Bernie too, liked him a lot more then in GvK. I also ended up liking Jia a lot more then I expected too, she was a cool character. I liked her bonds and connections to the titans.

I do wish we saw more Mothra, but she was great when she was on screen. Loved seeing her and Godzilla on screen together again, I'd love to learn more about Mothra lore in the MV tbh.

As for villains, Skar king was pretty cool. He kinda got shat on in all the trailers so he caught me off guard seeing how ruthless he was, I wouldn't put him above Ghidorah but he was cool. I also liked Shimo and her big ass forehead, her size caught me off guard too, girlies massive. Visibly bigger then both Godzilla and Kong. I genuinely felt bad for her and seeing her get freed + find a new life as Kongs friend made me smile a bit.

I liked (most of) the fights too! I really liked the hollow earth 0 gravity fight, especially Godzillas part in it. I am for sure someone who prefers when the kaiju feel massive and have a ton of weight behind them, but that fight was so cool, Goji was badass and I loved seeing his evolved form in action.

The only fight I didn't like was the fight with Scylla, a 900,000 ton animal cannot move like that. That was a bit too silly even for me, and don't get me wrong I love a bit of silly monster fighting but meh. The godzilla suplex was funny as hell though, for sure unrealistic but funny so it passes. I liked the comedy a lot in the movie tbh, more then the other movies.

Also rq, I don't get why yall were calling the movie ugly?? Like some scenes kinda but it didn't look bad at all. The cgi was fine with me and I don't see why people called it a ps4 game, some shots were a bit wonky but not enough for me to really give a shit.

Overall? pretty good movie, I feel like the pacing could slow down a bit but I genuinely enjoyed myself a lot and had a total blast watching the movie. There was never a dull moment and I'd give it a solid 8/10.

[mika-mania]

My unfiltered first reaction to the album (and reading the lyrics)

Bougez:

Great start

Would normally never listen to sth like this but because it‘s Mika I love it?

I am INTO this, it's so stupid

(The bridge about god telling him to move in heaven lol)

Jane Birkin:

This has grown on me

The chorus is permanently stuck in my head

Sweetie Banana:

I… don't know

But the soft "bye bye"s are killing me

What the hell is this about

The only thing I understand is "I know your address" which is very ominous

("Candy in my bath" I'm sorry WHAT)

("All these words of love remain to be peeled" I am WHEEZING)

Apocalypse Calypso:

I do like this, still don't love it though

30 Secondes:

The sound is a bit too cheesy for me I think

The chorus IS nice ok

This is sth I'd listen to on repeat if I was in the right mood but would never admit

("You're like a bomb" um ok)

(He's talking about heaven and hell again uh-oh)

C'est la Vie:

God I hate this

I'd skip but promised myself I'd listen to the whole thing the way it's intended

Ok I don't HATE it, it just does absolutely nothing for me

Moi, Andy et Paris:

The beginning is so romantic WHAT

Oh this is such a vibe

Absolutely adooore ❤️

Every time he says "Andy" I grow stronger

At the end he sings "I love you but not him" WTF Mika (this was a betrayal by google translate, he is actually saying "I love you but he doesn't" phew)

Je sais que je t'aime:

The whisper part is so cringe I'm sorry

The rest is beautiful

The line "I hope life forgives us even if god has abandoned us" is still the saddest thing on the album for me

Ohhh the strings I loovee

(Every time I think a song is about Andy it turns out to be about his mum. This one is very sad though)

Doucement:

Mhm not sure tbh

I do like the chorus

Not obsessed yet though

(Not sure what or who this is about. Possibly depression and suicide)

Touche Touche:

Finally my fave from the teasers let's go

God this gives me energy, is this gonna replace Touches You as the song I listen to on repeat when I need a mood booster

Omg the sound of loading the gun in the second pre-chorus, this guy is insane

(Pure sensual filth. Like Tomorrow, BBB and Ice Cream combined. I love it)

("Prends ma main pour un slow" a slow what?! :O)

Amour Pirate:

I'm soo curious about these lyrics

Whyy did I learn Italian instead of brushing up on my French

Melody is simple but I'm not hooked (yet)

("Stolen treasure is not catholic" what)

(Aw so sweet, I AM an undiscovered treasure)

(I think he's telling us to take more risks in order to find love and he might not be wrong)

Passager:

Again nice but more about the lyrics I think

I wasn't expecting this many ballads

An unusually soft Mika album (not complaining)

I do wonder how that's gonna translate to a gig though since they are usually so high energy

Did he just say "Je parle francais et anglais"?! I'm dead (I found out later he does not, he says "un anglais")