#so they took out a part of the story to fit in the 90 minutes they got. whatever . it wasnt Bad . glove scene Fixed Some Things

[fujouppy]

okay switched to my laptop i can try to write down some thoughts now

[megu-meow]

Bulls**t - Gojo Satoru

gojo satoru x non-specified reader

I don’t think I used any gender specific pronouns or character descriptions, however, I have written this with female reader in mind.

Summary: Gojo Satoru is the king of making up stuff. There is one thing he keeps saying that is actually true tho.

Gojo Satoru is a knowledgeable guy, especially when it comes to Jujutsu sorcery and the history of it. He is also the type of person to have many interests. He spends hours learning about his favorite topics and has an opinion about everything. When people bring up stuff he doesn't know about he listens carefully and is deeply invested in the conversation, and once he has enough free time he will read and learn everything about the subject matter so that the next time he can be an active part of the conversation. That is the sole reason why people never question all the random shit he says. You see, Gojo Satoru enjoys messing with people more than anything. Hence, he makes up random facts and stories and he is insanely talented in delivering them with such confidence that they are easy to believe.

One time in high school he managed to convince Shoko that the famous J-Pop idol from the late 90s, Ayumi Hamasaki, was his half-sister. He spent 15 minutes explaining to the young healer that before his mother met his father, she had an affair with a man from Fukuoka named Netero Hamasaki and got pregnant. According to Gojo, his mother was young and had to give up on the child, but Hamasaki-san was more than willing to raise her with his wife who was unable to have children. The special grade sorcerer also explained to his classmate that his mother and Netero were not getting along, because after Ayumi became famous they started ignoring the rest of the family and they became too full of themselves. Shoko listened to Satoru's words in awe, eating up every single word leaving his lips. Two days later, a very excited Yu Haibara approached him, begging for an autograph from Ayumi, which resulted in Gojo telling everyone the truth, resulting in a deeply annoyed and humiliated Shoko.

In another instance, he made Megumi believe that he was supposed to have a pelican Shikigami right after he got his demon dogs. He also showed the young, impressionable boy a series of goofy hand gestures and dance moves that were "supposed to summon the pelican, the most powerful shikigami of the Zenin clan's ten shadows technique". Poor Megumi spent a week going around night and day, doing the insane moves taught by the special-grade idiot who was supposed to take care of him, but the pelican never appeared. However, Gojo enjoyed the situation way too much, bursting out in uncontrollable fits of laughter every time he caught the raven-haired boy while he was trying with all his might to summon his second Shikigami. Thankfully, Principal Yaga cleared the air one time he was taking care of the child while Gojo was out on a mission, however, Megumi never asked Satoru to help him with his technique again.

During their second year, as he and Geto were bored out of their minds with the recent missions they were sent to, the two convinced the higher-ups that they encountered a special-grade curse that injected them with some kind of venom that took away their cursed technique until further notice. This scheme included Shoko as well as she was the one to forge a medical report, claiming that a few days off in Okinawa or any beachy environment would make the toxins release from their bodies faster. The young healer made sure that she was included in the trip claiming that constant medical attention was an absolute must in the current situation. They spent a total of 10 days not doing anything on Jujutsu Tech's account.

Recently, as an assistant teacher, you witnessed how Gojo Satoru tried to convince the first years to do his chores, claiming that it would make them stronger. Yuji didn't question this ridiculous statement, given his circumstances of recently learning about the mere existence of the Jujutsu World, however, Nobara and Megumi knew better, instantly protesting doing his chores. Gojo Satoru is determined as fuck tho, so he managed to spend 30 minutes trying to change the stubborn children's minds until you intervened and dismissed them from class.

"Oh, c'mon sweetheart, I was about to break them." he whined, following you to the teacher's lounge like a lost puppy.

"You shouldn't lie to teenagers like that, Gojo. Especially not Yuji, he's in a vulnerable state, and he will believe everything you say. I know you like to come up with the most unhinged stuff, but one would think that your students were the limit of your idiotic shenanigans." you chastise.

"Everyone thinks my lies are funny though!" he exclaims, his voice laced with fake hurt.

"I doubt that." you whisper, your mind drifting towards all of the instances he claimed that he liked you and wanted to take you out on a date. You knew better than to believe anything coming out of his mouth, especially when he used the tone he always uses when he tries to sell one of his elaborate stories. You had to protect yourself from falling for him or his lies after all.

"What's wrong?" he asks. He recognizes a shift in your cursed energy, it falters and he knows you well enough to able to tell that it's because you're sad.

"Nothing, leave me alone, Gojo!"

"Nu-uh, you're the love of my life, I have to know who or what made you upset so that I can blast them across the universe with Hollow Purple."

"Stop lying, Gojo!"

"You think I'm lying??? I would never lie about my feelings for you!" he exclaims, now he's offended.

"Bullshit!"

"What do you mean bullshit?! I've liked you since day one, y/n!" he steps closer to you, lifting your chin up so that he can look you in your eyes. You are surprised to notice that his blindfold is lowered to sit around his neck, his cerulean eyes on full display. The two crystalline orbs reflect nothing but honesty and you even question how he was ever able to sell any of his lies when his eyes seem to be telling the truth at all times. Of course, he's always covering them when he's about to come up with his most unhinged stories, however, now he's confessing the most important truth of his life. "Do you believe me now, sweetheart?" he asks, his voice breaking, afraid of rejection. You nod shyly, blushing as you realize how close his pretty lips are to yours.

"Can I kiss you?" he asks enthusiastically and you don't answer, you just eliminate the small distance between you two, inviting his lips into a sweet dance with yours. His arms wrap around your hips, pulling you closer, savoring the moment he's been dreaming about for years.

Gojo Satoru has many made-up stories and anecdotes to share, but none of them can compete with the story of your first kiss. That's one he'll be telling for a long time.

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Part 8.1! Sorry it took me so long, but I didn’t want to rush trying to finish it and it not turn out how I wanted so thank you for waiting ☺️ this part is very self indulgent, we will be back to our regularly scheduled plot in part 8.2

Pairings: Jake Kiszka X Danny Wagner *Slash babes

Tags and warnings: 18+ ONLY, please for the love of god minors not here, heavy smut including: lots of fingering, oral, strong suggestive talk, bathtub sex stuff… if I missed anything please let me know

Word count: 4.7k

Vacation Day 1

It’s was only 8:30AM, Jake had just dropped Luna off for her last half-week of school, drove by that overhyped artisanal cafe he’d been avoiding since it opened this spring, gotten himself an overpriced coffee and a little breakfast, and already made it back home. The coffee was good, he had to admit, as he sipped his paper cup while sitting on the couch and flipping through the channels on the TV trying to find something that caught his attention.

Nothing seemed to pique his interest, he wasn’t much of a TV watcher these days unless it consisted of princesses and fantasy stories fit for a toddler. Thankfully it was pretty easy to convince Luna to watch movies Jake remembered from his childhood. It was a bonding experience for the both of them, Jake was able to reminisce about his childhood while Luna formed her own core memories of staying up late and watching ‘old’ 90s movies with Dad.

He hadn’t checked his phone all morning, his last text sent the night before consisting of planning on seeing Danny in the morning after he finished up what he had to do at the shop. It wasn’t like Jake hadn’t seen Danny at all these past two weeks. He’d seen him at soccer practice, even had lunch with him Saturday afternoon on the field, but overall they had both been pretty busy leading up to today.

Besides a few stolen kisses, playful brushes of fingertips against modestly exposed skin, and longing looks, they had been holding in their desire for each other knowing it would all cultivate to this week together, and Jake was buzzing from the anticipation.

His leg bounced and he chewed a tiny piece of fingernail on his thumb as he stared at the TV, his mind too preoccupied to register what he was even watching. Instead it was entirely filled with thoughts of Danny and what they’d do when he finally came over. How long would what he had to do at the shop take? Jake knew that Danny had gone in Saturday night and all day Sunday to make up for taking off this week, hopefully whatever it was wouldn’t take long, but Jake told himself to be patient and wait.

Over an hour passed, and Jake hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep on the couch until his phone buzzed next to him. Normally a simple text message wouldn’t wake him, but the awkward position he was in with his head having fallen back and the excitement he felt made him jolt forward.

Finally, a text from Danny.

Good morning, just finishing up here

9:50AM

Morning

Having some coffee waiting for you

9:52AM

Sorry for keeping you waiting, I hope I can make it up to you

Want to do me a favor?

9:53AM

A favor? Interesting.

For you? I guess I can

9:54AM

Great. Go run a bath, get in, relax

I’ll be there in 20 minutes

9:54AM

Twenty minutes. Another twenty minutes of waiting, but not long at all. Jake jumped up from his resting place, the blood pumping through his body at a faster rate. Danny wanted him to take a bath, whatever for? Well probably for obvious reasons, maybe Danny was just as eager to start their little vacation as he was.

Though he’d already showered last night before bed he decided a bath did sound appealing, and made his way to his bedroom. Once undressed, Jake ran the water, letting it get hotter than necessary so that it would still be warm by the time Danny arrived.

Twenty minutes turned to ten, ten turned to five, and Jake stepped into the tub, wincing as the steaming water slightly burned his skin. He settled into the liquid heat, leaning against the porcelain and letting his eyes flutter closed again, though there was no way he’d be falling asleep now.

The silence in the bathroom was deafening, only the light swishing of the water as it rippled out from Jake’s restless body and broke against the white walls surrounding him. When Danny finally arrived, Jake could hear him in the bedroom, placing what sounded like an overnight bag down on the floor, then trying to sneak to the door.

He kept his eyes closed, pretending like he hadn’t noticed him enter, until Danny leaned over and placed a kiss to his temple. “Hi” he whispered, not wanting to interrupt Jake’s peace.

“Hi” Jake replied, distrusting the surface of his bathwater to reach a hand out and cup Danny’s face, guiding him in for a real kiss.

“Did I make you wait too long?” Danny asked with a smirk.

“No, unless you don’t get in here with me in about five seconds”.

“Thought you’d never ask”. He straightened up, pulling his t-shirt off and unbuckling his pants as Jake watched in amusement. Danny tapped Jake’s shoulder, getting him to slide forward so he could climb in behind him, wrapping his arms around Jake’s and pulling him against his chest. “Are you comfortable?” His voice returned to a whisper as his lips brushed against Jake’s ear exposed by his dampened hair.

“Hmm, I am now” Jake responded, leaning his head back against Danny’s shoulder and kissing at his neck.

“Good, I was worried you’d be anxious. That’s why I suggested the bath, it’s calming”.

“You think it’s working?” Jake played, finding one of Danny’s hands and bringing it to his sternum. “Am I calm?”

“You are” Danny chuckled, his saintly voice echoing off the walls like they would inside a marble chapel, “let’s see how long that lasts”. He used his other hand to tilt Jake’s head further, meeting him in a deep kiss.

Jake returned it tenfold, parting his lips and waiting for Danny to do the same so he could slip his tongue inside. Danny hand eased across Jake’s Jake’s chest, blindly finding one of his nipples and giving it a hard pinch, so hard Jake jerked a little from the pain, but then his voice came out in a weak moan that had Danny smiling against his lips.

His hand trailed further, dipping into the water for a moment making Jake think he was heading towards the ache that was building between his legs, but Danny only cupped some of the hot water into his hand and brought it back up to run down Jake’s chest again.

“There’s another reason I suggested a bath” Danny spoke up after a few times of splashing the water onto him.

“Oh?” Jake replied, his own question in his tone.

“You want me to show you?”

Jake bit his lip and nodded his head, letting the steam fog his mind and carry his senses past the helplessness he felt in this unfamiliar position and allow him to float somewhere towards arousal.

Danny’s hand dipped back into the water, only this time he didn’t stop there. He ran an open palm over Jake’s length causing him to stir and buck his hips for more pressure, but he didn’t stay there long. Continuing further he gathered his balls into his hand, giving them a gentle squeeze. Jake groaned, not used to having his junk manhandled, though not exactly opposed to it either.

Without a word of hesitance from Jake, Danny straightened out two fingers, two fingers just long enough to find his entrance. “Is this okay? How do you feel?”

“S’okay” Jake slurred his words, his brows furrowing in concentration.

“Just relax now baby. I’m gonna take my time with you, okay?”

Those words in that tone coming from anyone else’s mouth and Jake would have been fiery hot, exclaiming that he could handle it and didn’t need to be coddled, but from Danny it felt different. He knew Danny wasn’t speaking to him this way to belittle him, or make him feel embarrassed, but only to make sure Jake knew that he was actually in charge and Danny was here to do his bidding.

The tip of Danny’s middle finger pressed inside, just up to the first knuckle before he stopped and let Jake adjust to the feeling. When he did, he added more pressure, pushing in until he had one finger completely inside him.

“See, not so bad right?” He allowed some lightheartedness in his voice, to lighten the mood that he felt was heavier than the condensation that stuck to their overwarm skin.

“No s’not, but I can feel you against my back and you’re much bigger than just a finger Dan” Jake countered with his own humor, making Danny laugh, jostling both their bodies and the water.

“You’re right, but we’ve got to start one at a time”. With Jake temporarily distracted he pulled out just a little bit, before easing back in, making Jake’s breath catch and his hips wiggle.

“Okay, that felt like something”.

“What? This?” Danny pulled out even further, all the way until he was almost free, then in all the way again. “Feels like me fingering you in the bathtub? Cause that’s what’s happening”.

“Fuck, I can’t really believe it but yeah, you are” Jake looked back at Danny with nothing but pure admiration in his eyes and Danny nearly snapped, he would have swallowed Jake whole if he could but he needed to keep his composure. He settled instead with kissing him again, locking their lips together as he pumped his finger back in and out, drinking down all his pretty little moans and whimpers until he positioned another finger and started to press it inside as well.

Jake’s moans stopped, and Danny felt him tense up on top of him. “Does it hurt?” he retreated a little, going back to just one finger for a moment and allowing the other to just rest alongside.

“No” Jake expelled with the breath he’d been holding in, though his body still laid stiffer than before.

“Hey,” Danny paused again, making sure he had Jake’s full attention, “I’m not gonna stop unless you ask me to, so you don’t have to hide it. I want to learn your body, find what you like, and when I do I’m gonna make you feel so good”.

Jak willed himself to be calm again, the water had cooled off by now but it was still warm enough to relax his muscles, “alright, keep going”.

Danny kissed his neck and started to move again, the sanctuary of trust he’d created in Jake's bathroom being filled with the sounds of his panting and the displacement of water. Jake closed his eyes and let himself drift again, trying to pay no mind to the second finger he felt prodding at his entrance again. When he gave in and allowed Danny to use two fingers, a groan ripped from somewhere deep within him, somewhere untouched and unclaimed. Danny was claiming it now, as he sucked a colorful pedal into the delicate skin of his neck and pressed both his fingers in even harder. Jake peaked on eye open and watched the muscles in Danny’s forearm flex as he reached over his body as far as he could.

“Touch yourself” Danny mumbled between gentle kisses and not so easy nibbles of his teeth against Jake’s ear lobe.

Jake followed his instruction and removed one of his hands from the edges of the tub he hadn’t even realized he’d held a death grip on, giving himself a few slow and easy tugs. The combination of Danny’s fingers, his mouth, and Jake’s own hand working together in a trifecta of stimulation make Jake start to quiver despite the sweat that accumulated on his brow and upper lip.

Jake slumped against Danny’s frame, imagining that the caress of water all around him was Danny’s touch enveloping his entire body. “Danny” the name slipped from his lips in a breathy moan.

“Say it again” Danny instructed.

“Hmm?” Jake responded, like he couldn’t recall what it was he’d even said, then he heard it echoing in his head. “Danny… Danny… Danny”. He repeated like a mantra, the slopping sounds their combined hands at work on him made for a steady background.

“Good, when you cum you say my name”.

Jake slowed his stroking, fighting with the band in his lower stomach that had been pulled taught and was ready to snap. “But, I want to with you”.

“Don’t worry about that now, there will be plenty of time later”. He wrapped his free hand around Jake’s, encouraging him to keep pleasuring himself. “I’m not going anywhere”.

Jake relented, giving into his own temptations, and with one more breathy moan “Danny” sang throughout the room.

Vacation Day 2

Monday was a dream, and by the time Jake woke up Tuesday, the alarm to take Luna to school going off, he rolled over to see Danny’s back as he slept peacefully alongside him in bed. The navy blue silk sheets were back, and they cascaded in smooth waves across the shape of his form underneath.

Jake reached a hand out, finding warm skin to glide his fingertips across, feeling the way muscles flexed over shoulder blades as Danny stirred and rolled onto his stomach.

“Good morning” Jake smiled at the way Danny’s face smushed against the pillow and his dark brows hung over sleepy eyes.

“Morning” he replied, his words muffled and groggy. “Do you always get up this early?”

“Yes,” Jake chuckled, remembering what it used to be like to sleep in occasionally, “I’ve got to take Luna to school. Stay here and get some more sleep, it’ll only take me about twenty minutes”.

“No, no, I’m up” Danny groaned and shifted his weight onto his arms, only to throw one over Jake’s torso and flop back down onto him. “On second thought I think I might need a kiss to wake me up”.

“You’re worse than the toddler”.

“Did I ever say that I wasn’t?”

“Fine”.

Jake grabbed both sides of Danny’s face and gave him a quick peck on the lips hoping that would be enough to satiate this beast he’d found himself trapped underneath, he hadn’t gotten up to brush his teeth yet after all. Of course Danny wasn’t satisfied. With one hand he squeezed Jake’s hip and pouted his lips for more.

“Mmm” that’s better Danny grinned after Jake gave him a real kiss. “So, we wake the little one?”

With Luna dropped off at school, Jake and Danny made it back to the house without any extra stops. After sharing a pot of coffee in the kitchen Jake meandered his way into his study, picking out an acoustic from his collection that rested against the far wall. He turned to head back into the living room, but stopped and reached into one of the drawers of his desk, finding what he was looking for right on top and sticking it into his pocket.

“Here” he placed the wooden stringed instrument into Danny’s hands who looked up at him with wide round eyes like he was a deer caught in headlights. “You said you played. I don’t have yours fixed yet so you can play one of mine”.

“Mid morning jam sesh? Is that what Jake is in the mood for today? Here I was thinking we were headed right back into the bedroom” Danny teased, though he put the guitar into position in his lap and placed his fingers on the fretboard.

“Shut up, I’m good for more than just sex” Jake replied, pulling the chair on the opposite side of the living room a little closer. “Come on, serenade me first then you might get into my pants again later”.

Danny looked up with a cocky smile on his face and raised brows as he strummed the first chord. That was a wager he was willing to make.

Jake’s lips pulled into a smile, the long familiar sound of guitar strings vibrating that particular sweet spot in his ear. He listened for a moment as Danny played, a little tentatively at first but quickly gaining the self-assurance to go along with his confidence as Jake started to tap his foot and nod his head.

Once Danny reached the peak of the song he was playing, Jake pulled the solid little rectangle out of his pocket and started to blow against the reeds. Danny's eyes shot up from where they had focused on his fingers gliding across the strings, taken aback but not at all surprised that Jake knew how to play the harmonica.

He shook his head but continued strumming with a smile on his face as Jake added his own flair and rhythm to his playing. After a good few minutes of jamming together Danny’s hands slowed to a stop and he met Jake’s passional gaze. Like they’d both been thinking the same thing, Danny set the guitar down beside him and Jake tossed the harmonica onto the couch before he stood up and jumped into Danny’s arms.

Danny picked Jake up just as their lips connected, carrying him down the hallway and into the bedroom. Jake kept his legs wrapped around Danny’s waist as they fell onto the bed together, his quick hands already at work pushing his shirt up his chest and unbuttoning his pants.

Matching Jake’s enthusiasm, Danny was able to get his pants undone as well and just as soon as they had a bit of room to work with he lowered his body weight down, Jake groaning at the delicious friction their combined grinding caused.

“Wait, wait hold on a sec” Danny broke away, his chest already heaving and his pupils blown wide as he looked down at Jake sprawled out on the bed with a buldge already hiding not so shyly behind his boxers, so open and eager for him. “Fuck, give me five seconds I’ll be right back”.

“Where the hell are you going?” Jake protested, sitting up on his elbows to watch as Danny crawled off the bed and hurried over to his overnight bag sitting where he’d left it last on top of the dresser. He unzipped the front pocket and reached his hand inside, pulling out a tube of lube that he’d thoughtfully packed this time. “We’re gonna need this”.

Jake swallowed hard, his heart rate spiking when Danny returned and finished pulling their clothes off.

“You ready?” Danny asked once he’d gotten comfortable between Jake’s legs, one hand slicked up with the lube and the other grazing up and down the side of Jake’s outer thigh.

“Yeah, yeah I am” Jake answered, trying to keep his breathing smooth and steady. Now that he somewhat knew what to expect he was calmer, but still nervous nonetheless, nervous of the initial sting and pressure, but knowing it’d fade away soon and that Danny would take care of him. Was this finally going to be it? Was he going to have Danny the way he’d dreamed of? Just last night his thoughts when falling asleep in bed together were plagued with the image of Danny lying on top of him, his face twisted in pleasure as he buried himself balls deep.

A cool slick finger circled around Jake’s entrance, teasing him a bit while also allowing him to prepare to accept the intrusion. One finger slipped inside and Jake sighed, his back arching off the bed as he wiggled his hips and slid down further into Danny’s lap.

“More, Danny” Jake breathily asked, not quite a beg but still a plea with Danny to hold true to his words and make him feel good.

Danny positioned his second finger, watching Jake’s face intently for any sign of discomfort before pushing both in together. If there was any pain, Jake didn’t show it. In fact all tension in his expression diminished and his body went slack just before a long drawn out moan crawled its way from his chest.

Danny mistook it for a cry at first, quickly trying to sooth his lover with his free hand smoothing his palm over Jake’s side, but when he saw Jake’s leaking tip jump from his stomach a fire ignited in Danny’s own groin. His hand left Jake’s thigh and took hold of his length starting a quick steady motion. “I’ve told you how skilled I am with my hands?”

“Mmm, you are” Jake replied letting Danny unravel him stroke by stroke, and by each push of his fingers inside. Another moan ripped out, his legs already starting to tremble from the pleasure.

“That’s it, let me hear that beautiful voice”. With Jake so abstracted Danny tested him with one more finger. The lube he’d bought specifically for its claim on the label to be ‘long lasting’ helped all three fingers ease in. With his right hand he kept stretching him, easy at first then harder as he loosened up, all the while his left never failed the pace he’d set with the pumping of his fist.

Once Danny knew Jake could take all three fingers, he eased up, switching back to only two which he hooked upwards, directing his attention now at trying to find that special spot. Jake nearly choked on his moans when Danny hit it dead on, the tips of his fingers pressing against those nerves so deep within him that his back involuntarily arched off the mattress again.

Jake’s voice failed him when Danny hit it a second time, his mouth just hanging open with nothing coming out, but a string of expletives running rampant throughout his mind. Just when Jake thought he was going to break, his eyes rolling back before fluttering closed, Danny’s grip tightened on his base and his thumb hooked around to squeeze the underside of his balls like a makeshift cockring.

“No- fuck!” Jake shouted, his eyes snapping back open as he looked down to see why Danny had stopped him at the precipice of orgasm.

Danny only smiled an evil smile and leaned over to kiss the tip of Jake’s nose. “You’re gonna have to go for longer than that if we’re gonna cum together baby” he snickered, then slowly loosened his vice grip now that he knew he had Jake back from the edge.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Jake bemoaned, his patience growing as thin as the line he tread towards climax.

Danny had been fully intent on making love to Jake this time, he certainly seemed ready- his cheeks and chest flush with arousal and want, but Danny got tangled up in his focus on Jake’s body which lay sprawled across his bed like an arachnid waiting to capture a prey in its web.

Danny was that prey, had been since the first time he met Jake. Only then he thought he was the one who’d be doing the hunting. Thought it would be a challenge to win over the single Dad his sister had claimed to be unattainable based off his recent dating history. Now Danny knew that he was the one who’d been caught, as he set aside his own desires to satisfy this arcane man he’d easily come to be so fond of.

Danny worked both his hands at the same time again, and when Jake started to trash his head back and forth, fighting off the impending release less Danny come to an abrupt stop again. “You can cum now” Danny chuckled, impressed by how well Jake behaved of him, even if he was struggling to contain it.

Jake’s body locked into position and his head fell back into the pillows, a look of peace washing over his face as he was able to let go. Once Jake started to cum Danny stopped stroking him but continued pumping his fingers in and out, watching in awe as he continued to cum and ride out his high until he was nearly sobbing from the stimulation.

“I haven’t cum that hard in a long time” Jake laughed weakly as he tried to catch his breath, smiling up at the ceiling with a dazed and glossed over expression.

“Well I’m glad I could be of assistance” Danny smiled back, pulling his fingers free slowly so he could lay back down next to him, his arms and wrists tired from the exertion though it was well worth the reward of seeing Jake so blissed out and happy.

Jake was happy, but a pang of guilt shot through him when he over and saw Danny still achingly hard, yet to be touched. Though he still felt weak in the knees Jake rolled over and climbed on top of him before scattering kisses across his chest. “What can I do for you?”

Danny reached over and slid his hand that wasn’t still covered in leftover lube underneath Jake’s chin, pulling him up to lock lips with him in a passionate kiss. “What do you want to do for me?”

“I want to make you feel good too” Jake answered, reaching between their bodies to give him a few exploratory tugs.

“I’m at your mercy Jake, do your worst”.

Continuing his kisses back down Danny’s neck and across his collar, Jake slid further down paying no mind to where he was going, just letting his mouth wander wherever on Danny’s body he whimed until finally he reached his naval. The black and silver jewelry tempted him to stay there, the trail of dark hair tickling his nose as he brushed his lips back and forth against his skin that smelled like tea tree body wash paired with sweat and his natural pheromones that Jake found innately attractive. He moved even lower though, coming face to face with Danny’s impressive girth, taking a deep breath as he considered how to go about this seemingly impossible task.

Danny, patient as ever, didn’t seem bothered by Jake’s momentary hesitance. He only watched curiously as Jake took him in one hand and gave a long lick from base to tip, letting his tongue swirl over his head to taste him fully. When Jake gathered the resolve, he took him fully into his mouth, just a little at a time as he worked out in his mind how to slacken his jaw and tighten his lips.

Danny groaned and bucked his hips taking Jake by surprise, but he managed to hold back the gag that threatened to surface, a little spit dribbling from his mouth instead and dripping down onto Danny’s balls. With Jake’s hair still down, a strand fell into his face and he tried to flick it out of the way until Danny reached over and gathered it all in his fist to hold it up for him.

Giving a good blow job wasn’t an easy skill to have Jake knew, and his mind criticized every wrong move he thought he made, but when Danny let out a whimper he looked up through his lashes he saw how fucked out Danny was and his heart swelled with pride.

”I’m so close already”. Danny’s grip on Jake's hair tightened, a warning that it wasn’t going to be much longer before he was finishing. Jake popped off, replacing his mouth with his hand again and vigorously kept pumping his fist over his entire length until finally Danny was cumming, a couple of drops getting on his face before he pulled away. Danny let go of Jake’s hair but reached over and swiped his thumb across his cheek where he’d gotten him dirty. Jake grabbed his wrist and brought his thumb to his mouth wrapping his lips around it just like he had his cock only seconds ago, and sucked it clean.

“Fuck Jake, you’re not going to be able to get me to leave if you’re gonna do that for me”.

“Good”. Jake moved to lay back down, Danny opening his arms for him and pulling him close to his side. “I don’t want you leaving any time soon”.

“I’m staying right here,” Danny kissed the top of Jake's head then tucked it under his chin before closing his eyes, “for a nap, then afterwards you can play for me. Does that sound like a plan?”

Jake thought about it briefly, he hadn’t played for someone in a while but even just messing around on the harmonica earlier he’d enjoyed. So if there was anyone he wanted to play for again surely, it was Danny. “Yeah, I like that plan” he replied and closed his eyes as well.

Thanks for reading: @kultavalo @sanguinebats @gracev0609 @lipstickitty @lyndz2names

[atiny-for-life]

Creative Spotlight #3: Jeong Yunho

Masterlist

Intro: With so many new Atinys coming in, I figured now would be a good time to shed some light on all the boys' creative solo projects over the years, big and small.

ANEWZ

Yunho once shared he wanted to be a news reporter/anchorman when he was younger which led to the inception of ANEWZ back in 2020:

That same year, he got to meet Jang Sung Kyu, an anchor he'd been looking up to, and interview him to get some tips and advice (yes, this was in the same video where Wooyoung sat so hard on Seonghwa's lap, Seonghwa looked like he was about to cry and that's why the view count is so high):

ANEWZ is by far the most consistent content we get from any of the members, with the most recent one being released on July 24th of this year:

We get Yunho talking to himself on the regular, interviewing other members, dropping the gossip about behind the scenes shenanigans and more. It's lovely.

Imitation Soundtrack

As a main cast member of the drama Imitation, Yunho was part of the fictional group Sparkling, together with Seonghwa and San, which means he also participated in various performances throughout the show, but let's highlight the most iconic one right here and now:

They made fun of Diamond for so long and still do sometimes ("FInalLY NOW, it's my tIME"). This performance is also where that dance move comes from Yunho is doing here (watch older content and you'll see Wooyoung doing that every five minutes - iconic):

Collabs

Around two years ago, Yunho, San, and Jongho were featured on a Pentatonix song called A Little Space which you can find here (it even includes a Korean verse!):

That same year, him and Hongjoong were featured in a Pepsi Commercial song together with Rain and members of Monsta X and Brave Girls (iconic):

On August 1st, 2024, Yunho was featured in an Eve Seo song called KkungKkungDda. The MV is very fun and goofy, featuring Yunho as the boy at school every girl wants:

Cover Song

The first cover he ever released on Ateez's channel came out 3 months ago, titled Even If It's Your Happiness:

Filmed on an old camera, the footage is grainy and in 3-by-4 format, giving it that nostalgic 90's feel. The song itself kicks off extremely pretty and cute, cozy and warm, perfectly fitting Yunho's voice and the self-shot footage which shows us the world through his eyes.

Then, reaching the halfway mark, the song explodes, drums kicking in, and we get to hear his powerful register, allowing him to really show off as a vocalist. It's really beautiful.

Original Song

On October 3rd, 2024, Be Alright was posted on Ateez's YouTube channel, a song written and composed by Yunho and Hongjoong together with Lakov and Balm. In a Live, Hongjoong claimed Yunho did 90% of the work on the song, but Yunho later denied this in his own Live (see below) and said he merely sang Hongjoong's song. Both are most likely stretching the truth a bit.

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It's a beautiful song featuring a lot of piano accompanying Yunho's voice. (You can listen to Hongjoong's guide track here.) And as you listen, pay attention to the background vocals and you will ascend, I promise you. The lyrics are also deeply vulnerable, telling the story of a fight with depression and how much that can take from you.

The sadness, the loneliness, the isolation, the tiring struggle of rebuilding yourself as you make your way back out of that deep dark hole depression threw you into. Inch by inch, step by step, rediscovering your own personality and interests along the way, realizing only then everything depression took from you. Eventually, you start feeling hope for the future again. You realize you could survive all that pain and suffering your own brain put you through day in and day out for so long which means, no matter what else life throws at you now, you're strong enough to make it through. You'll be alright.

Fashion

Like Hongjoong and San, Yunho has now also made his debut in the fashion world. In his case, by attending Seoul Fashion Week for designer KWAKHYUNJOO, as can be seen on his Instagram:

On October 8th, 2024, the vlog for this event was uploaded to YouTube:

In the video, Wyatt from ONF also makes a quick appearance when him and Yunho bump into each other:

And we get to see Yunho take pictures with Kwak Hyun Joo herself, as well as with the lady he was seated next to during the event (whom I unfortunately don't know - sorry).

[cookies-and-music]

Ghost. - part 12: How do you love?

My suggestion for this chapter is Valentine by Maneskin

Part 1 here - part 13 here.

PAIRING: TVA!LokixOC

RATING: ALL

TAG LIST: @kats72 ; @mischief2sarawr

SUMMARY: Loki meets sombody at the TVA he once knew. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to remember him.

Midgard, 2012 After the collapse of the framework, while being flung from one point and place in time to another, Loki found himself in a place he knew well. Looking back, it wasn't a place he particularly enjoyed remembering. Not anymore. Not after he had seen the entire story from her perspective.

Yet, when he saw her bent over, searching for something in the small fridge of the SHIELD base, Loki felt such relief that he almost cried.

"…Lydia…" His name escaped him on the tail of a trembling sigh.

"Yep, that's my name" she replied casually, lifting a jar of yogurt and checking the expiration date.

"Lydia" Loki repeated, this time with a smile.

"You never call me by name, why – hey" she looked up in his direction "what are you wearing?" she smirked "You look so ordinary… you should wear a shirt more often."

"Lydia" Loki crossed the kitchen and circled the table to reach her.

"Okay, this is starting to get weird" Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"You remember me…" Loki furrowed his brows in a way that made him look like a sad puppy. It surprised Lydia.

"We were in the same room until a few minutes ago… why shouldn't I remember you?"

Loki took a shaky breath; yes, this wasn't TVA Lydia, but she knew him, and that was better than nothing.

"Lydia, you have to listen to me" he grabbed her shoulders and she stiffened "I need you to come with me to a place."

"We've been stuck in here for days, I'm fine with any destination, included Disneyland" Lydia shrugged.

"No, Lydia, I'm serious-" Loki stopped, hearing footsteps in the distance, accompanied by the sound of metal on the floor. His footsteps. Loki remembered that moment, he remembered every moment with her.

"Come with me"

As she protested, Loki pushed her into a small closet, where they barely fit, leaving the door slightly ajar, just enough to glimpse the entrance to the kitchen. Lydia's eyes widened as she felt his body pressed against hers.

"What the hell-"

Loki interrupted her by covering her mouth with his hand, he brought his index finger in front of his lips to indicate silence, then pointed to the kitchen entrance.

Lydia furrowed her brows, following his direction.

"Miss Princhett?" Loki appeared in the kitchen doorway. Loki.

Lydia jumped against his body while shifting her gaze from one to the other.

"Miss Princhett…?" the other Loki called out before stepping out of the room, leaving.

When they were alone again, Loki held both hands up defensively.

"I can explain-"

"Who the hell are you?" she attacked, still trying to keep her voice low while they were trapped in the confined space.

"It's me… It's Loki."

"And then who is he?" She pointed to where the other Loki had appeared.

"It's me… it's complicated" Loki swallowed "let's say I come from the future, and to save that future, I need you to come with me. I know it sounds strange, but trust me-"

"Like hell I'll trust you," Lydia scoffed sarcastically.

"Lydia, please," Loki ran a hand through his hair, wondering why, why she always had to be so stubborn. As fascinating as it was, it made his life difficult 90% of the time.

"I know you don't trust me, I know you have a plan to betray me on the day of the New York attack."

Lydia stiffened, clenching her jaw.

"But in the future, you will trust me, our relationship won't be like this, I swear."

In the dim light of the closet, with their bodies so close, Loki's eyes shone with hope, hope that she would believe him, believe in the possibility that he could change, that their relationship could change... but Lydia wasn't interested in his eyes.

"Prove it."

"What? How?" Loki spread his arms.

"If we really are… whatever are we, exactly?" Lydia tilted her head.

Loki opened and closed his mouth several times. "It's not very clear…"

"Well, whatever we are, you must know something about me that I haven't told you yet," she crossed her arms "so come on, convince me."

Loki took a deep breath as he went through everything, every little thing he knew.

"You were born on October 28th in Phenix, Arizona, but you grew up in Scottsdale with your adoptive mothers. You enrolled in the Marine Academy at Quantico before being recruited by SHIELD. Initially, they placed you in the research section, where you dealt with finding high-risk criminals; a few years later, you became part of The Avengers Protocol to select possible candidates for a team to protect Earth." He rattled it all off as if reading from a script, but Lydia watched him with crossed arms, unimpressed.

"Well done. You did your homework," she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Anyone who found my private file knows those things, they're not worth much, don't you think?" Lydia stepped out of the closet.

"Wait, wait," Loki followed her out and grabbed her arm, she tore away from his grip and turned around.

Loki looked at her for a moment, really looked at her, and saw something he had never noticed before, in 2012.

"You have roots showing."

"Excuse me?"

"Your hair is brown," he said with a bitter half-smile "you dye it red, but the roots show. You dye it red because your mom, Ava, has red hair. You've always wanted to be like her, and secretly you would have wanted to be a history teacher, like her." He smiled, remembering when she had told him at the TVA, "Despite this, whatever the job is, you throw yourself into it headfirst, you have to do it well, and you're a perfectionist. You're ambitious, jealous, and vengeful." They weren't compliments, but Loki listed them with a smile because they were part of who Lydia was, and he was okay with that because those made Lydia herself.

"When you were little, you dislocated your arm trying to jump from one tree to another in your backyard. At work, you drink industrial amounts of coffee but load them up with sugar" he remembered the times she brought him tea, so sweet it was disgusting, but he always drank it because he was afraid she would be upset otherwise, and his eyes moistened at the thought of drinking liters of it just to have her back "and you love the strawberry milkshake from McDonald's." The last sentence came out with a broken tone.

Lydia's head was full of thoughts as he spoke, and the emotion she saw on his face infected her with sadness.

"What am I to you?" she took a deep breath, scrutinizing his face.

She had already asked him that, at the TVA, and he had hesitated, they had argued, and they had drifted apart. He wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"Everything," he shook his head slightly, "You're everything to me."

Lydia's breath caught, and a moment later, a temporal door opened, and a short man with glasses emerged.

"Oh, good, I finally found you" the man smiled pleased, looking at Loki, "are we ready?"

Loki stepped through the temporal door with one foot and reached out a hand to her as he looked at her with hopeful eyes and prayed in his mind. He didn't know who or what, but he prayed.

His prayers were listened as Lydia grabbed it

I bet y'all think we're reaching the end. We're not. Some more chapters to go, but I assure you won't get bored. As usual I love suggestions, comments, hearts and reblogs, so... please gimmeeee. Lots of Love, or, as my mum used to say, LOL. - C.A.M.

[totesnothere04]

Day to Day Norm Pt.3

Norm x F!Quaritch!Reader

Disclaimer: I don't own any fanart, screenshots, or gifs used with my stories.

Warnings: Cursing, cuddling, bullying, if I miss anything please lmk.

Spoken in Na'vi

Pt.2 Pt.4

The next morning you were up early and making your way to the cafeteria. When you got your food you spotted Norm and the others and sat next to him since he seemed somewhat alone. Grace started to delve into telling everyone what had happened yesterday with extra gusto.

"So what will you be doing today?" You ask Norm and he shakes himself out of whatever trance he had been in.

"Oh, just some research. Nothing as exciting as what you and Jake will be doing today." Norm says Jake's name with a hint of jealousy and you frown.

"You know I'm not going to throw you on the back burner all the time right?" You ask him and he smiles at you.

"I know. I'm just upset that I'm not getting this chance." Norm admits.

"Hey. Think about it. If Jake and I are able to solidify a good relationship between the Omatikaya and the humans... Maybe you will be. You also gotta think that maybe Grace feels the same way you do." You say and he looks up at you.

"Really?" He asks and you finish your bite of food and take a sip of orange juice.

"Maybe. I'm not saying I know for a fact, but you've gotta think about it. She's been here 30-plus years and never gotten to be as close to them as we are. Makes me feel bad that it took me following Jake's idiocy to make it there." You tell him.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better you deserve this chance. You've been learning about them for how long now?" Norm asks.

"A few years. I don't have the same time put in that you do, nor do I have the degree." You admit and the two of you eat in comfortable silence.

"I look over and all I see are these two idiots' asses disappearing into the forest with an angry thanator right behind them." Grace says excitedly.

"Man that's great." Max says and you shoot a shy smile their way.

"It's not something you can teach." Jake says and you roll your eyes.

"I was dragging and pushing you 90% of the time Sully." You say and he scoffs.

"Well, I got us in didn't I?" He retorts and you scoffed.

"I kept Neytiri from skewering your ass, jarhead." You rebuttal and you both stare at each other until you both fall into a fit of giggles.

"Anyways, for some reason they've chosen the two of you... God help us all." Grace jokes and you nod.

"Yeah. Crazy." You mutter as you look down at your food. You finish up and head to the link room with Norm hot on your heels. Before you can reach your destination Norm stopped you with a hand on your elbow.

"You okay?" Norm asks and you sigh.

"Grace has a point. Jake and I aren't as educated as the rest of you... So why pick us?" You ask it rhetorically and Norm stops your pacing by grabbing your shoulders and moving you to an empty part of the lab.

"If you ask me they made a good choice with you. You're humble, nice, athletically inclined, and gorgeous." Norm says and you blush.

"You think I'm pretty?" You ask him and he shakes his head.

"I don't think you're pretty... I think you're gorgeous." Norm corrects you and you smile. You take a deep breath and pull his head down by the back of his neck and introduce his lips to yours. He seems frozen for a moment then reciprocates the kiss with the same fervor. His arms wrap around your waist and yours go around his neck. Before the kiss can be deepened anymore someone clears their throat and you both jump apart. You find Grace standing there with a smirk on her face.

"You and Jake are due to link in a few minutes. Thought I'd let you know before this carried any further." She said with an amused tone. You blush and peck Norm on the cheek.

"I'll talk to you when I get out of the link today." You tell him and he nods. You quickly make your way to the link room and find Jake being walked through how to calibrate a link pod. You go over to your pod, calibrate it, and get in to link up. When you open your eyes you get out of your hammock and make your way down to the main area. Neytiri gives a small smile as she spots you and goes over to you.

"Where is Jake?" She asks.

"Oh, he was being taught how to calibrate the link pod so he doesn't have to have anyone do it for him every time." You tell her and she nods. "He should be along in a bit." You tell her and she understands that better.

"What is with JakeSulí? Is he your mate?" She asks curiously and you scrunch your nose in disgust.

"No. Technically I am single or uh unmated, but I'm trying to work on a relationship between me and one of the scientists. His name is Norm." You say and she tilts her head.

"Norm?" She asks curiously.

"Yeah. Norm Spellman. He's really nice, very smart. He knows more about your culture than I do." You tell her and she makes a small sound of approval.

"Then he will make a good mate." She says and you blush. You hear footsteps approaching and turn around to find Jake.

"Mornin' Jake. Ready for the day?" You ask him and he smiles.

"Always." He admits and Neytiri gestures for the two of you to follow her. She stops at the pali pin and you feel excited.

"Today I will teach you to ride pali." She says and you smile wide.

"Ugh I miss my horse." You say sadly and she looks at you confused. "Uh, horses are the Earth equivalent of pali. I had one back home. His name was Al Capony and he was a wildfire." You tell her. She leads the two of you into the pin and brings two pali forward. You approach the one she tells you to and pat their neck. You mount them and conjoin your tswin. The feeling of your mind melding with her mind was odd but beautiful. You rubbed her neck more to calm her and inhaled through your nose.

"You can tell her what to do in here." Neytiri says and touches her head. She goes over to Jake to teach him and you gave the mental command to start at a gallop. You hear a wet slap and you and your pali stop and turn to the commotion. You find Jake sprawled in the mud and you start chuckling as you gallop back over to them. You spot Tsu'tey and a couple of his hunters race over quickly.

"You two should leave. You don't belong here." Tsu'tey says and Jake laughs.

"Nah. You'd miss me too much. I knew you could speak English." Jake fires back at Tsu'tey.

"Look at him. A rock sees more." Tsu'tey says and you laugh when he says that. He looks up surprised that you understood him and Neytiri lightly smacked his pali's behind and it darted off. You have your pali nudge Jake's head with her nose and he looks up at you.

"Stop trying to wipe the mud off your tongue with your mud-covered hands." You tell him and he looks at his hands and chuckles. You shake your head in amusement and you ride off on your pali. When it was time to get off and go work on something else you looked sadly at your pali. You followed Neytiri to a more secluded area and she sat cross legged and you followed suit with Jake shortly behind.

"I will be teaching you Na'vi." Neytiri says and you look at her.

"I know how to speak Na'vi. Grace has been teaching me since I was 17." You tell her and she nods.

"Then you will help me teach him." She says and you nod. The two of you start working together and you're losing your patience at a slower rate than her.

"Skxawng!" Neytiri says and smacks his forehead. Jake chuckles in exasperation and you laugh at his disgruntled expression. Your ears perked back and you get up on your feet. Neytiri follows closely behind when she hears the same noise you do. Then the sound of the horn for last meal sounded, and Neytiri pulled the both of you with her. She sits down and grabs a serving and you grab one as well. The three of you continue eating and making conversation.

"Tomorrow I will start teaching you to use a bow." Neytiri says. "I will also continue teaching you to speak our language." She groans and you laugh. "You said you are being courted by one of your human friends. Tell me more of him?" Neytiri asks and you blush and look up at her. Jake is looking at you surprised.

"Norm is tall for a human, he is also an avatar driver. He was actually in the forest with Jake and I when we got separated by a thanator. I'm just glad he didn't get spotted by it." You spoke and she smiles.

"Wait... You and Norm?" Jake asks and you look at him and nod.

"It's not official yet, but uh I kissed him before we linked this morning." You tell him and he leans forward.

"No way! You kissed him?" Jake asked with an amazed face and you looked away from him.

"He was being so sweet, and he was helping me feel better... It felt right." You admit and he laughs victorious.

"Yes! I'm rooting for you two." Jake says and you place your face in your hands. "Thought U was gonna have to watch the two of you pine for each other for years." Jake says as the three of you get up and make your way back up to your hammocks. When you lay down and your eyes shut you open them and get out of your pod. You spot Norm immediately and drag him with you as you make your daily video log. When you're done you turn off the cam and turn to Norm.

"She taught us to ride Pali today!" You say excitedly. "Well more like she taught me to make the connection and control it, while Jake kept falling off." You joked and he laughed. "It was so amazing, and I talked to her about you. She asked me if Jake was my mate... Gross. But I told her about you and later at last meal she asked me to tell her more about you. So I did, but then Jake was there and it was super awkward. Because he was all 'I'm rooting for you two' and all that like he's older than us." You tell him and Norm chuckles and you look at the time. "I've gotta meet my Dad for dinner... Unless you want to join us?" You offer him and he seems to freeze and think about it.

"Uh, wouldn't it be a bit early to meet your Dad? I haven't even asked you to be my girlfriend yet." Norm says and you nod.

"If you aren't ready I don't want to push it. Just thought I'd extend the invitation." You said and he nodded.

"Thanks but uh maybe in a few weeks?" He suggests and you think it over.

"Sounds like a plan. Alright I gotta go. Bye!" You give him a quick kiss and run off to find your Dad. Norm thinks it over for a bit when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns the chair he's sitting in to find Jake.

"So she kissed you, huh?" Jake asked and Norm rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Honestly she's better at reading the moment than I am. I would've been too chicken to initiate the kiss." Norm says and Jake nods.

"I get it." Jake says. "Let's go get some grub and go to bed. I'm beat." Jake says and the two of them go the way you just went.

You find your Dad when you get your food and sit across from him with a smile on your face.

"Hey Dad." You greet him and he smiles wide when he sees you.

"Hey, baby girl. How was your first day with the natives?" He asks and you feel excited to talk about it again.

"So they taught me about their version of a horse. It's called a pali and I got to ride one, and it made me miss Al Capony." You tell him and he leans his chin on his hand. "But then we were trying to teach Jake how to speak Na'vi and I don't think my patience has ever run so thin so fast." You tell him and he laughs.

"Well baby girl, you know how simple us Marines are. Learnin' other languages ain't as easy for us as it is for smart people like you." Your Dad says and you smile.

"I, uh, also made a move on Norm." You tell him and he looks at you waiting for more information. "I kissed him this morning when I started to feel like maybe the Omatikaya made a mistake picking me. I'm not as educated as Grace or Norm. I don't even have the same experience as Jake with him being a marine. I'm just me. I've got my GED, and that's about it." You say and your Dad frowns.

"I think the question you need to ask is why wouldn't they choose ya?" He asks and you look at him curiously. "1. Ya might not have the fancy education like the lab coats, but you've got the brain to have one. 2. I've been trainin' ya, the way I was trained back in boot camp, for half a decade. 3. Ya pick up everything that everyone teaches ya with speed. 4. You are perfect. Every part of ya is perfect, in my eyes, and the eyes of the boy that keeps lookin' at ya." Your Dad finishes and you turn around and catch Norm looking at the two of you. He quickly turns away and your Dad tries to stiffle his laughter, but fails.

"That's Norm." You tell him and he looks back over your shoulder at him.

"He's tall, I'll give 'im that. Well, hun I've got to get some rest. I'm exhausted, and I'd bet money you are too." He says and you nod and yawn. The two of you exit the cafeteria and he walks you to your room. He drops you off at your door and heads off to his room. You showered and dressed and started to head to bed when a knock resounded on your door. You open it and find Norm and Jake outside your door.

"What's up?" You ask them and Jake sighs annoyed.

"Norm won't stop tossing and turning. I'm trying to get sleep, but he can't sleep." Jake says and you look at him to continue, but he doesn't.

"Well what do you want me to do about it? I can't wave a wand and make him sleep." You say and Jake makes a face at you.

"Can he stay in here for the night? He seems antsy and I figured with you two having something going on he'd sleep better near you." Jake says and you think it over.

"Alright. Hope you're cool with sharing a bed." You say as you allow Norm into your room. "Goodnight Jake. Try and get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning." You say and he wheels off. You go over to your cot and lay down next to the wall and Norm stands in the center of your room awkwardly. "You gonna lay down or am I gonna have to wrestle you to lay down?" You ask him and he finally moves. He seems nervous as he lies down. He tries not to touch you by staying on one side of your cot completely away from you. You sigh then grab his arm and drop it across your stomach and guide his head to lay on your chest. "Sleep Norm." You whisper and start to drift off as he starts to as well.

When you wake up the next morning your head is resting on his chest and your right arm and leg were draped over him. His left hand is resting on your knee drawing patterns on it in his sleep. You smile softly and snuggle into his chest but groan when you realize you'll have to get up soon anyways. He twitches and yawns as his eyes open. His arms close around you and pull you into his chest more.

"Norm I'll need to get up soon." You tell him and he makes a noise of disapproval. "Norm I'm serious. We need to get up soon." You tell him and he dramatically rolls out of bed groaning the entire way.

"It breaks my heart that we must get up." Norm says dramatically and you chuckle as you get up.

"Well maybe we can do this again some time..." You say with a smirk and he smiles bashfully while he looks down. He leans down preparing to kiss you, but you cringe and hide away from his attempt.

"What's wrong?" He asks you and you chuckle.

"I have morning breath." You tell him and he joins your chuckling.

"I have morning breath too. I think a morning kiss would be fine, since we both have raunchy breath." He suggests and you look into his eyes and nod. He leans down and captures your lips with his and you both end up melting into it. You had never felt like this with anyone, and you were anxious to find out where this will go.

-Meanwhile-

"So why didn't you ask (Y/n) to do this for you? You two seem close and she seems to value you a great deal." Jake asks. Selfridge, who was heading to the 3-D map, swerved the other way when he heard Jake ask that. Greene, who had been operating the map, visibly cringed and left the command center entirely.

"(Y/n) cares about the natives. To her, this is their home, and we have no right to take what they won't allow us to take." Quaritch says and he sits down to face Jake. "Plus I've strained our relationship in the past with my actions. For the first time in years... Probably her entire life, now that I think about it, she's happy. Ecstatic even, and I refuse to jeopardize this opportunity for her with this company's ambitions. Now, don't bring her up during one of these talks again." Quaritch says and Jake nods.

"Yes, sir. Didn't mean to cross a line." Jake says and Quaritch huffs and looks back at the map. Jake takes this time to ponder what his superior just told him. Your opinion was dripping with logic. This is their home. Their planet. What right do humans have with seizing the home of the Omatikaya, just to get some fuckin' rocks? This was something he would need to think about as he continued. Not because he hadn't thought of it previously, he just let his morals slide, and for what? His legs? He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts, not knowing that his superior was having the same moral dilemma. Quaritch might work for the RDA, but he's a simple Kansas man at heart and his morals had been driven into his skull since birth. He clenched his hand to take his mind off of it. He had a job, and he couldn't let his morals get in the way of that.

Taglist: @belos-simp69, @vivangothic, @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed ,@dyingofcookies, @levilovely1 (I tried to tag you and it couldn't find you😭)

[frostythefrostedfox]

After my most recent rewatching of the Frontiers cutscenes for other purposes (making fun of how bad they are), I have noticed something, something that let me to have a new headcanon

One that y'all will be forced to read right now, whether you like it or not, and the worst part is that I have evidence of what I am saying, kind of, because this isn't a very serious headcanon, this is just shitposting.

When Sonic first comes across Knuckles, this is the face he makes

They talk for like 1 minute, knuckles punches sonic's hand and this is the face he makes

Knuckles replies with this face

Sonic immediately replies with this face

And then right after they have a staring contest doing these faces

When attacked by Sage, sonic dismises knuckle's advise by doing this face

By the end of his story, they stare at each other like this for like a minute before doing something else

And this is what they do literally on the next scene, like the very next one.

So why did I filled this post with many many pics of sus faces by sonic and knuckles?

Well, because they are the base of my headcanon

Sonic and Knuckles are totally fucking, and not even like on the side type of thing, no, these two are fucking fucking, like fuckbuddies but more bros, fuckbros if you will, they don't say anything about it but everyone that is their true adventure companion or spends enough time with them knows, like Tails, but nobody minds, its their thing and it kinda fits them, everything is a competition with these two dorks

But wait, I hear you say (Actually no), what about Rouge, isn't Knuckles dating her? Well yes! And why you act like those two things are mutually exclusive? Rouge knows, actually she knew even before getting on her thing with Knuckles, and she supports it, the bat is by far one of the oldest characters around besides Big and Vanilla, so she has seen a hell of a lot, and besides, for the type of shit she gets up to, this is like entry level, trust me, you don't wanna go there; she thinks its funny to see the lenghts these two are actually willing to go just to one up the other, she even openly comments about it when in the company of either of these two or someone else that knows, because when you know, you know.

That brings me to my next point, the reason why Sonamy has never been canon other than teasing and baiting, it's because Amy doesn't knows, and Sonic knows that she wouldn't get it, she is younger than Sonic, and her whole life has been pretty normal and average, so why any of these things would ever cross her mind? Sonic thinks that hanging out with Amy is cool and all, and he probably thinks she is cute and so on and so on, but its just more than that, she just wouldn't get it, and that's a problem, so that's why Sonic never took things that far or went serious mode with it.

What about Shadow? Not only he knows, he is also included on the shit, what? Are you for real gonna tell me that these two don't become like 90% gayer on the presence of one another, he is also a hot headed mess that won't give an inch to Sonic because not beating him means losing to him, so he also gets down on that zaza. Oh and BTW, Rouge knows of Shad's involvement too, she encourages it actually, like some sort of enabler of kinkyness, which is the type of friend that everyone needs and everyone should have.

I hope that y'all hated this, if you did then that means I did it right, this is why I shouldn't have the freedom to simply post whatever crosses my mind, follow me for more weird and crack headcanons of any and every franchise.

If you didn't hated this, thought it was funny or actually agree, congrats, you're one of the real ones, mostly because you know I'm saying facts right here

I won't be taking questions, and I won't be changing my mind

[mountmortar]

as someone who only ever beat four swords adventures. can i hear the lore on why the newer games are annoying. if you dont want to get into it in public though i totally get it lol

OKAY SO LIKE. let me put this under a cut.

so me thinking the newer games are annoying is a personal thing. i'll put that out there to begin with. i completely understand why they're games that people love a lot—for people who like open-world games with lots of exploration and building shit and whatnot, and don't really care for games that have Plot and Stories and Meaning behind them, they're probably damn near perfect games.

but like. MY main problem with the games, specifically (which could be easily ignored if not for my MAIN BIG PROBLEM WITH THE FANDOM which i'll. get into after this), is that while i will concede that they may be Good Games to those who play them (i watched a playthrough of breath of the wild Once and am currently trying to get through it myself and not only am i bored to tears but i hate the art style and when i say the soundtrack fucking sucks. the soundtrack Fucking Sucks. like it is legitimately the WORST fucking game soundtrack i've ever heard in my LIFE which makes doing anything in the game absolutely unbearable to me) they are, absolutely, terrible ZELDA games.

the legend of zelda franchise for almost forty years now has built up a series dedicated not ONLY to exploration within the game, but also music and wonderful stories that each game tells. like pokémon, in its own way—but even in pokémon, when the story is bland (xy, swsh) or just plain bad (usum) you can always count on it to have a great soundtrack. breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom took both "plot" and "music" and just threw them out the window. the overworld music in breath of the wild is nothing except a few piano notes every five minutes. the battle music when you encounter an enemy is the most boring, lackluster shit i've ever heard in my life (AND THE MUSIC FOR THE BOSS BATTLES IS SOMEHOW EVEN WORSE). basically imagine pokémon legends arceus except instead of all the wonderful overworld music we got for all the different areas, you just have dead silence. that's pretty much what running around in breath of the wild is like.

and the story? get ready for the blandest characters you've ever met in your life. you will not get attached to a single one of those cardboard cutouts. anything that adds meaning to the story is locked behind paid DLC which automatically makes it not even worth my time or money. basically, breath of the wild was like "what if we took the original legend of zelda from 1986 and its sequel from 1987 and added modern mechanics to it. and throw in a new plot that isn't even worth getting attached to." i would literally prefer playing those old 2D games over that game. their plots were entirely constrained to the game manuals because they couldn't fit them into the actual games themselves because they were 80s games and they were STILL more interesting than botw/totk.

but whatever! it's not a big deal. i can ignore the games. it's not up to me to dictate what people should and should not play as part of a franchise. again, people love the games for a reason, and that reason is usually because breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom are like "what if legend of zelda but throw in some minecraft elements about it". like....okay. WHATEVER!

my problem is with the fandom. the Giant Portion Of The Fandom That Has Only Played BOTW and TOTK and NOTHING ELSE. you literally cannot escape it. you know the types of people that spam the tags of every game in their game series just to make EVERYONE look at their post about One Particular Game? yeah it's like a literal army of those people. i MAINLY stick to posting about the older games from the 80s/90s/early 2000s (i.e. four swords/four swords adventures, the original legend of zelda + its sequel, a link to the past, the minish cap, ocarina of time/majora's mask/etc etc etc you get me) and everywhere you look there's somebody doing everything in their power to bring botw/totk into it/spamming the tags with botw/totk posts/just spreading blatant misinfo regarding the older games???? because they've never played them???? and like whatever i can ignore that too but i mean!!!! at some point it just gets so ridiculously irritating!!!!!! basically it's like. do you know how the pokémon company keeps bringing kanto into literally every game somehow + will not stop with the charizard hype to the point where everyone is sick and tired of charizard. that's pretty much what's happening except it's botw/totk. and i am so tired of hearing about the metaphorical charizard HAHAHA

[whoreforsamwilson]

⚜️Louisiana Welcome⚜️

We rushed around like chickens without heads trying to make everything just right before Sam would lose it or even cancel and we’ve come too far for any of those things to happen.

Sarah finished setting up the tables as I worked on finishing the last decoration, the Welcome banner.

A welcoming party for Sam’s good friend Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.

I was super excited to meet her, Sam had been talking about her nonstop and couldn’t contain his excitement.

Once I had finished I stepped off the ladder, closed it, and took it back to Carlos’ old pickup.

“Everything looks good, baby,” said Sam, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my forehead.

“Thank you, have you talked to Monica?”

“Not yet, but I sent her a message. She should be here any minute,” Sam replied, his voice humming with anticipation. “You think Carol will like it?”

I nodded with a smile. “She’ll love it, Sam. You’ve made sure every detail is perfect for her homecoming. The banner, the food, the music playlist full of her favorite '90s hits—I think we nailed it.”

Sam chuckled, his eyes scanning the backyard adorned with twinkling lights and gold and red streamers that fluttered gently in the breeze, a nod to Captain Marvel’s iconic suit. “Yeah, I guess I did go a bit overboard, huh?”

“Overboard is good; it shows you care,” I reassured him, smoothing down his shirt. “Plus, this is not just any party. It’s for a superhero. Normal standards don’t apply.”

Just then, a car pulled up, and Monica stepped out, her expression a mix of excitement and nerves. She was dressed casually but with a precision that spoke of her military background.

Sam jogged over to greet her, their conversation a series of enthusiastic gestures and quick laughs.

I took the moment to look over everything once more. The tables were laden with an array of snacks and drinks, including Carol’s favorite, nachos with extra jalapeños. In one corner, a makeshift photo booth was set with props—alien glasses, pilot helmets, and faux photon blast gloves—for guests to play with.

The sound of another vehicle approaching signaled the arrival of more guests. The backyard quickly filled with friends and colleagues, all buzzing with chatter and laughter. The atmosphere was electric, a collective exhilaration for the guest of honor’s arrival.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, a hush fell over the crowd. We all turned towards the sky as a streak of light shot across the heavens, growing brighter and larger until, with a soft boom, Captain Marvel landed in the center of the yard. Her suit glinted in the fading sunlight, and her smile was as powerful as her presence.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as Carol stepped forward, her eyes finding Sam’s in the throng. Their embrace was one of long-standing friendship and mutual respect. As they parted, Carol’s gaze swept over the party, and her smile broadened.

“This is incredible, Sam. You really didn’t have to do all this,” she said, her voice carrying over the crowd.

Sam just shrugged, a sheepish grin on his face. “Well, you know me. Go big or go home.”

The party kicked into full swing with Carol at the center, regaling everyone with tales of distant galaxies and daring rescues. Her laughter was infectious, her stories captivating, and as I watched her, I understood why Sam admired her so much.

The night was clear, the stars twinkling above as if in celebration. And in that moment, with everyone gathered around, the world felt a little smaller, a little warmer. It was a night of joy, a welcome fit for a hero among friends.

[damonjuicyscock]

Playlist- Chapter 14: Shattered dreams (90s Noel Gallagher X Reader)

Pairing: 90s Noel Gallagher X Reader

Warnings: Fluff, pregnancy, a sad word starting with M and ending with age, language, a few spelling mistakes, maybe.

Words: 2805

Summary: Y/N is pregnant with Noel's baby. We follow her through her pregnancy journey that has its up and downs.

A/N: Heya Y'all ! Here's chapter 14, I hope you'll like it, as per usual. It's a chapter I found important (but very emotional), and the next one will be as well. You know I like to include societal subjects in my story, at first to sensibilize and also give a bit of action in the story. Some of you may even have gone through it and I hope it won't trigger you, that's not my goal. My goal is to provide visibility to subjects like this one, because it isn't taken seriously (at least not enough) and to entertain you.

Next part next weekend !

Love y'all, take care of yourselves !

Enjoy !

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And now you've given me, given me Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams Feel like I could run away, run away From this empty heart”

August 11th 1996- Knebworth:

I’m pregnant Noel.

I saw his face light up, and the biggest smile I’ve ever seen appear on his face.

Ye’re not joking right? Please, tell me ye’re not joking. He said, taking my hands in his

No I’m not. Should I understand you’re happy about these news? I answered, stunned

I’m the happiest man in the world! I’m so mad fer it, I’m going to be a dad!

He took me in his arms, holding me tight, and everything around us disappeared. I smiled, now relieved.

Before going on stage, Noel kissed me passionately and nailed it even more than usual. I hoped he wouldn’t say anything to anyone yet. But there’s someone to whom I couldn’t hide my condition. Because deep down, she already knew.

Seeing him sile so much and him being so happy, I bet you told him? Patsy asked

Told him what? I answered

About the baby growing in your stomach.

I smiled to myself.

Yeah, I told him. And he’s so goddamn happy about it. And so am I.

And I’m happy for you two! She said, taking me in her arms

I held her back, emotion starting to take over.

You’re going to be an auntie Patsy! I said, on the verge of tears, not believing my own words

*

August 12th 1996- Knebworth:

It was time for the afterparty, and I felt fit enough to attend, with Noel and a lot of people.

Please Noely, don’t tell anyone yet. I want to keep it for ourselves just a bit, okay? Except Liam. I’m going to tell him. I said

Why tell Liam and not the others?

Firstly, because he’s your brother, secondly because he’s my future brother-in-law and he’s also like my little brother and thirdly, Patsy already knows.

Wot? How does Patsy know?

Who do you think convinced me to take a pregnancy test?

Patsy.

Well done Columbo. Because she knows what it is to be pregnant. So, according to my symptoms, she knew why I was sick.

Noel nodded. I hadn’t smoked for an entire day, and I really needed a cigarette He saw me take my pack of cigarettes out of my pocket and took it from me.

Hey! I exclaimed

No smoking. He said, sternly

I just can’t quit like that; it’s going to play on my nerves. Let me have a cigarette per day for a week, so I can get used to it. Please Noel, and I’ll stop.

He hesitated for a second and sighed.

Deal. One per day, not more. And I keep yer pack with me in case ye’d decide to smoke more. I’ll give ye yer cigarette of the day.

Okay chief. I said doing a military salute

Oh no, not ye too calling me that!

*

Later in the night, when everyone went to bed, I finally had my moment alone with my fiancé, in his arms.

Did you suspect I could be pregnant? I asked

Not a minute. I really thought you had the flu.

And so… how long has it been that you wanted to have a baby with me?

Since November 22nd 1983.

Ew, gross.

Why ew? He said, chuckling

We were literally 16 years old Noely!

I know! I mean… when we were 16, I was like not now but one day yes, I wanted to wait fer this because having a kid at 16 was out of the question, but I knew on this day that I wanted ye to be the mother to me children.

That’s cute. I’m soz I can’t say the same thing because I never really asked myself if I wanted to have children in general before yesterday.

And that’s okay. But if ye thought ‘bout it…

Yes Noely. I would want it to be you. And you’re going to be such a good dad.

At least I’ll do me best. I know what’s running in this little head of yers.

Oh yeah? What then?

Ye’re hesitating to ask me if I’m scared to be like me old man because I had a shitty father. And I’ll answer that I’m scared to become a father, like every parent would be, but I’m also mad fer it. And I’m not scared to be like him, because I’m not him and I’m not like him. And I’ll never be.

Well well… You know me by heart Noely.

Yea, I do.

*

At around 8 am, I woke up and felt really nauseous. I told myself I should get up and get some fresh air. So, I went outside.

I tried to breath to prevent me from vomiting but ended up throwing up anyway. I felt someone grab my hair and hold them for me. I thought it was Noel. But it wasn’t.

Still sick I see. A male voice said

Yeah, unfortunately. And it might last a bit.

What d’ye mean?

I finished throwing up first.

Sit down, we’re going to have a chat. And thank you for holding my hair by the way Li’.

Anytime.

We walked a bit and sat down under a tree, in the grass. I could see in Liam’s look that he was impatient to know.

So… what I mean is that something that wasn’t planned, at least not yet, happened. You’re going to be an uncle, Li’.

He smiled.

Really?

Yeah.

That’s so fucking cool! Oh, thank ye Y/N, I’m so happy ye’re the one our kid decided to fuck with!

I laughed.

Then thank him too!

Oh, I will, me. How long has it been?

I don’t know yet, I’ll be seeing a doctor once we’ll be back in London.

Good. I can’t wait fer this little one to show up so I can teach…

No Li’, not so soon. I laughed

Oh, ye’re not funny! He answered, rolling his eyes

*

August 23rd 1996- London:

We were back in London for a few days and for a gig that would take place on this night. And the only appointment I had was on this day. Noel wanted to come with me, but couldn’t miss soundcheck, and this for three reasons. Firstly, because he wanted this gig to be perfect. He always wanted to, and he could have missed an hour of it for other gigs, which leads us to reason number two: This gig would be the MTV unplugged one, meaning it would be recorded and the band worked really hard for this. Reason number three…. Liam let them down on this most important day. I had to separate the brothers who almost fought (again). Liam said he was “sick” and Noel didn’t believe it, and thought he was just hangovered, and though he didn’t mind it, he would have to do the job himself, meaning he couldn’t come with me to the appointment, and hated the fact Liam was lying and unpredictable. He wasn’t doing his job properly.

So here I was… but not alone, because Patsy didn’t want me to be alone during this important moment.

Not too stressed I hope? She asked, while we were in the waiting room

Just a bit. Not because I don’t like going to the doctor’s, I got used to it with years, but because I hope I’m not too far along, knowing I kept smoking and drinking.

You couldn’t have known. You were having your period and all that stuff…

Yes, but nausea and other symptoms should have alerted me. And yet, since I know it, my stomach just grew up and man, I look really fucking pregnant now.

She put her hand on mine.

It’s gonna be okay, I understand how you feel. I didn’t go through the same thing, but I’ve been pregnant, and I know how it feels. You’re still in shock and that’s perfectly normal. But don’t be scared. Everything will be fine.

A silence settled in. I had to get rid of a heavy load.

I’ve already been pregnant before Patsy.

She was shocked.

Really?

Yeah, a few years ago. It’s when Noel and I were separated. I was with a guy called Kenneth. He was beating me and a lot of other stuff.

Like…

Yeah, the sadly famous R word.

Oh, I’m sorry…

Don’t be. I’m fine now. I’m more than that. I’m the happiest bird in the world. I was a lot younger when it happened and not ready. Noel came back and not so long after, I was pregnant, and this baby was conceived during hard moments. Kenneth didn’t like Noel at all, he thought we were a bit too close for his taste. He was paranoid, thinking I was cheating on him, and he was taking advantage of it to take advantage of me and my body. When I told him I was expecting and that I wanted to keep the baby, he pushed me in the stairs and there was no baby anymore.

Oh my God…

And what I’m going to say is absolutely horrible to hear, but I felt sad and at the same time… relief. This child wasn’t meant to be. What could have had happened to his future with a father like Kenneth? Would he have beaten this child too? No, he was killed first. But… it was better this way. It’s as if for once… he’d protected someone from himself and especially with what happened afterwards… I know what I’m saying is absolutely horrifying but…

No. No, it isn’t. What is horrifying is what happened to you. Did you even, have time to mourn this baby?

Not at first. I had to be miss perfect, so I was like high functioning. But when Noel rescued me and the aftermath… I think that’s when I did it. A part of the depression mourned this baby. This is the biggest secret I’ve kept to myself and myself only. No one knows. Not even Noel.

And it’ll follow me to the grave.  I’m so sorry and horrified you had to go through this. Noel is right when he calls you his warrior. Because this is what you are.

So yes, I lied to Noel. To protect him. I knew if I told him that he’ll run to the airport and take the first plane to Manchester to kill Kenneth. I thought about having kids before. But I stopped thinking about it since that particular day. And now, the baby I was bearing was all I wanted.

*

Hearing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time… What a fucking moving moment. I was in tears.

How… How far along am I? I asked

By the size of your baby, I’d say between 4 and 5 months. Let’s say something like 4 months and 3 weeks. And it seems like you’re having a healthy baby boy, I can already see it. Congratulations!

I was happy. All I needed to hear was said. The word healthy was ringing in my head.

I-Is it possible to print a screen shot? For me and the dad? Please?

Of course. The doctor answered, smiling

And once I had it between my hands, I couldn’t let go of it. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Examining and re-examining the little silhouette of the being that was growing in my stomach. To the point, Patsy was forced to tell me we arrived at the Royal Festival Hall. In the car, everything I was thinking about was “And now? how will he look? What name will we choose for this little one?”

I entered the building alone, as the cab left with Patsy who would be coming back to Liam. The guys were in the middle of rehearsals. The minute Noel saw me, he stopped playing and put his acoustic guitar aside before jumping off the stage and running towards me.

Tell me everything. He said, taking my hands in his

I handed him the ultrasound’s screenshot, and he took it.

I’m 4 months and 3 weeks pregnant. And…

And?

And we’re having a baby boy.

Noel jumped in joy and held me in his arms.

Guys, I’m going to be a dad and it’s a boy! He shouted

The boys cheered, happy for us. I looked at Noel, surprised.

Noel…

Soz, I couldn’t help it. And anyway, everyone can see you’re pregnant now!

*

Jacob!

No.

Romeo!

Out of question.

Milton?

Oh come on, don’t grandpa him yet!

Martin.

Ye can do better.

Owen.

Too American fer me.

Oh come on Noel, we have to decide! I said

Ye’re only 5 months pregnant! We’ve got time fer this!

Actually it’s 4 months and 3 weeks and the baby will be born tomorrow if we let time go by.

Nevermind.

Hey no! My baby’s name won’t go with a simple and jaded nevermind!

Alright, alright. Can I propose one?

I’m all ears.

Frederick. Like imagine, we could call him Freddie Gallagher. A rockstar’s name fer a rockstar’s son.

Noely, I love you and I love Freddie Mercury but no.

Or Simon, what d’ye think about Simon?

Cute but it sounds a bit too much like Simon Lebon. But as a second name, why not? What about Andrew?

Andrew Simon Gallagher… Andy Gallagher… Yea. Yea, actually I like it. It sounds good. Deal.

See? A nevermind can quickly become an Andy.

Oh, shut yer cake ole.

*

Sometimes, it feels like happiness comes with a price. And everything you were happy about and everything you had planned ends up in a shattered dream. I knew something was wrong when it was going too well.

October 12th 1996- London:

Terrible cramps woke me up. It hurt. I hadn’t felt the baby move for a few hours now. I thought he fell asleep after giving a long series of kicks. I sat on the edge of the bed. I put my hand on my belly. I knew. I felt something was wrong deep inside. Then I felt something humid between my legs. I turned the light on. I was bleeding. It wasn’t a pool, but enough to make me panic.

Noel! Noel fucking wake up I’m bleeding! I yelled

Noel woke up, startling and saw. The man never had his driver license, so he was forced to call 999, and an ambulance took us to the hospital.

I was panicking. But not for my life. And I was right to do so. The doctors made some exams, including ultrasound. This is when the biggest heartbreak of my entire life happened. I previously told you that hearing your baby’s heartbeat is really moving. Then Heartbeat turns to heartbreak. But before turning to heartbreak, it turns to fucking heartache. My baby had been suffering. He had been kicking non-stop to alert me something was wrong. And I didn’t get it. His little heart had stopped beating and It was my entire fault.

But one of the hardest things was that I had to wait. I had to wait for my fucking cervix to dilate, not to give birth but to literally expel my own son from my womb.

Noel was by my side. I didn’t want him to see this, but he didn’t want me to be alone during this hard ordeal. And then we saw why after the “delivery”. One fucking reason. But an evident one. A knot. A knot in the umbilical cord. My son died of hypoxia. This is very rare event, as not all knots are dangerous. But this one…

And it was as if my body detected our little one’s death and started to try to expel him, but he was already too big to pass.

Apart from that tragical event, he was perfect. He had no deformities. And even if he had, I would still have loved him the same.

I was devastated, and so was Noel.

I insisted to hold Andy in my arms for a few minutes, to say goodbye. Noel and I cried, for a long time. We both kissed his little head. A shattered dream and two broken hearts.

[kmomof4]

A Mistress to No One Part 2 Ch5

We are back, y’all!!! Thank you all for your love and support of this fic!!! We have some hurt/comfort incoming, so get ready!!! I hope you enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!

All the love to @hollyethecurious​ for whom the fic was written, @jrob64​ and @zaharadessert​ for their beta prowess, and @motherkatereloyshipper​ for her manips of Killian and Leroy and Astrid in the artwork.

Summary: Bastard Emma Swan enjoys one night of pure magic and romance in the midst of a life of drudgery and abuse- attending a masquerade ball and meeting aristocrat Killian Jones. 

Two years later, the same man she met on the best night of her life reappears, saving her from a dire fate in the process. Now, she must keep herself from falling in love with a man she can never have. But when that proves impossible, is there any hope for a happy ending between two people from such vastly different worlds?

Rating: M (smut in a later chapter)

Words: 6759 of approx 61,6K

Tags: Birthday Fic, Inspired by Benedict’s Story in Bridgerton, Smut

On ao3 from the beginning/current ch

On Tumblr Prologue Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4

New Tag List! Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

@jrob64​ @teamhook​ @winterbaby89​ @hollyethecurious​ @xarandomdreamx​ @undercaffinatednightmare​ @the-darkdragonfly​ @stahlop​ @superchocovian​ @pirateprincessofpizza​ @tiganasummertree​ @anmylica​ @cosette141​ @motherkatereloyshipper​ @zaharadessert​ @jonesfandomfanatic​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @jennjenn615​ @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713​ @kymbersmith-90​ @booksteaandtoomuchtv​ @wistfulcynic​ @mie779​ @snowbellewells​ @lfh1226-linda​ @aprilqueen84​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @pirateherokillian​ @elfiola​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @justanother-unluckysoul​ @poptart-cat-78​ @myfearless-love​ @goforlaunchcee​ @searchingwardrobes​ @gingerpolyglot​ @gingerchangeling​ @djlbg​ @cocohook38​ @cs-rylie​ @thisonesatellite​ @donteattheappleshook​ @deckerstarblanche​ @veryverynotgoodwrites​ @wefoundloveunderthelight​ @fleurdepetite​

Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

“We need a fire and dry clothes,” Killian declared, as he was interrupted by another coughing fit, “- before we catch pneumonia.”

“Of the two of us,” Emma replied, “I think you’re the only one in danger of contracting pneumonia.”

“Too right,” he agreed. He coughed again, doubling over at the waist, and Emma was torn between going to him and maintaining a proper distance right where she was.

“Mr. Jones?” she asked, getting more concerned by the minute. His coughing was getting worse and much more frequent.

“Just help me get the fire going before I cough myself into oblivion.” His voice was raspy and he seemed to barely get the words out.

Emma turned to the firegrate and easily got a blaze going. She’d certainly had enough experience with that as a household maid. In only a matter of minutes, they were both standing before it, their hands held out toward the warmth.

“I don’t suppose your change of clothing stayed dry, did it?” he asked, nodding his head toward her satchel on the ground in front of her.

“I sincerely doubt it,” she replied easily. “But if I stand here long enough, I’m sure I’ll dry out quickly.”

“I can find some dry clothes for you,” he offered.

Emma turned to him surprised. “You have women’s clothing here?”

He shrugged. “My sisters have stayed here from time to time and may have left some clothing here.” He turned his back to the fire when another coughing fit seized him.

“Really, Mr. Jones,” she began once he was over it, “It’s not necessary.”

“Nonsense,” he replied. “Why don’t you start the furnaces in two of the bedrooms, and I’ll go see what I can find.”

“Which room is yours?” she asked as he started toward the stairs. She followed quickly, not wanting to be left in the dark.

“Top of the stairs on the right,” he informed her. “You can have any other you like.” He had to stop halfway up the stairs to cough; he held the banister tightly and Emma took the candle from him, not wanting him to drop it and burn the house down. She couldn’t help the fear she felt as it seemed to take him longer to get it under control.

“I’ll just stay in the servants quarters,” she told him once he stopped coughing.

“Absolutely not,” he wheezed. “You are not a servant here, you are a guest. And besides, the bedrooms have feather mattresses and goosedown coverlets.”

Emma knew she should remember her place, but the thought 0f a feather mattress and down coverlet was just too exquisite to turn down. She hadn’t slept in such luxury in years.

“Alright then,” she acquiesced. “I’ll… just… get your furnace going. Oh, wait. Won’t you need the candle?” she asked. “Let me just…” She turned toward his bedchamber and entered it, where she found an oil lamp on the nightstand. She lit it quickly and then returned the lit candle to Killian still in the hallway. He moved to another bedroom across the hall as she returned to his.

This time when she entered, she took the time to look around. It was lovely. Warmly decorated and furnished, very masculine in nature. The furniture was dark and heavy, with navy blue accents on the bedclothes. She found several items of a personal nature scattered about the room. She saw miniatures of his family. At least, she assumed they were his family when she spotted a man with blonde hair- his brother David, she remembered. Leather bound books lined the shelves and on the writing desk, a small bowl filled with- how odd, she thought- rocks.

She picked one up and examined it closely. It was the color of a robin’s egg with a ragged pink vein through the middle.

“I found that one on a hike,” his voice came from behind her. She jumped, ashamed to be caught unabashedly snooping.

“I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean…”

He waved aside her apology as he came into the room. He tossed a long sleeping gown on the bed. “I’ve been collecting them since I was a child. Each one special in their own way. I found that one the day my father died.”

Emma gasped in dismay. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“I’m still sorry.”

He smiled sadly. “As am I.” He was wracked with another cough and he grabbed the post of the bed to keep himself upright.

“You need to get warm,” she said, turning to the furnace. She stood in front of it for several minutes, stoking the flames, until she was sure it wouldn’t sputter out. When she turned back to Killian, he was sitting on the bed, leaning against the tall post on the end, looking like death warmed over. She hurried to his side. “Are you alright, Mr. Jones?”

“Don’ feel so good.” His eyes were glassy and his voice was slightly slurred. If she didn’t know any better, she would have said he was intoxicated, but she’d been in his presence for the last two hours and he hadn’t had a single thing to drink in that time.

“You need to get into bed, Mr. Jones.” It was horribly familiar of her, but his health was at stake, so she wrapped her arm around his waist, placing his arm across her shoulders, trying to get him to move toward the head of the bed. He looked down at her and grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her.

“You coming?”

Emma snorted. “Now I know you’re feverish.”

His hand moved to his forehead. “Hmmm,” his brow furrowed, “I may be a bit hot.”

She felt his forehead herself. It wasn’t burning, but it certainly wasn’t cool either. “You need to get out of those wet clothes. Immediately.”

His voice was even more slurred when he spoke this time. “Yeth, I shuppose so…” His eyes were shut as she laid him back on the bed. He was so near the edge, she was afraid to move lest he fall right off onto the floor. His face looked positively white against the navy blue of the coverlet and Emma tried not to let the fear choke her. She’d never in her life had to care for someone who was ill with a fever. The closest she’d ever come was Mrs. Gold’s elderly mother who couldn’t walk.

“Mr. Jones,” she said, “Mr. Jones,” she said more loudly when he didn’t respond.

“Huh? What?” he asked, startled awake.

“You fell asleep.”

His face was incredulous. “And the problem with that is…?”

“You’re still in your wet clothes!” she exclaimed. “And I’m not strong enough to lift you more fully onto the bed.”

He tried to take a deep breath, but started coughing again when he did. He somehow summoned the strength to sit up, causing it to finally taper off. He tried to unbutton his shirt, but his fingers were still very wet and trembling. He sighed and let his hands drop.

“I… might need some help,” he said sheepishly, scratching behind his ear.

“Oh, dear,” Emma breathed. She reached for him, but jerked back again, uncertain. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and started undoing his buttons. She concentrated fully on the buttons themselves, trying desperately to ignore the skin being revealed as she went. Once she was done, she looked up to find that he was asleep again. But at least this time he was fully on the bed and not about to fall off, and was raised up enough that she didn’t think he’d have another bad coughing fit.

Emma sighed. He didn’t need to sleep in those wet pants, either. Her eyes skittered to his face. He was well and truly unconscious and there’d be no waking him to get the pants off. So it was either sleep on top of the covers in wet pants, or she’d have to take them off herself and get him under the covers. Getting him under the coverlet wasn’t an issue. In caring for Mrs. Gold’s mother, she learned quickly how to change a bed with a person in it. But completely undressing Killian Jones was. Even unconscious, she was nervous, not sure she really should. But the depth of his cough was frightening. And the fever seemed to be just getting started. If he was going to have any hope of recovery, she needed to get him warm. And quickly.

She took another deep breath and determined that she would not look at his body more than was necessary to get his pants off and tucked into the bed. Thankfully, he’d taken his boots off downstairs, so all she had to get off were his stockings and breeches. She rolled down his stockings and draped them over the back of the chair in front of the furnace. She turned back toward the bed and pressed her lips together in a thin line. There was nothing for it. She had no choice.

She worked the coverlet out from under him so once his bottoms were off, she could immediately cover him, thus, hopefully preserving his modesty, and her innocence. The pants were still wet and so clung to him like a second skin. Her fingers shook as she got the breeches and his underwear removed, blushing furiously when she couldn’t avoid looking at him. Once she got them off of his legs, she covered him up, made sure he was comfortable and then left the room with the nightgown he’d found for her.

It was only about fifteen minutes later that she fell into the bed, asleep moments after her head hit the pillow.

It seemed only moments later that Emma shot straight up out of a dead sleep. Her eyes darted around the room taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. The fire in the furnace was very low and the soft gray of predawn seeped into the room. Was that a moan? She grabbed the candle off of the end table and ran across to Killian’s room.

As soon as she got there, she lit the candle from the fire in his furnace and then moved toward the bed. He was almost unnaturally still, so she watched his chest carefully, waiting with bated breath to see it rise. When she’d left him the night before, he obviously wasn’t well, but he hadn’t seemed at death’s door, either. She wouldn’t have left him, otherwise.

“Mr. Jones?” she whispered. No response. She crept closer to the bed, relieved to see his chest rise and fall. “Mr. Jones,” she said a little louder, leaning over him.

His arm shot out suddenly, knocking her off balance so that she fell against him. His arms immediately came around her, holding her tightly against him.

“Mr. Jones,” she screeched. “Let go!”

He started to thrash and moan, complete nonsense spilling from his lips. His embrace was like iron and she was amazed at his strength while in the grips of a fever. For he definitely was. Emma wrenched one arm free and touched his forehead with her hand. It was on fire.

He was suddenly still, and Emma was wiggling out of his arms when he spoke. “Kiss me.”

“What?” Emma’s eyes widened in surprise. His eyes were still shut and he was very still.

“Kiss me,” he said again, a touch of desperation in his voice.

Emma ran her hand along his brow- it felt even warmer than it had a moment ago- and murmured, “You’re just dreaming, Mr. Jones.”

“Kiss me!” he demanded, grabbing her upper arms, but his eyes remained shut. She could see his eyes dart back and forth behind his closed eyelids. It was truly a marvel to watch someone dream.

“Dammit, kiss me! Please,” he begged. She was about to explain to him exactly why she could not kiss him when the thought crossed her mind, why ever not? It’s not like he’d ever remember this.

She moved toward him and gently brushed his lips with her own. She ran her fingers along his brow. “I love you,” she whispered. “I’ve always loved you.”

He was still for a moment and Emma thought perhaps he’d fallen back into a deep sleep before he spoke again.

“Where’d you go?”

“I’m right here, Mr. Jones,” she assured him, pulling back from his embrace.

“Don’t leave me,” he begged.

Emma grabbed his hand and squeezed. Even his hands were hot. “I won’t leave you,” she promised, “but I must first go fetch a few things.” She let go of his hand and hurried out of the room.

Thankfully, most houses of the aristocracy were run remarkably similarly. Emma had no trouble finding fresh sheets to replace Killian’s sweat soaked ones now on the bed and a tall pitcher she filled with cool water and basin with cloths to try and cool him down. She may have never cared for someone with a fever, but when she’d been ill when she was a child, she remembered how refreshing a cool cloth on her forehead, neck, and chest felt.

While she didn’t think it was such a good idea to put the cool cloth on his chest, surely it would feel good on his forehead and neck. He didn’t move when she laid the dampened cloth on his forehead and she took that as a good sign. She dipped another cloth into the basin and raised his head just a bit in order to lay it across the back of his neck, causing the cloth on his forehead to fall to his lap. Emma could feel her cheeks heating up as she hurriedly grabbed it, felt his forehead again, then placed the cloth back where it belonged. This time his forehead was warm and a bit clammy. Not a combination she expected, but at least he seemed at least a little bit cooler.

He started to thrash again, mumbling something completely incoherent.

“Really?” Emma asked, trying to smile and failing utterly. “I’m glad you think so.”

He muttered something else.

“No,” she answered, “I’m afraid you’re quite mistaken on that count.”

He went still again.

“I’d be happy to revise my opinion, if you could convince me otherwise. Please don’t take offense.”

She was starting to feel quite foolish conversing with a man who was unconscious. Noting that he remained still, and that his breathing was no longer labored, she thought she might safely leave him for a moment to put her dry clothes back on and try and find them something to eat. She didn’t expect him to wake anytime soon, but if he did, he’d need to eat something to regain some strength.

She arrived back in his room about thirty minutes later, suitably dressed and bearing a fresh pitcher of water, some beef broth for him and a few small sandwiches for her.

She removed the cloths from his head and neck and felt his cheeks, his hands, and his chest to try and ascertain if the fever had broken yet. He still seemed quite warm, but not as blazing as he was when she awakened that morning. She dipped the cloths into the cool water again and bathed his forehead, neck and upper chest before covering him with a sheet. He was still, sleeping peacefully and so Emma helped herself to the sandwiches she brought up. It was nowhere near enough, but Emma didn’t want to leave him long enough in order to prepare something more substantial.

As Killian slept, Emma looked around the room. On his desk she found a leather bound notebook, opened it, and was shocked to find drawings. Quite good drawings, in fact. Had Killian done them? She looked in the corner to see his initials in a box. Emma was utterly charmed. She shamelessly flipped through the portfolio, too entranced to even consider how he’d feel about her looking.

The first several pages were of My Cottage- should I call it His Cottage?- details of the front door, with the portico covered with a tea rose vine, his bedroom, the window looking into the kitchen, and front parler.

 Then as she moved on, she found landscapes. Lush forests, babbling brooks she could almost hear meandering through the trees, a sunlit meadow filled with the most beautiful and perfectly pink roses she’d ever seen. A sunrise, a sunset.

Finally, she came to portraits. She guessed these must be sketches of his family. The older woman bore more than a passing resemblance to Killian and so Emma guessed this must be his mother. Right behind it was a portrait of a man. Not as old as the woman, but the resemblance to Killian was remarkable. Perhaps this was the father he’d lost so long ago? She kept flipping through the pages. She recognized David at once with his blonde hair. The next to last page in the book was a domestic scene. David was one of several people engaged in some kind of outdoor game. The fun and laughter on their faces almost made Emma laugh aloud. One of the ladies had her face screwed up in concentration as she made ready to hit a ball with a long handled club through a wicket. The scene made her sigh in happiness. Did Killian even realize how blessed he was to have been born into such a large and happy family?

She turned to the last page and gasped.

The final page, the final portrait, was her.

It was a full length portrait and he’d gotten every detail of the fairytale princess dress perfectly, down to the long gloves and the mask with the swan detail around the eye. Even her hair was exquisitely rendered.

Killian suddenly groaned and Emma hurriedly closed the portfolio, laying it on the desk where she’d found it, and moved over to the bed.

“Mr. Jones?” she asked. How she wanted to call him Killian. It was what she called him in her dreams, how she thought of him all these years. But it would be completely unacceptable for her to do so here.

“Mr. Jones?” She touched his arm lightly and his eyelids fluttered open. His eyes were still glazed with fever and he blinked several times. “Are you alright? Do you need anything?”

He turned toward her and squinted. “Emma?” he asked. “The housemaid?”

“Yes, I’m here,” she assured him. “What do you need?”

“Water,” he croaked.

“Right away, sir.” She turned to the fresh water pitcher and poured him a glass. He took it, swallowing eagerly. He grimaced and fell back on the pillows.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

She fought the instinct to curtsy, he likely wouldn’t notice anyway. She touched his forehead, and while it still seemed rather warm, just the fact that he was awake and lucid made her think the fever had broken.

“Do you think you can eat something?” she asked. “I brought you some beef broth.”

“My throat is on fire, but maybe just a swallow or two.” He pushed himself up on the pillows and took the bowl she handed him. He took a sip, his eyes shutting against the pain of swallowing. Emma grimaced along with him. He took another deep sip and handed the bowl back to her. “Very good. Thank you.”

“Of course. Your fever seems to have broken. I think you’ll feel much better tomorrow.”

Killian chuckled, but it turned into a cough, although not nearly as deep as those from the night before.

“Not likely,” he said.

“Well, not recovered, definitely,” she acknowledged. “But I do think you will feel better than you do right now.”

“I truly can’t imagine feeling any worse.” Emma chuckled at his attempt at humor.

“Do you think you can scoot to one side of your bed, so I can change your sheets?”

He nodded and did as she asked. “That’s a neat trick,” he said once she’d finished.

She smiled. “Mrs. Gold’s mother was bedridden and I cared for her when she visited,” she explained.

Killian nodded. “I’m going back to sleep now,” he informed her, unnecessarily.

“Go ahead,” she told him. “I’ll be right here if you need anything. I won’t leave you.”

But Killian Jones was already fast asleep.

~*~*~

The rest of the day was spent closely watching Killian, only leaving him when she absolutely had to. He didn’t have any more of the vivid hallucinations brought on by the high fever, and his cough was much better, but she couldn’t help the fear that if she left him, he’d somehow have a setback. She kept the fire in the furnace going and repeatedly checked his temperature, just to make sure he really was better. He woke again briefly as the sun was setting and she was able to coax him to have a little more broth, before he fell asleep again.

Emma was torn between going back to her room for the night and staying right where she was in the armchair, keeping silent vigil over him. In the end, she stayed with him, bringing the coverlet from her bed to keep herself warm. In her mind, she justified staying with the thought that she wanted to be close by if he needed her.

She slept fitfully, not terribly comfortable sleeping in an armchair, but exhaustion finally took her sometime in the dark and silent hours after midnight.

Emma awoke, late morning sunlight streaming into the room, to see two faces staring curiously at her. The scream she released startled the strangers and well and truly brought not only herself to full wakefulness, but Killian as well.

“Wh- what?” he cried, thrashing a bit as he sat up to find they were no longer alone in the room.

“Mr. Jones,” the woman cried, turning to him on the bed. Emma looked at the man still staring, rather belligerently in her opinion, at her and then over to Killian still on the bed, being fussed over by who could only be Mrs. Miner.

“Who are you?” Mr. Miner asked, training his suspicious eyes back on her.

Emma swallowed hard before speaking. “Miss Emma Swan,” she introduced herself. She motioned to Killian on the bed. “I… he…”

“Spit it out, girl,” the man growled.

“Don’t torture her,” Killian croaked. Mrs. Miner continued to fuss over him, fluffing his pillows amid exclamations of surprise at his presence.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “We were visiting my sister on the other side of the village. If we’d known to expect you, we would have come home straight away.”

“It was a spur of the moment decision,” Killian informed them. “Found myself at a bad party and decided to leave.”

“What about her?” Mr. Miner asked, jerking his thumb in Emma’s direction.

“Oh, I was…”

“She was also there,” Killian interrupted, giving her a significant look. Emma cut her eyes to Mr. and Mrs. Miner before continuing.

“I wasn’t attending the party, I was a servant of the house.”

Mr. Miner’s eyebrows rose. “If you were a servant of the house, what are you doing here?”

Killian coughed lightly, catching everyone’s attention. “Can I bring you some more water, Mr. Jones?” Emma asked.

Killian shook his head. “Tea, please,” he rasped.

Emma jumped up. “I’ll get it.”

“I’ll get it,” Mrs. Miner said kindly but firmly.

“May I help with anything?” Emma asked, full of contrition. Something about Mr. and Mrs. Miner made Emma feel like a child. It was obvious they were used to running things around My Cottage and Emma responded to their authority without question. Mr. Miner was short and rather squat with Mrs. Miner several inches taller and thin, but they obviously cared deeply for one another, and Killian as well.

“A fine housekeeper I’d be if I couldn’t prepare tea.”

Emma couldn’t tell if Mrs. Miner was truly miffed or was just joking. “I didn’t mean…”

Mrs. Miner waved aside her apology. “Shall I bring you a cup?”

“Oh, that’s not…”

“Bring her a cup,” Killian interrupted. Emma glared at him, and he glared right back. He turned back to Mrs. Miner and gave her a smile that would have melted the ice of a lake in the dead of winter. “Would you be so kind as to bring Miss Swan a cup, as well?” he asked.

Mrs. Miner curtsied. “Of course, Mr. Jones. But may I say…”

“You may say anything you like when you return with the tea,” he promised.

She gave him a stern look. “I have a lot to say.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

She hurried out and Mr. Miner turned his gaze back on Emma. “Well?” he asked.

Emma wasn’t sure what to say. “Well?” she parroted, drawing the word out in question.

“What are you doing here if you were a servant of the house at this party Mr. Jones attended?”

“Could we please save the interrogation for when Mrs. Miner returns with the tea?” Killian asked, “Since I am sure she will just repeat all of your questions.”

“Of course,” Mr. Miner conceded. “She’ll be back in just a few minutes. And with breakfast as well. When we saw your horses in the stable, Mrs. Miner went to work on it straight away. She knows how you love your eggs, Mr. Jones. We just didn’t know there’d be two of you.”

Killian smiled weakly and leaned back on the pillows. “I do love my eggs,” he agreed.

“I’ll just…” Emma looked around helplessly before dropping a small curtsy and rushing from the room, explaining she would see if she could help Mrs. Miner bring the tea up.

“Once a servant, always a servant,” Mr. Miner commented. Killian couldn’t put his finger on exactly why, but for some reason, Mr. Miner’s statement irritated him. While they waited, Mr. Miner explained where they were and why.

“Molly had her baby- a girl,” he said.

Killian was truly pleased for them. “Congratulations.”

“If we’d known you were coming, we wouldn’t have stayed as long as we did.”

Killian waved aside his contrition. “It is of no concern. You had no reason to expect me, and every reason to be with your family for a few days. Emma has taken very good care of me since we arrived.”

“When did you get here?”

“Uh,” Killian mused. “Night before last, I believe. The night of the storm. I haven’t exactly been fully aware of what was going on since we got here.”

“Yes, that was the night before last,” Mr. Miner agreed, his brow furrowing even further than it already was. Killian was always amused when he thought of Mr. and Mrs. Miner. More divergent personalities he could hardly imagine, especially between a long time and happily married couple. Mr. Miner rarely smiled, tending to scowl instead, while Mrs. Miner had the sunniest disposition of anyone he knew, always smiling, always ready to help.

The ladies came through the door just then, bearing a splendid tea service and breakfast. Emma set the tray down as Mrs. Miner fussed over Killian, pouring his tea, and filling his plate.

Emma seemed content to fade into the background as he dug into his meal. He was famished. After he’d taken a couple of bites and a swallow of tea- he was really going to have to pace himself with his throat as sore as it still was- he caught her attention.

“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” he asked.

“Oh, w-well,” she stammered. Mrs. Miner immediately moved over to her and began fussing over her the same way she had done him. Killian’s lips lifted in a satisfied smirk as Mrs. Miner carried on and Emma blushed furiously.

“When was the last time you ate, girl?” Mr. Miner asked as Mrs. Miner dished up her plate. Killian knew Mr. Miner well enough to know that while his countenance was stern, he had a heart as big as London itself and that his question came from a place of concern that she’d been too busy caring for him to adequately care for herself as well.

“Um…” He could see Emma was flustered in the extreme and Killian suddenly felt sorry for her. She was a servant and wasn’t used to having anyone fuss over her. He knew that he’d been very ill indeed if he’d been essentially unconscious for thirty-six hours. As conscientious as she’d been in getting him into the bed, and what he remembered from his moments of lucidity, there was no doubt in his mind that she had neglected her own needs in order to care for him. “Sometime yesterday… I think…”

“As I said,” Killian interjected in between bites, “Emma has taken very good care of me since we got here.”

“And we are glad to hear it, aren’t we, Mr. Miner?” Mrs. Miner asked her husband. “But now that we’re here, you are a guest and you’ll be treated as such.”

“But…” Emma tried to protest and Killian couldn’t help but chuckle when Mrs. Miner pooh poohed them all away.

“Now, sit and eat,” Mrs. Miner said, laying the plate on the desk and all but forcing Emma down into the chair. “And not another word about it. I’m going to make up a room for her,” she said to the room in general.

“In the servant’s quarters, please,” Emma said.

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Miner replied. “As I said, you are not a servant here, you are a guest.”

“Do you need any help, my dear?” Mr. Miner asked. Killian smiled as he watched him. Mr. Miner’s face was as soft as it got when he looked at his wife. Not exactly pleasant, but just a little dreamy, perhaps. Tenderness and love shone out of his eyes, and Killian wondered if he’d ever find someone whom he would look at like that.

Mrs. Miner nodded, and they both hurried from the room, but not before Mrs. Miner told Killian to make sure Emma filled her plate again.

He ate slowly and kept glancing at Emma as they ate. He could tell she was trying to put on her best manners, but it wasn’t long after Mr. and Mrs. Miner left the room that she began shoveling food into her mouth. Killian could feel his jaw tick as he clenched his teeth. He did not like seeing Emma so hungry.

He felt protective over her. They had a strange little bond between them, not something he ever would have expected to occur between himself and a housemaid. He had saved her and she had saved him. Or at least, she had helped him recover much faster than he would have otherwise. If his fever had been truly dangerous, he’d still be fighting it now. But if she hadn’t been here, he truly couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him.

As he and Emma continued their meal, Killian’s thoughts again drifted to Mr. and Mrs. Miner’s relationship and Emma’s care for him. He vaguely remembered her caring for him- mopping his head with cool cloths, feeding him spoonfuls of broth when he woke, changing the sheets on the bed when his fever broke- but the recollections were hazy at best, more like dreams than anything. Suddenly Killian remembered a particularly vivid dream from sometime after they’d arrived.

It was her.

The mystery woman from his mother’s masquerade ball two years ago. It wasn’t a new dream, but he hadn’t had it in a while. He had begun to think that not having it for so long meant he was getting over her, finally. Apparently not. Perhaps his thoughts turning to her in the minutes before they arrived at the cottage triggered the dream.

And what a dream it was. Killian was no saint, and the dream reflected that. He remembered details- whispered endearments, running his fingers along her naked skin- and felt his member stir to life. His eyes cut over to where Emma continued to eat. He couldn’t afford to let his thoughts run away with him, not with her in the room.

“Get some more,” he told her. Emma stopped, her fork halfway to her mouth. “I can assure you, Mrs. Miner knows exactly how much food is on the tray, and she’ll blame me if it hasn’t decreased any by the time they return.”

Emma nodded and placed more eggs and bacon on her plate. “How are you feeling this morning, Mr. Jones?”

“Much better than when we arrived,” he assured her. “My throat is sore from all of the coughing, but I’m no longer chilled, and the cough itself has much improved. Thank you,” he said sincerely, after taking another bite and sip of his tea. “It was very kind of you to care for me.”

“It was nothing,” she said, waving aside his gratitude. “I did what anyone else would have done.”

Killian’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her self-deprecation annoyed him and it made him wonder if anyone had ever thanked her for anything.

“It may not have seemed like anything to you,” he countered before parroting the words she’d said to him the night they arrived, “but it was everything to me. I can’t imagine what kind of shape I’d be in right now if you hadn’t been here to care for me.”

Emma blushed, but she didn’t contradict him again.

“Uh,” he began, nervously, scratching behind his ear, “I didn’t do anything for which I need to apologize, did I?”

Emma nearly spat out her drink in shock. Her cheeks flamed as she remembered the single perfect kiss she’d pressed to his lips when he begged her to in the throes of a fever dream.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” he said. Emma looked at him and saw his face was as red as she was sure hers was. Even the tips of his ears flamed.

“What makes you think you might have done anything you needed to apologize for?” she asked.

“Oh, well…” he was scratching behind his ear again and Emma tried to tamp down her smile at his nervous tell. “Just a dream I had that I was afraid may have worked its way out of my head and into my members… er, my limbs… I mean, I was afraid I might have physically done something untowards… to you. I mean, I hope I didn’t. But if I did, I sincerely apologize.”

Emma’s heart pounded in her chest and she could only pray he was too embarrassed to notice.

“You didn’t, Mr. Jones,” she assured him. Killian looked extremely dubious.

“Are you sure?” he asked her. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

Emma caught her breath at his words. Did he mean about this particular question? Or in general? Because couldn’t it be said that she was lying to him now by not confessing exactly who she was? The lady he’d taught to dance two years ago at a masquerade ball. The lady who, for two blissful hours, he’d seen and treated like an equal, not like the servant she was.

“No,” she said. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Killian narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re blushing.”

“No, I’m not,” she replied, vehemently, her hands flying to her face. Her cheeks felt hot. She was definitely blushing.

“Oh, yes, you are,” he insisted.

“Well, if I’m blushing,” she said pertly, “it’s because of the nature of your question. Of course you didn’t do anything untowards.”

Killian grinned as the thought crossed his mind of why she might be blushing. “Oh, so are you blushing because you’re imagining what it’d be like if I had? Or if I did?” He couldn’t deny the surge of male pride he felt that she apparently found him attractive. And he had to admit, she was very attractive as well, even when she resembled a drowned rat the other night. “You know, you have a rather smart mouth for a servant.”

Now her cheeks flamed for another reason entirely. She had to remember herself when she was around him.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. Don’t apologize,” he urged her. “I find it, and you,” he added, “rather refreshing. Don’t stifle yourself on my account.”

“Oh, well, thank you.” She rose from her seat, her plate clean.

“Where are you going?”

“Well, now that Mr. and Mrs. Miner are here to take care of you, I should probably leave to try and find a new position. Somewhere.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” Killian objected. “First of all, Mrs. Miner is making up a room for you as we speak, and secondly, I already told you I’m sure I could find you a position in my mother’s household in London.”

Emma gulped hard. She couldn’t exactly tell him she didn’t want to accept any position in his mother’s household in London, because it meant she would see him. And she didn’t think she’d be able to survive that kind of torture.

“And I truly appreciate that,” she told him instead, “But I’d prefer to stay in the country.”

Something tickled the edge of Killian’s mind- something about the way she spoke, a turn of a phrase, something he couldn’t put his finger on. He brushed it aside.

“We have a country estate. In Kent,” he informed her. “You could work there.”

Emma inhaled sharply. “You shouldn’t think of me as your responsibility.”

“I told you I’d find you another position, and I will,” he countered easily. “What else is there to discuss?”

Emma huffed under her breath. There was no use arguing with him at the moment. “Nothing, I guess.”

“Good,” he told her, laying his head back against the pillows. “Glad you see it my way.”

She looked around helplessly for a moment, not sure what to do with herself. Mrs. Miner had made it clear that she wasn’t a servant here, so she didn’t think the woman would appreciate her collecting the dishes and bringing them down. And she needed to get away from Killian before she did or said something she regretted. She couldn’t blame him too much. As a Jones, he was used to making decisions and commands and not having them questioned. But if he thought she was going to meekly come along and submit to him on this, he had another thing coming. There was no way under heaven she would work in his mother’s household.

“Now where are you going?” he asked, rising up from the pillow, the sheet covering him falling towards his waist. She cut her eyes away from him. He hadn’t left the bed since she’d gotten him into it two nights ago, and so was still as naked as the day he was born.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

He raised his eyebrow at her sardonically. “Really. Ok, then. Have fun with that.”

Emma’s nostrils flared as she inhaled sharply and her fingers closed around the spoon from her tea.

“Don’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“Throw the spoon.”

Emma pressed her lips into a thin line and forced her fingers to drop the spoon. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she informed him.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he admonished her. “You said you wouldn’t lie to me. You are dreaming of it right this minute. You just wouldn’t do it.”

Remember your place, remember your place, remember your place, she screamed at herself, suddenly realizing the spoon was back in her hand.

“My, my, my, what ever could you be thinking to look that adorably ferocious?” he asked. “Don’t tell me. I’m sure it involves my extremely painful and untimely demise.”

She loosened her fingers again, letting the spoon drop to the desk. He smiled smugly at her. “That was very mature of you.”

“Are you this charming with everyone, or is it just me?” she asked indignantly.

“Oh, only you,” he assured her. “I shall have to make sure you come to work in my mother’s household, for you do bring out my best, Miss Emma Swan.”

“This is your best?” she asked him in stunned disbelief.

“I’m afraid so.” Killian chuckled and Emma crossed to the door, intent on leaving.

“Oh, Emma?”

She turned toward him to find him smiling slyly, his eyebrows waggling at her flirtatiously. “I knew you wouldn’t throw the spoon.”

What happened next was entirely his fault. Because Emma had absolutely no control over herself. It was like she was watching the scene from somewhere up above the action. She saw this other Emma reach out and take the stump of the candle she had used in the night while she attended to him. This other Emma drew back and hurled the stump straight at Killian Jones’ head.

She didn’t wait to see if her aim was true, but was gratified when he laughed loudly and called after her.

“Well done, Emma Swan.”

Emma smiled.

~*~*~

Thank you for reading and sharing! A sneak peek will be up on Wednesday with the new chapter dropping next Sunday!!

[isleofair]

Ten faves in ten fandoms

I was tagged by @saltedpin: thank you so much!!! 💙💙💙 (This took me way longer to put together than I thought, wow)

Tiger & Bunny - Nathan Seymour (aka Fire Emblem) What can I say about Nathan. She's my ultimate blorbo, despite being pretty much the opposite of the kind of character I usually fixate on. They're a successful, ultra-rich business owner but also the mom friend of the group; a wonderful mix of (literally) fiery fierceness and soft sensitivity; a big, phoenix-themed peacock with the heart of a small, cuddly lovebird. I love her to death. 💖 (Honorable mention to her future husband Buddy hero, Keith Goodman, aka Sky High, aka literally the bestest guy EVER.)

Star Trek: TNG - Data This guy was sort of a blueprint for my childhood weirdness. I live for characters who are supposedly non-human, but are actually the most human of them all; and Data, for all that he was vastly stronger, faster, and smarter (at least logically) than all of his friends, had a gentleness to him that made you forget about that pretty much all of the time. I've been wanting to hug him for about 35 years.

Yūri!!! on Ice - Yuuri When I started watching the show, I thought Victor would be my favorite, but when I began to truly understand Yuuri's character, there was no going back. He's so astonishingly real in the way he perceives himself as an utter failure while actually being amazing and very successful. He manages to give me a glimmer of hope, at least sometimes, that maybe I might manage, with some effort, to not be quite as much of an absolute disaster as I fear.

The Lord of the Rings - Faramir If I had to sum Faramir up in a word, it would be unassuming. He's constantly treated (mostly by his father, but also by part of the narrative) as someone who's an afterthought, a second best, a spare; all this in spite of being incredibly smart, and learned, and competent, and kind. He's just... really lovely, and although he ends up with Éowyn as sort of (again) a second choice after Aragorn, I say: Éowyn, my beloved badass, you kind of won the lottery there.

Anime Sanjūshi - Aramis (Yes, Italy apparently got ALL of the anime back in the '80s, lol.) This anime adaptation of The Three Musketeers takes quite a few creative liberties with the story, and one of them is making Aramis a woman in disguise. She kicks just as much ass as any of her companions (most of whom never find out her secret), and at the end, after completing the personal, romance-related quest she joined the Musketeers for, she... keeps her male disguise and her job, presumably forever. A+, no notes.

Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard One of the very few "military jock, ace pilot, dude with a big gun" protagonists I've ever liked, mostly due to the fact that Sheppard is technically all of the above things, but really he's just as much of a geeky, socially inept loser as the scientists he was hired to bodyguard, cosplaying as the jock with a gun because he really loves the "piloting things that fly really fast" part. Add in a self-sacrificial streak about a galaxy wide, and I was sold.

Sailor Moon - Haruka Tenō, aka Sailor Uranus 13-year-old me saw Haruka and fully went "man, I want to be her!" And then, many years later, I realized that I had also probably been wanting her, period. 😅 The anime got censored to hell and back, of course, but I'm the kind of person who takes things I'm told at face value, so I saw her being incredibly dramatic and jealous and infatuated and totally willing to die for her "best friend" and went "yeah, I guess that checks out". I still vaguely thought that she would make the perfect "boyfriend", as she was the coolest person ever, lol.

The Adventure Zone: Balance - Taako I still can't believe a podcast that started out as essentially "how many dick jokes can we fit into 60-90 minutes of butchering the rules of D&D" ended up being one of the most significant pieces of media in my life, but hey, to quote Taako himself, "It’s not all abraca-fuck-you and what have you. I have a beating heart! I’m multi-dimensional! I’m a fully-realized creation! FUCK!" Taako's vulnerability is hidden under MANY layers, but when it comes out, it hits straight to the heart.

Yūki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern - Lewis Smith I'm throwing my most recent fandom in here, because why not. Smith (yeah, I know) is an apparently extremely stereotypical "American Pilot Guy" character (don't look him up, because the show is best experienced without spoilers, but I promise you, he looks just like he could be Keith Goodman's twin), but in a show that is always at least three genres at once, in very varying degrees of seriousness, he ends up being one of the most genre-aware characters of all, with... interesting consequences.

Good Omens (TV) - Crowley This one is interesting because in the book, my favorite character was always, very clearly and very firmly, Aziraphale. And then the tv show happened, and yeah, I'm not immune to the David Tennant Effect, by any means, but... You know that post that's been going around, that says something vaguely like "the best trait a male character can have is being pathetically in love with someone"? Well. Crowley is not a male character, but in the show he embodies pining. Pining pours out of each and every one of his probably non-existent pores 24/7, non-stop, for millennia. And I... kind of like pining. A reasonable amount. It's fiiiiiiiiiiiine.

I am tagging YOU! 🫵 But only if you want to play, of course! 😂💙

[skaruresonic]

My earliest memories of the VN are a little hazy because a lot has happened since then, but I'll try to share the bits and pieces that I do recall. ---

One of the first things I did was compile voice clips in order to have a comprehensive credits list. This included sifting through dialogue compilations. The characters' quotes then shaped ideas for plot beats and informed the kind of narrative it would become. In the earliest draft which... hadn't really been written at the time, but was 90% locked away in my head, the plan was to have Sonic help settle a dispute between Shadow and Rouge following a failed apprehension of some bank robbers. Their chapter would have paralleled Tails and Knuckles' in that two characters approach Sonic instead of just one. Not sure where their chapter would have fit into the overall narrative, but I'd guess around mid-afternoon, just before early evening, when Cream's chapter begins. I couldn't find anything viable in David Humphrey's voice clips, and Jason Griffith's sounded... for lack of a better word, a little too mean-spirited to use. It would have made Shadow seem as though he were raking Rouge over the coals instead of being a little annoyed and aloof. So then I was like, "Maybe I should set this aside for now." Eventually, as Knuckles', Cream's, and Amy's chapters grew in size, I decided it would have dragged the plot out for too long to include Shadow and Rouge's story, and hence cut it. --- The first draft was supposed to have the player take Sonic's place instead of Eggman. The implication being that Eggman somehow separated Sonic's sprite from his dialogue variable and is attempting to control Sonic's "shell" through manipulating the player. As time went on, I realized this was a difficult concept to convey properly. It would have also probably broken immersion to dictate the player's reaction after rendering them a silent entity for most of the game. That's why the switch was then changed to a more direct one between Sonic and Eggman. The player is instead given silent involvement where ultimately their say matters more than Sonic's or even Eggman's. The act of choice demonstrates the sheer power imbalance that exists between the characters and the player who directs them. ---

Eggman's "bad ending" speech was the first thing I worked on, which took about 15 minutes to speedread (so... maybe 30 minutes of regular reading?). It's not "truly" present in the current version of the game, though part of it is there in some form; it just requires a little digging to find. About half of the original speech is preserved in base64 when Sonic's dialogue gets deleted and replaced with barcode. You can see the base64 in the script. During the Good ending where everyone shows up to the surprise party, Sonic calls back to this speech. Eggman is confused because this implies Sonic can read his narration despite several layers of encryption, mirroring Eggman's ability to read Sonic's narration. --- The rave cave was originally supposed to take place at Amy's house, when Eggman would have flooded the place with raving Egg Pawns. All that hawt robot mosh pit action would have carried Sonic out the door and tossed him onto the lawn.

--- The final game has just two routes and many looping choices. A third route where the graphics driver fails, causing Sonic and co.'s sprite textures to fail to load, and an angry overworked Eggman assigning you the task of retrieving the lost textures before the end of the workday got scrapped as well.

[idleglowingpixels]

Okay so, I watched the Miraculous Ladybug movie...

Originally I wasn't going to because the show was such a massive disappointment (mainly Seasons 4 and 5), and I mentally put my foot down saying I wasn't gonna consume anymore official content from the franchise. But morbid curiosity be damned, my God, it was probably everything I could have asked for from a movie for the franchise.

(Spoilers Ahead)

I'm gonna start with my critiques, with a lack of chronology, only so I can save the good parts for the end. I have a lot of nice things to say and I wanna end the post on a good note!

They really could've spent the time it took for Tikki and Marinette's song for the kwamis to explain the powers to Marinette and Adrien (and, in turn, the audience that might not know about/haven't seen the series). I love that song, and I thoroughly enjoyed Tikki's more sassy mentor-like position she takes in the movie, but I do feel that the powers are a bit difficult to understand if you're a newcomer to the show.

The fact Plagg, my favorite character from the series, got dumbed down to a fart joke made me so upset. It felt a lot like when Plagg got dumbed down to purely cheese puns and poor writing, he didn't feel as significant to Adrien's side of the story as Tikki was to Marinette's. RIP Plagg with nuance. :') To be completely honest, I think Plagg was really the only downgrade in characterization here though.

Did anyone else notice Nooroo had a different English VA in the movie??? I heard it and was like "WAIT YOU'RE NOT BEN DISKIN NOOOOO" haha. In fact it made me TERRIFIED they replaced Tikki and Plagg too, but I'm so happy they didn't. I don't hate the new voice tho! It does fit the character, but definitely leaned too grown-up and feminine sounding for me. I got too used to the squeaky, scared little baby voice Ben gave him. (EDIT: I actually really like the new voice lowkey, I think it's just as good as Ben but I do miss Ben for sure haha)

Obviously, the pacing had to heavily rely on montages throughout to move the story along due to the 90-minute runtime. I think of all children's film franchises to deserve a trilogy, this was the one, especially because of its international and overlapping appeal between its target audience and older fans. If we got the 3-act structure of this film evenly divided between 3 separate movies, it would've had much more time to flesh out the current cast of characters and narrative they were trying to tell. It's definitely the movie's biggest fault in my opinion, but I think fans of the series who have a baseline knowledge of the plot at the very least will enjoy the movie (unless they don't like musicals, I suppose).

I thought the best way to describe what it felt like watching boils down to "if someone took the series and wrote it into a 10k-to-20k-word oneshot fic." And I mean this affectionately, but with most fanfiction, generally you'd have pre-established knowledge of the world and how it works. The movie kind of goes off the assumption you have a baseline knowledge, so I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for the show (tho I'd NEVER recommend the actual show to anyone), if only because it's so jarringly different in terms of their powers and characters. You'd only be setting up your poor friends for disappointment. :'D

The songs were fun, they're nothing crazy, but they're adorable. My only complaint for the songs is Marinette's singing VA being different than her speaking VA, another common complaint I've shared with others. Her singing VA is a wonderful singer, don't get me wrong, but Christina Vee/Valenzuela is such a talented singer and I would've loved to hear her sing for Marinette. I know Bryce wasn't singing for Adrien either, but his singing VA sounded similar enough that it wasn't as bothersome.

Okay, the best parts, let's go:

Now, admittedly, the story is rushed to hell and back. As a writer, I can't understate that. But what I can give the writing props for, unlike the show, is having its narrative not get overblown and out-of-focus. By the end of the series, there's so many characters and micro-arcs to keep track of -- Kagami's friendship with Lila, Luka's awareness of Ladybug & Chat Noir's identities, Alix being forced out of the picture at the start of Season 5, the ZagHeroes and Fae from the two specials that aired between S3 & S4, the fact I could go on should speak volumes enough -- that the actual story of the show crumbles beneath the weight of it all.

The movie condenses this narrative, and in doing so, it sets up the main characters of this film and what's looking like the next film, should this movie succeed. The main focus is on Marinette, Adrien and his father Gabriel, all of whom are well-known as the main heroes and villain of the series respectively. Through their stories, we somehow have that "vintage era" Miraculous charm that the first season or two of the show had, and also gave an ACTUALLY GOOD AND SATISFYING CONCLUSION TO THE STORY -- Sorry, I got sidetracked, we'll get back to that point later.

We also have Alya, Nino, Chloe and Nathalie, all in the movie BUT as a minor focus. The trio of kids get a bit more screentime than Nathalie, but they're present just enough to imply that they'll be important for the next film (Which I assume will have a return of Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee and Mayura respectively).

The animation, the big selling point of this film for most people, is incredible. Even seeing leaks before the movie dropped, you could tell this thing had cost big bucks for its animation. Apparently it was one of France's highest-budget animated films? It was gorgeous, I don't have much complaints with it, the style they were going for was just eye candy animation. Everyone's designs got elevated in this style, I think the only criticism I have for that is that Alya's hairstyle could've been changed to reflect the volume it has in the show, it looks a bit too thin and flat for my liking. But I guess that's just personal preference.

Master Fu! He's back, and he's a cooky AND wise old man! I was ecstatic to see him back. Once he was written out of the show in S3's finale, the show hasn't felt the same tbh. Idk why, but I didn't realized I missed him as much as I did until seeing him at the start of the movie. XD

No sentimonster bullshit shenanigans, THANK GOD. I really like the concept of senti-people, but good lord, the show's story was overly complex as it was, the movie didn't need to go making it worse. (Note, I got nothing against the theories! I just can't stand how the show executed that aspect of the plotline. It's awfully vague for absolutely no reason and screams that it was shoe-horned into the plot around mid-S3 for fan interest. The show only suffers from the inclusion of implications for the theories.)

And I'm SO HAPPY they gave Adrien some motherfucking agency. That scene where his father walks down the stairs looking disheveled af, demanding Adrien listen to him only for Adrien to say he doesn't have a father or that he lost his father a long time ago?!? Amazing. Bare minimum shit, yes, but it was executed so well. And him being an angsty teen, drowning out his solitude through music, and getting a bit of an ego through his Chat Noir persona? When I tell you this movie feels like a fanfic (affectionately), I mean it. It feels like the writers were actually competent enough to understand how to make a character 3-dimensional.

Same goes for Marinette. As much as I miss Rose, Juleka, Mylene and Alix being her friends, I think having Marinette start as a loner with no friends made her parallel with Adrien's feelings of isolation. Her arc of gaining her confidence and befriending Alya, Nino and Adrien, while Adrien's arc focuses on his grief and learning to open up to others again, was a nice contrast. And both of them actually felt equally important, which was probably the best part for me. (Side-tangent; If they introduce Kitty Section into a possible next film (which would make sense since they're a band and this movie is a musical adaptation), Marinette could befriend the old friend squad through the band. Maybe they could even be manipulated by Mayura in the next movie, and we could get a 5v5 battle between the Miraculous 5 and Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Luka and Ivan's amoks...? Just an idea I thought of on the spot.)

I didn't hate any of the songs, and the general consensus I've seen is that Hawk Moth's villainous song in the midst of the film was the best one (an opinion of which I agree, I had watched this with my cousin and we both agreed to start the song over after listening to it the first time, and it was the only song we did that to on our viewing). It also made the transformation into becoming Hawk Moth truly feel like a Jeckyll and Hyde style situation for Gabriel, like Hawk Moth was the alter-ego he could use to let his grief consume him and drive him mad. I'm a sucker for Jeckyll and Hyde tropes, and while it might've been intended, that's how I'm interpreting it. It was honestly a great change, and I joked that the top hat during the song made Hawk Moth officially a Tumblr sexyman lmao.

The 3-way reveal. WE GOT THE 3-WAY REVEAL. NO PREACHY, TIME-WASTING REVERSALS, NO BULLSHITTING FROM ASTRUC. WE ACTUALLY GOT THE 3-WAY REVEAL BETWEEN LADYBUG, CHAT NOIR AND HAWK MOTH. And it was just as fucking fantastic as the show ABSOLUTELY SHOULD HAVE made it. There was NO EXCUSES for the show's ending for Gabriel/Hawk Moth to be as atrocious as it was, nor for Adrien to be completely fucking absent and not have an identity reveal -- and I refuse to let anyone say executive meddling was the reason for it. Jeremy Zag was Astruc's executive, and clearly with the movie being his passion project, Zag cares enough about the franchise that he wouldn't prevent Astruc from writing a good story. But Astruc is a horrible writer, whose faults really began to shine the more tone-deaf and preachy his writing of the show got. Istg, half of the episode's "lessons" was just Astruc venting his frustrations against fans who had valid criticism of the writing. But goddamn, it's gotta be real embarrassing for Astruc to have his own franchise/story made and written better for a 90-minute film by his colleague than he could write with 5 seasons and over 100 episodes...Yikes. XD

When I tell you some parts of the movie -- the kwamis having a bit more agency themselves (Nooroo popping out of the brooch was so cute!!! :'D), the characters in general, Gabriel's story (tho it could've used more GabeNath imo lol), the focus on the characters while also having some engaging & wild battles, the long-awaited identity reveal, the masquerade ball trope -- felt like aspects the series just completely didn't have or vastly underutilized, it's insane. The difference between the film and series is like night and day.

Overall, it wasn't the best-written movie, but it's EXACTLY what I assume most Miraculous fans desperately craved from the show that crumbled its quality in its hands, spat on it, threw it in a garbage bin and lit it on fire. I genuinely saw parts of this movie that paralleled the rewrite fic I wanna write for the series soon (THE CAT IN ADRIEN'S ROOM WHEN HE FINDS THE RING BRUH), and unlike the series, which inspired me by how bad it was, the movie had a few parts that were so well-written that it inspired me to write scenes as good as those (THE FUCKIN PART WITH LADYBUG SAYING "I need to go..." AND THE DESPERATION IN CHAT'S "...Don't...").

I feel similar after-the-fact as I did with the Super Mario Bros Movie -- imperfect, but satisfactory to pre-established fans of the franchise. If anyone you know ever wants to give the franchise a chance, I'd honestly exclusively recommend this movie, and maybe S1-S2. A solid 8/10, only having a high ranking because of how much fun and entertaining this film was to me, a fan since around S2's airing.

[meistoshi]

(mostly full) rundown of one piece verse things (which can be tweaked to fit Any pirate/seafaring verse).

grew up inland but helped his mama run a inn & heard a bunch of stories about pirates from travelers, some of which were pirates or former crew members themselves, because satoshi spent most of the time “helping” just making conversation with customers   ( they ended up buying more food & drink the longer they spoke to him so hanako counted it as helping ) ,  even if most of the “conversation” was 90% satoshi listening.

he has no idea who gold roger is.     what’s a one piece.     he missed the memo.     seriously, no one told him, everyone either assumed satoshi already knew or personally did not care about it.

satoshi doesn’t really have any “be the best like no one ever was” goals, he’s not chasing the one piece or trying to become pirate king, he’s literally just in it for the adventure of it all & to cause problems on purpose, & if he happens to make a name for himself then he’ll take that in stride same as everything else.     sends much of the coin he’s earned back to his mama by people that owe him favors.     he knows if they’ve kept the money for themselves.

he does alas have a body count by age 12, & he captains his first crew at 14   ( though technically not his crew as he didn’t choose them, they chose him   ( good ol’ pirate democracy ) ) .

only not dead 50 times over because a sea god took one look at him stepping foot on his first ship aged 10, barely 11, & decided this one is never going to die at sea.     & so he hasn’t.     not that anyone knows that’s why, they just think he’s stupid lucky   ( which he is ) ,  or a funky brand of devil fruit user   ( which he is not ) .     wounds that would kill him on land don’t pack the same punch at sea & regardless of how long he’s been under water he’s always been resuscitated within a minute.

has had a fistfight with nearly every creature that has tried attacking the ships he’s been on  ;     he hasn’t always won but he sure has punched a sea monster in whatever counts for its face.     it’s stunts like that that convinced his first few captains not to drop the 10-13yo off at the nearest port town or island.     kid worked hard & could do as much as any adult & there was never a pair of hands on deck that was considered excess but he was also, well, a child, but everyone figured that a kid that will dropkick a beast at the drop of a hat & survive is worth keeping around, so they did.

most of the crews he’s been a part of have fallen apart after about a year & far from where he first joined them, so the first time he returned home was 9 years after the fact.

he’s been slowly building a new crew under the name of the phoenix pirates, having permanently “borrowed” a ship from the marines   ( which he renamed fushichou )  ;     ship’s massive so everyone does a whole lot of heavy lifting around the place, satoshi included, & there’s rarely a moment’s rest.     part of his current attire was also permanently “borrowed” from the marines, during a raid sighting a blood-red coat & immediately deciding he needed to have it, even if he mostly wears it simply draped over his shoulders.     he nabbed a matching hat, citing as reasoning a saying he’d once heard about a true captain needing a good hat.

he has a mouse on him at all times, a ryukyu mouse that snuck on board the first ship satoshi was on by hiding in his bag, & by the time that satoshi found out they were already in the middle of the sea & he didn’t have the heart to get rid of the little rodent so he kept it.     by all accounts it should be dead by now, if only purely because mice aren’t supposed to live longer than maybe two years.     but no, satoshi fucked around with magic & found out & that mouse is still alive & kicking, & it has done wonders in helping with prison breaks & stealing maps if someone was being difficult about either the information or the price, along with being great for checking if the coast is clear in sneaky business.

the last time he was in homeland satoshi found a pup on his way back to his ship which he only later found out to be a jackal.     it’s a cute little thing even if it gets real rowdy real often.     it’s the best reflector of satoshi’s mood because his expression cannot be trusted 80% of the time, & usually people get what it means when he’s smiling but his jackal looks ready to maul them any second.

satoshi has an instinctively easy time using observational haki but first started actively trying to train armament, only fairly recently training both in tandem.

can hear the voice of all things.

he’s one of the few non-marine captains that’s gotten his crew across the calm belt, which is how the phoenix pirates got into the new world.     perks of stealing a ship from the marines :).

currently sailing the new world, mostly letting the unpredictable winds & currents guide their journey, dodging & weaving through the chaos that the worst generation have whipped up.     has not been keeping up with the news.

the crew of the fushichou  :

satoshi akiyoshi.     captain, helmsman.     bounty B139′000′000.

raiden chiba (pikachu).     first mate, martial artist.     bounty B125′000′000.

kazuyuki iso (lucario).     second mate, martial artist.     bounty B116′000′000.

yusei endo (kadabra).     cook.     devil fruit user, paramencia, branch of the telekinetic-type fruits.

rin enoshima (leafeon).     shipwright.

kairi yuto (dragonite).     navigator, doctor.     skypiean.

genji arai (gengar).     sniper.     devil fruit user, logia, branch of the shadow-type fruits.

katsuro nagai (farfetch’d).     swordsman.

fletcher sharpe (sirfetch’d).     swordsman.

momo tamura (ditto).     martial artist.     devil fruit user, paramencia, branch of the clone-type fruits.

rikuto godai (rapidash).     martial artist.

drogo wash (dracovish).     martial artist.     dunkleosteus fishman.

[altersidearchives]

[12/12] Here Goes Nothing

I want to preface this with context before I continue any further… my name is… I'll just go with "R" for now. I live close by to a big scientific laboratory, it gets a little noisy around here and I sometimes see stuff blow up out of the windows, but that's besides the point. One day, as I was driving home from work, I see a box full of gadgets and parts laying around. I usually don't mess with that stuff, but I was working on a few projects and could use the spare junk as long as it was safe… so I was curious. Turns out it was an abandoned project they had no further use for and needed to dispose of the parts. It looked like a Wi-Fi router and a modem with a bunch of wires, and it said "ALTER" on the top. I took it all home and didn't really do much with it.

A week in, and I go back to check it out. I go in my shed and hook it up to an old laptop I haven't used in years… with some makeshift pillow armor in case it decides to explode- and got it connected. When I went onto my browser though, the Google page looked a bit odd. A little more refined and with a newer logo, and a bunch of new buttons I never recognized. It also said my browser wasn't recognized, yet I was using Chrome… on Google. Thought it was one of those special screens they do every other day and it was bugging out, but it was still weird. I looked up the first thing I could think of… "pac-man…" and after about ten minutes, yes it really is THAT slow, stuff came up. Couldn't get any images yet, but, the stuff I was reading puzzled me. There were new games, a ton of new characters I'd never heard of, and I couldn't find a trace of things you'd expect like the old Midway games. Instead I found a game called "Pac-Man 2" and a whole article about a massive legal dispute between Namco, Midway, and GCC in the 80s over this game, which had a strikingly similar development story to Ms. Pac-Man, but… that game seems to have been wiped from existence here, if it ever even DID.

I realized what I had, I was looking at the internet from an alternate timeline. These science guys must have been developing some form of… I guess multiverse communication? And this is all they could get working and tossed it in the bin. I don't blame them, this is slower than 90s dial-up, I'd be disappointed too. At first I was kinda freaked, but… also really REALLY intrigued. I had to know more. So, I looked up "Nintendo" and got to work, figured they'd be a good place to start if I'm already going with looking at this place's games industry.

So I'll be documenting all that I can from various sources (mostly Wikipedia articles, that's all that's loading in full at the moment), and put together some type of documentary article stuff to make sense of it all. I'll also be adding notes as I go along to give opinions and other tid-bits I find that I can't fit into the articles.

Since this was called "ALTER" apparently, I'll call this project of mine… the Alterside Archives.

Well, here goes nothing.