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auteurdelabre · 5 months

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Something to Fight For (Epilogue) Dad!Joel x f!Reader

Something to Fight For: Epilogue

Warnings: Tooth-rottingly sweet epilogue.

Words: 5.3

a/n: I dragged y’all through angsty hell and I PROMISED I would deliver a happy ending and imo it don’t get much happier than this! Now, if you're sad this is over I understand. Nice thing is, I got vignettes happening featuring the characters in this story. Some of 'em sweet, some spicy, some funny. I can't say goodbye to these characters or this world quite yet. So I'm not gonna. And if you want, you're always welcome to request a scene you'd like to see in the comments! I love hearing what you want to see! And I got heaps of other writing, but if you like this sweeter sort I recommend: “Bravo! Take a Bow” and “Losing our Minds Together”

I thank every single one of you out there that read this story and left a review because it really feels like we built a community here in the comment section. I'm gonna miss seein' y'all here. Hopefully you stick around while I keep writing, but if not I am so glad we could share this online moment together. Thank you for making this fanfic author a happy gal. I'm gettin' choked up here so I'll stop and we can get on to seeing our sweet idiots in love.

Oh and please review, reblog, etc cuz it makes me smile.

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You walk into life on Rancher Street as naturally as if you've always been a fixture there. You think this is borne from a routine the three of you slipped into without thinking.

Mornings are coffee and cereal (Joel's banana pancakes on the weekends), then it's getting ready, brushing Sarah's hair, packing leftovers into cartoon lunch bags (for Sarah) and brown paper bags (for you and Joel).

You're dropped off first; your work is on the way to the school. Its kisses for both of their sweet smiling faces and then you're thrust into the world of animal rescue. Joel drives Sarah to school next, holding her hand until they reach her classroom where he kisses her forehead and tells her to "learn lots" before handing her off to her new first grade teacher.

He drives to Tommy at whatever site they're working at. The days are long, but punctuated with texts from you. Most are funny, some sweet. Occasionally Joel tries to write back but when he really wants to interact with you he just excuses himself and calls you. Hearing your voice always makes him smile in that dreamy, crooked way that has Tommy giving him shit the rest of the day.

At five promptly Joel returns to pick you up with Sarah buckled in her car seat smiling up at you. His heart jumps every time you come through the door, eyes bright and smiling as you jog over. He holds back the urge to kiss you senseless, restraining you both to a quick peck and then drives his girls home.

Dinner is done by Joel unless you've offered (which you rarely do because cooking is a drag). Instead you help Sarah set the table and the meal is spent listening to Sarah talk about her day and the animals that you’ve helped to rescue.

After dinner Sarah goes to play with her toys or watch a DVD while you tidy up. Joel sits with his coffee in his favorite green mug at the counter, eyes on you and chatting as you do the dishes. He always tries to help at first but you always remind him that he did the cooking and that you want to keep things fair.

This is when you both talk about everything and anything. Work, movies you want to see, plans for the weekend, philosophical questions (you've both decided that you'd rather fight one horse sized duck versus a thousand duck sized horses, for example). Joel is hard to get information out of. He isn't used to talking about himself, but you urge him to do so. He thinks his job is boring but you're fascinated by controlling clients and his keen mind when problem solving an issue at a job site.

Sometimes Sarah turns the volume of the TV up really high during these times and Joel has to yell over the noise at her to turn it down, smiling and shaking his head. It's one of your favorite parts about being here. There's always noise in the background, either a television or laughter. Your home had been so quiet, so empty, you'd just never realized

The other favorite part is how Joel always finds ways to touch you. Subtle things like a hand trailing over your lower back as you wash the dishes, nestling his shoulder against yours as you watch television together, laughing and hip checking you gently as he passes you in the hallway.

The only thing not perfect (at least for Joel) is the odd evening when you leave to go back to Maria's basement suite. He doesn't call the old suite your home because as far as he's concerned this is your home.

His stomach always drops when he sees you've gathered your purse in your hands, ready to leave. Joel usually walks you to your car, but some nights he stops you both at the front door, bringing you into his arms and kissing you deeply.

"I should go Joel," you tell him as he holds you, his mouth moving from your lips to your jaw, kissing that spot behind your ear that has you whimpering and your legs buckling. "Still have stuff there."

"Please stay," Joel murmurs against your mouth, hands wrapped around your waist as he presses into you against the wall. "Just a little longer."

Sometimes (often) this works. Your resolve breaks under his sweet mouth and hands and on these nights you wrap your legs around his waist and allow him to carry you back to the bedroom.

These nights he spends hours making love to you until you're too exhausted to leave. These nights Joel likes best because you linger in his arms and in his bed until the morning, the scent of your perfume on his pillow and sheets until you return that evening.

"Love having you here," Joel sleepily murmurs into your hair, kissing you awake one morning. "When are you just gonna move in?"

Still half asleep in his bed you stretch, snuggling up against him and sighing into the crook of his neck. "Whenever you want, baby."

Joel wants you there all the time. He wants Sarah to know that you're there; he doesn't want to hide you. But you're tentative, nervous that this all feels too good too fast. You ask that Sarah not know that you're spending the night, not just yet. She knows that you’re daddy’s girlfriend, but that’s all you want her to know right now.

You pretend to arrive in the mornings, making a show of ringing the doorbell and smirking as Joel welcomes you in, his eyes amused.

Despite the occasional seduction, Joel understands and he lets you go at your own pace. He agrees to what makes you feel comfortable.

But he loves when you arrive with a new cardboard box of your stuff from Maria's. He sees the blush across your cheek as he excitedly takes it from you, asking where this one will go. Most of its clothes and those boxes are promptly brought to the bedroom and unpacked into the closet. Seeing your blouses hung next to his button ups makes him feel good.

Week by week more of your things are brought over until one day there's nothing left for you at Maria's except for your bed, dresser and sofa. You tell him as much over a late night snack of chocolate pudding after Sarah has been put to bed.

"Pretty much everything I need is here."

Joel makes note of this, his heart hammering in his chest as he reaches into one of the drawers and pulls out the key he got cut.

“You’ll need this, then.”

He slides it across the counter with his forefinger, his eyes not leaving your face as he does. He sees the surprise there, the widening of your eyes.

"You have a lot of keys to your house just lying around?" You joke, feeling your heart race.

"Nah, got this one cut the day after the wedding," Joel murmurs. "Thought you'd need it sooner or later."

He loves seeing you blush, especially when you do that shy smile of yours.

When you look uncertain later that night in bed next to him, fingers twisting together anxiously Joel notices, lowering his book to glance at you.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you really okay with me moving in here?" You ask with a furrowed brow. "It's not too soon?"

Joel's mouth over yours is all the answer you need. But he's so delighted by your potential move in that he'd already launched into an outline of what to do with your furniture.

"We could sell your sofa and bed. I know a guy who needs a sofa. Only 'cuz my stuff is bigger and already here, but I don't want you feelin' like this isn't your house too so maybe we should-"

Kissing is the second best way to stop Joel Miller from rambling. The first is climbing on top of him and urging him inside of you, languidly bringing you both to orgasm.

You do both just to be safe.

The things left at Paul's had been clothing and a few personal items. You considered leaving it, but decide in the end that you shouldn't have to.

Your small pile of cardboard boxes are left outside his old apartment. He's sure not to be in said apartment when Joel goes with you to retrieve them.

You'd ridden over in Joel's truck, the day punctuated by an unexpected silence with Joel's protective hand over your knee. He'd loaded the boxes alongside you, his face tight. With every box retrieved from Paul's place Joel grew more and more miserable.

He hadn't responded to your gentle teasing as you both worked, had turned down your idea of going out for lunch, and had been all over a grumpy bastard.

When you'd loaded everything and were driving home Joel's hand had flown back to your knee, grip just as tight as before. When you finally questioned him about his bizarre behavior his dark eyes had been hard.

"The boxes and Paul," Joel winces, eyes fixed on the road. "Just reminded me how close I was to losin' you."

You make him pull over right then and there so you can crawl into his lap and kiss him senseless. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you so tightly to him you feel breathless.

"You'll never lose me, Joel," you whisper against his neck. "Never."

When you make love that evening your fingers linger on his cheeks as you stare into his eyes and the words you whisper as he fills you are of the love you have for him, the longing for this life you held for so long within you.

As you both begin to drift off, tangled together under the sheets you press a kiss to that patch in his beard that doesn't quite grow.

"I'm not going anywhere, Joel. I'm done running."

///

You miss having an office space like your studio had. A little area for just you to organize your thoughts and work. But it's a small price to pay because you like existing on Rancher Street. You've enjoyed every day of the last three months.

It feels like home when you're there and not because of the structure but the two figures inside. Home isn't a place, you've come to realize, its people. Joel and Sarah.

Evening rituals are the same as when you babysat. Picking out books as Sarah slips into bed smelling of toothpaste and the hair cream Joel massages into the curls under her favorite purple bonnet. You smiling at her while she snuggles down under the covers, propping toad up next to her so he can see the pictures in the books.

"Okay we're ready."

The only difference is that Joel is there too, bending down to kiss his daughter's cheek and murmuring a low "G'night babygirl. Sweet dreams. Love you."

She gives him a sweet 'I love you' back, kissing his lightly bearded cheek. If Joel takes too long to leave, getting distracted by the sight of you gathering books or just wanting to linger, Sarah is prone to shooting him a silent look that communicates: okay, I love you dad, now please leave.

He always does. Because reading before bed is your special time, just the two of you. Joel used to do it on the nights you weren't there, but now you are there every single night his services are no longer necessary.

Joel's qualities are better served in the kitchen, you and Sarah decide as you watch her drawing on the sidewalk with the chalk you've just bought.

"Daddy's a better cook than you."

She says it thoughtfully and without malice as she draws a lopsided flower.

"Yes," you agree with a nod, making a star pattern nearby. "Much better. I think he puts love in his food. I just use salt."

But the ever empathetic Sarah is quick to point out your many virtues as well. The main one of course being your stellar reading ability and your stories in general.

So every single night Joel stands there outside Sarah's room, arms folded and shoulder tilted against the hallway wall, his cheek facing the half closed door of his daughter.

There he listens to the two of you giggling or you reading the book Sarah has picked from your pile (Sarah's right, you're very good at doing the voices), the gentle murmurs of 'I love you" thrown back between you two and those sounds wind around Joel's heart in a way he never knew just sounds could.

He's so fucking happy.

And when you finally creep out, quietly closing the door behind you and shooting him a pleased smile, Joel is always there to grip you by the hand and drag you to your shared bedroom down the hall.

Rarely do the two of you make it to the bed with all your clothes on because Joel has many virtues outside of the kitchen as well.

///

Joel watches you give a frustrated sigh, frowning at the laptop on the kitchen table before putting your face in your hands.

"Everything okay?"

"Just this fu- darn sanctuary project," you self correct, remembering a listening Sarah sitting across from you.

Sarah has a piece of paper she has drawn to look like a laptop and she pretends to clack away on it when you do on yours. Joel sits next to you, his knee brushing yours as you complain.

"Alex's contact said she could get the supplies at cost and he was supposed to get back to me but he hasn't and now the landscaping guy is saying -" you pause, realizing Joel's eyes have taken on a dreamy, faraway look. “-And you're not even listening to me, are you Miller?"

He gives you a guilty look. "Nope."

You give a sharp laugh at his honesty, leaning over and shoving his shoulder with yours affectionately.

"Hey, I really wanna show you somethin'," Joel says with a hint of excitement in his dark brown eyes, a window into the boy he must have been. "C'mon. Both of you."

You follow him down the steps to the basement, to Tommy's old place, your hand wrapped around Sarah's. You both follow him towards the large door separating the areas, watching his broad shouldered walk, the excitement in his rapid footsteps.

At the door there he spins with a small anticipatory smile on his handsome face.

"I thought this would be a good place to have for an office," Joel explains shyly pointing to the door behind him.

You smile up at him, delighted that he thought of you needing one. He pushes open the door for you, his eyes on your face as he does.

Balloons.

Hundreds of colorful balloons take up almost the entire main room of the basement.

Sarah doesn't wait for you, she runs in headfirst giggling and shrieking, her arms open wide.

You walk into the basement in a daze, your eyes owlish as you take in this prism of color, feeling the balloons brush your skin, the awe-inspiring sensation of being surrounded in a rainbow. You laugh, it bursts from you.

You can see that the space beyond the balloons has been transformed into an office, complete with built in bookcases and a custom desk under the window. You trace a hand along the desk before being swept up in the color of the balloons and Sarah's contagious laughter.

Joel is standing there just outside the door, his eyes bright as he watches the two loves of his life laughing and tossing up the colorful balloons.

Sarah kicks at them with vigor, her head thrown back in laughter at the squeaks they emit when knocked about.

Joel looks to you, expecting the same behavior and pausing when he sees how you're now standing there looking at him with damp eyes. The balloons float between you, falling to block his eyes as you approach.

"Joel."

"Mmm?"

"Get in here," you order gently, your finger curling around his collar as you gently tug him in encouragement. You can't move him of course, but he grins widely, nodding and stepping into the color with you.

For a moment neither of you speaks. All you can see is Joel and the balloons that seem to surround you on all sides, the colors framing his beautiful face. You can hear Sarah's distant laughter.

Then Joel smiles in that sweet, open way of his. You look down when you feel his hand taking yours and see a diamond ring being slipped onto your fourth finger. You stare at it in amazement before your gaze meets his. In his deep brown eyes you see a future so beautiful you never could have imagined it. What you don’t know is that when Joel looks into your eyes he sees exactly the same.

"Will you ma-"

"Yes," you breathe without letting him finish, your hands coming to either side of his jaw. He pulls you into his arms grinning before his mouth is on yours, gentle and sweet. You know that your eyes are wet and you know that on your deathbed this will be one of those moments that comes to you, comforting you.

You pull back and look around at all the balloons, the color and you smile broadly through the tears.

"Couldn't wait for your birthday," Joel murmurs against your cheek. "Hope that's okay."

"Yeah," you say curling your arms around his neck. "It's okay."

You don't mind at all.

///

"Shit, did you feed the cat?"

"Daddy you said sh-"

"I know babygirl," Joel says rubbing the back of his neck as Sarah looks to him with a chastised look. "Was wrong of me. Daddy just doesn't want to find another hairball in his shoe. "

Jam, your orange tabby kitten is not really yours at all. Despite being brought home for you, Jam quickly decided that Sarah with her warm bed and shirts covered in food crumbs was a much better companion than you. You don't mind though, seeing how much Sarah loves the cat is enough for you.

"I fed him," you say giggling as the three of you make your way up the drive. The whole gang has been invited to Frank and Bill's for a Sunday lunch. You see them quite often despite living on Rancher Street full time.

They often encourage you to bring Sarah and you do without hesitation. She loves Bill and Frank just as much as you do. She loves painting with Uncle Frank and baking with Uncle Bill. She loves that their house smells like cinnamon in the winter and fresh flowers in the summer.

Despite living right next door, Maria and Tommy arrive late with cornbread and lemonade, but are given a reprieve when Maria shares that she took so long getting ready because "morning sickness makes it hard to feel cute."

Joel had hugged Tommy so tightly you were sure you heard bones cracking. You had just cried, throwing your arms around Maria, careful not to squeeze. Sarah asked to feel the baby and Maria told her it was a bit too early to feel much, but she still let her niece gently stroke her swelling belly.

"I think it's gonna be a boy," Maria told you sagely over lemonade at the table. "A mother knows."

You smile, thinking of a little mix of Maria and Tommy in the vision of a little baby boy. Your eyes sail over to Joel, watching as he chats with Jackson and Tommy. You wonder what it would be like if you had a kid. Who would it take after?

You’re distracted by this idea when Sarah and Bill bring out the dessert, followed by Frank with the coffee. The cupcakes are decorated to resemble beautiful flowers and you all wait as Sarah picks the perfect one for each of you. A daisy for Sarah, a lily each for Auntie Maria and Uncle Tommy, a purple rose for Daddy, a peony for Frank and a forget-me-not for Bill and finally Sarah smiles at the pink carnation she labored the longest over with Bill. Sarah immediately cites that this one belongs to you.

"That one," Sarah says pointing, watching as Bill pushes the plated cupcake in your direction. "Do you like that one, Mama?"

Joel's hand that's been absently rubbing along your spine stills when he hears that. His attention goes to your face, seeing the way your eyes have gotten wide. Mama.

You feel your breath catch in your chest as she calls you this, her tiny face turned up and smiling at you. You don't want to embarrass her, don't want to draw attention to the fact that she's called you Mama.

She did it so casually, so naturally that a part of you is worried she didn't even realize she'd done it. If you draw attention to it you're scared there's a chance that she'll take it back.

"I love it," you whisper, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you, bug."

You kiss her again, feeling tears prick your eyes when Joel's hand skates to the small of your back, squeezing softly. Maria and Tommy are wet-eyed, and share a soft smile before turning their attention to their cupcakes. Frank sniffles, pretending he’s just about to sneeze. You catch Bill’s eyes across the table and when you see them glossy and that’s what makes the tears spill over your lash line.

"Why are you crying?" Sarah asks, her head cocked to the side. She can’t understand why everyone suddenly got so quiet.

"I'm not," you insist. "Just allergies."

Sarah is satisfied or maybe just relieved with this answer and she and clamors onto the chair next to you, ready to dig into her own cupcake. She leans companionably against you, starting to tell Auntie Maria and Uncle Tommy about the class hamster.

You feel Joel's kiss on your temple and you turn to see his eyes damp like yours.

"Mama," you whisper to him. "I'm Mama."

////////

3 years later

Joel is at your side, whispering how strong you are, how beautiful, but all you want to do is punch him.

Hard.

"You did this to me!" You say through clenched teeth as a wave of painful cramping goes through you. Your head falls back onto the damp hospital pillow.

"If I recall it was a very mutual decision," Joel insists with a wry smile. His mouth goes to your ear and his voice drops to a deliciously low timbre only you can hear. "The words 'fuck me pregnant' were a direct quote by you, were they not?"

You don't answer him on that. Not just because he's right, but because a stab of pain is going through your pelvis that takes your breath away.

St. David's is a very fine hospital with very fine people but at this moment everything is not fucking fine. You feel like you've been split in half by a fucking axe.

"Doing so good, baby," Joel croons, wiping the damp hair from your forehead and temples as he watches the doctor and nurses at your feet. "Keep going, keep going."

For a delirious moment you think that it was Joel saying these exact words that got you pregnant in the first place and you let out a high pitched laugh as Joel looks to you in concern.

"Push," the doctor says, breaking into your foggy brain. And so you do. As you have been doing for the last three fucking hours.

You grit your teeth, feeling Joel's mouth on your temple whispering words of encouragement and you push. You push with everything you have and then...

There is a pause and then the loud braying sound of a newborn's cry. The doctor's voice behind the mask rings out.

"It's a girl!"

A sister for Sarah, just like she'd wanted.

A second daughter for you and Joel.

You look over to see Joel's dark eyes shimmering with tears and you feel you've never been so in love with him as you are in this moment. You burst into tears, your face wet as Joel kisses you.

"You're amazing," Joel whispers against your mouth. "Fucking amazing."

The nurse brings over a pink faced infant with a shock of dark brown hair. She is pink all over and her little face is scrunched up as she wails. You take her into your arms, marveling at how you and Joel made the little creature you're now holding. She's so warm and she smells so good.

You glance over at Joel, recalling all the nights spent with his hand curving over your belly, murmuring soft sweet things to your daughter as she grew there. You think of when you both sang together, your hand carding through his hair and his eyes on you. You remember how on the days she felt really jumpy, all it would take is Joel singing a few bars from a song and she would quiet right down.

Now Joel's finger goes to trace the slope of her tiny nose and you smile as she quiets down, grunting. Seems he has a soothing effect on her outside the womb as well.

"She's so fucking perfect."

"Hopefully she doesn't swear as much as her parents," Joel says as he presses his lips to your temple.

You giggle at that, pulling her back so you can see your daughter's sweet face. The wailing has subsided and she gives little grunts as she tries to open her eyes.

"Hi Ellie," you coo. "We're your parents."

/////

Four years after your first meeting, Joel Miller sits across from you in the very booth you had your disastrous blind date on. It's become a sort of tongue in cheek tradition, to have you all back to where it began.

Only this booth is far more crowded than it ever was then. A very pregnant Maria slides in next to you, looking every bit the beautiful goddess she always does. Tommy and their son slip into the opposite side beside Joel, saying their hellos.

"They're so cute," Maria coos as she watches Sarah give Ellie a toy to play with before going back to her puzzle book.

"Sarah loves being a big sister," you smile softly.

"Tell that to Jackson would you?" Maria says rolling her eyes at her eldest child who is obsessed with his game boy. "He seems to think that this new baby means the beginning of the end."

"He's been an only child for so long he doesn't want to share you," you insist. But you can't help but feel secretly lucky that your daughter's had an immediate connection.

Even when pregnant, Sarah had talked to the baby in your belly, she'd even helped pick out her sisters name. At this moment Sarah is curled up next to you on her seat, pencil in hand and her eyes focused on her latest obsession.

Toad has been replaced by puzzle books (though you still find him under her pillow most nights) and her new favorite color is green. She's wearing green head to toe tonight including the green barrettes in her hair. She's like a slender blade of grass with wild hair and big, hazel eyes.

And while much about Sarah has changed, she still smiles when you and her father kiss, she still wows you with knowledge beyond her years and she still plays with the ends of your hair when she's anxious or distracted. Oh and she still loves you to death.

You sling an arm around her, your eyes on the menu before traveling up to watch Joel across from you. He's looking at Ellie in her booster seat next to him, babbling incoherently as most toddlers do.

Ellie is a daddy's girl though and through, obsessed with Joel the minute she laid eyes on him. It's now to the point where if she starts crying most mornings you simply glance his way. He always gives a grumpy frown before you see the smile peeking through as he goes to retrieve her from her crib.

He's smiling broadly at her now, his finger tracing down her nose as she gurgles. Something he’s done since she was born. There's something about seeing Joel Miller, all broad shoulders and inherent masculinity, being so soft that makes you love him harder.

Sometimes when you're watching him play with your daughters or watching him cook you all dinner, you feel this overwhelming love for Joel that's almost incapacitating.

He seems to sense your gaze because his eyes travel over to you. He gives you a playful wink.

"You look great tonight," Joel says with eyes that linger on your décolletage.

"Thanks," you say taking an equally appreciative look at your husband. "You clean up pretty well yourself."

More than pretty well. Joel Miller is, as Frank had once told you, sex on legs, and you have to agree with the assessment. His linen shirt is rolled to the elbows, showing off his muscled forearms. His hair is brushed back from his face and he's wearing his glasses as he reads the menu. (Something he only does when desperate as you’d found out when living with him).

Joel wets his lower lip without thinking, his eyes drifting back down the front of your dress. Maria and Tommy are helping Jackson decide on what to order for dinner, distracted from your end of the table.

"You keep looking at me like that, Miller and we're gonna wind up with another kid," you murmur with a smirk, knowing Sarah's not paying attention.

"I'm not opposed to that," Joel says, his gaze heated.

"That's because you don't have to carry or pop them out," you reply with a good-natured roll of your eyes. "Just get to do the fun part."

Joel grins as you tilt over the table to fix the bow in Ellie's hair that your mother sent you. Ellie gurgles happily at you, smacking her tiny fists on the table. Joel takes this as an opportunity to not very covertly ogle your chest.

"Joel," you hiss, even though a smile is breaking out over your features. Joel tries to look innocently up at you, brows raised.

“Yeah baby?”

You want to be irritated, but he knows very well you love it.

"I don't know this one, Mama," Sarah says pointing to something on the page in her puzzle book. She's normally very independent so you know she must be really stuck. You glance over at the crossword clue.

"A six lettered spore producer," you read aloud and think for a moment. "Fungus?"

"That fits," Sarah enthuses, her pencil writing hurriedly.

"Speaking of which, I'll have the mushroom ravioli," you say as your server comes to take your order. Joel orders his chicken penne and Sarah's spaghetti and then his hand comes to fall on yours as the server takes the rest of the orders for the table.

His hand is heavy and warm, but that's nothing compared to the warmth of his eyes. It's the kind of look you associate with deep thinking, his "dreamy stare" as you've coined it.

"What are you thinking about, Miller?'

"Just that I never thought I'd be married to the same woman who screamed at me in the parking lot of this very restaurant."

You giggle behind your wineglass, watching Joel's eyes go soft.

"Or how happy I'd be."

He brings your hand up to his mouth, kissing gently. He holds you there, watching as you stare back at him with eyes so full of love you're shocked Cupid himself hasn't come to give you his job.

You begin to smirk when Joel's dark eyes drop to your chest and then dart back to your face.

"I was also thinking about how three is a very nice number. . ."

425 notes · View notes

why-animals-do-the-thing · 11 months

Note

You mentioned that sometimes zoos don’t get the funding they need? Is there anything that we, as visitors, can do to help with that? Donations, contacting representatives, things like that? What can we do to help zoos, zookeepers, and the animals they love and care for?

What a nice question!

So on a “we need funding for this new habitat or major renovation” level, the cost is pretty astronomical compared to what the average person can contribute. For example, the Oregon Zoo’s brand new Polar Passage habitat (started 2016, finished 2021) cost $19 million. The Brookfield Zoo is planning to add on a new indoor/outdoor ape habitat to their Tropics Building and that’s estimated at $9 million. Unless you happen to know folk with very deep pockets, personal donations aren’t going to have an impact on that scale - although that doesn’t mean they don’t help the zoo in other ways!

Contacting your representatives and expressing your support for your local facilities is absolutely something you can do that helps. Especially so if the facility is funded by the city or the county, but even if they’re not, it’s really good for reps to know that their constituents value the facility and want to see it supported. You can always write them whenever, but it’s most useful if there’s stuff happening that’s directly related (funding allocation, new rules being proposed, etc).

I’m going to take this opportunity to plug another way you can help zoos, though, that’s a bit different. Your question is really timely because there’s actually an ongoing need for support at the moment (date stamp: 6/11/23). There’s an organization I volunteer with, called Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue, and Recovery (ZDR3) and they do, well, what it says on the tin. When zoological facilities, sanctuaries, and other facilities with exotic animals experience disasters - think getting flattened by a hurricane - ZDR3 coordinates a network of 130+ facilities who can show up and help. This is everything from sending food and needed supplies that are limited because of supply lines, deploying staff to physically assist an impacted facility with recovery, and even helping evacuate animals and house them until it’s safe for them to return. And it’s really important that it’s other zoos doing this work: if you’ve got to go chainsaw fallen trees out of an alligator habitat, you need people who know how to work safely around alligators! It’s a type of response work that other major disaster organizations don’t really do, because they don’t have the expertise with the animals or the needs of the industry.

ZDR3 can always use support, but, right now, they’re in the middle of a response in Guam where financial support is more necessary than normal. Guam got hit by the Super Typhoon Mawar on May 25th, and it absolutely ravaged the zoo there. It’s a small facility, with mostly geriatric, disabled, and unreleasable animals living there. A USDA representative asked ZDR3 if they’d be able to assist. The director flew out to assess the site and help as much as she could, but the thing is, because Guam is an island, they can’t ask teams from other facilities to deploy there the way the can with facilities in the continental United States. Instead the zoo is having to purchase all the supplies they need for recovery - and could really use assistance. There’s an Amazon wishlist set up with the tools and supplies they need, as well as a DonorBox link for direct donations (which go directly to the zoo, not ZDR3). If you want a tangible way to contribute to the immediate welfare of zoo animals and function of a facility, this a fantastic way to do it.

#zoo animal welfare #donations request #support request #zdr3 #disaster response #zoos #one of the things I really like about ZDR3 is that they don’t play politics #it doesn’t matter who you are or if you’re accredited they’ll help you out all the same

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fandom-go-round · 9 months

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Sea Salt Like Glitter: Part One

Summary: You’re a forest ranger. Trees and mammals are your specialty. Mermaids in the ocean? Way outside your area of expertise. Good News: They like you. Bad News: They like you a lot

Mer! Sun x Plus Sized! Reader x Mer! Moon

Part One (Here!), Part Two ,Part Three

Enjoy the first of the wedding month stories! I’m guessing this is going to be around 3-4 parts. I’m a sucker for Sun and Moon and couldn’t leave the Mer AU alone. I hope everyone enjoys!

Warnings: Trapped in Rocks, Blood, Dehydration, Different Species, Threats of Bodily Harm

The best time to go to your beach is around twilight. It’s not technically your beach but your house is the closest one to the water for miles. And technically it’s a ranger station, not a house, but it feels like home after a year of working. You enjoy the calmness of the ocean, gulls screaming and diving overhead. The air smells like salt but you appreciate the burn now. Part of the job is that you have to patrol the waterfront at least once a week and you do that at twilight.

Fredrick Fitzgerald Beach and Forest. One of the most treasured pieces of nature in the country. Nicknamed ‘Pizza Beach’ after the restaurant chain started under the same family, the protected land is looked over by a special kind of warden. A cross between forest ranger, ocean rescue and PR personality, they have the job of living on site full time and making sure people leave the animals alone. And right now, that’s you.

There are other people of course, tour guides and rangers that help at the nature center. You wave at the groups on the hiking trails and listen to the animal facts that you’ve heard 100 times. What you do is different, more secluded. You’re on the other side of the ‘Do Not Cross’ sign and you take your job seriously.

The last few days have been quiet and you’re hoping that the weekend stays that way. Thunderstorms are going to start later in the evening and you’re hoping to be done by then. You had chased some kids off earlier, teenagers looking for ‘a cool place to hang’ and the weather would hopefully deter anyone else from sneaking in.

The water is starting to darken, deep blue going navy. You take a deep breathe, scanning the sand for any trash or people. There isn’t anything as far as the eye can see and you relax, smiling to yourself. Some people think that it’s lonely, being out here for weeks and sometimes months at a time. You enjoy it; you’d rather be with nature than people any day.

You start to hum, watching as the sun finally slips below the horizon. Now your favorite part of the night starts. There are a few moments of darkness before lights begin to flicker under the water. The underwater bioluminescence becomes visible to the naked eye; even after all this time it’s hard to believe that it’s real. The water is much, much deeper than it looks and there’s something in the water that promotes the creatures to glow. Scientists come to study sometimes and you stay out of their way, you’re more of a forest person.

Everything in the water looks normal and you watch the fish dart around, smiling as you stroll part of the beach. You jump as thunder rolls overhead and speed up, calves burning with trying to move quickly through sand. You don’t want to get poured on, walking up the path towards your cabin. The climb is steep and you’re panting by the end of it. The cliffs gives a great view of the water, large rocks creating an outcropping off shore. They jut high out of the water, the largest shaped like an arch. Lazy glowing turns into streaks, fish scattering; must be something bigger under there.

Another clap of thunder bellows and you take off, rain falling in waves. You swear to yourself; your boots had finally just dried out. It’s a struggle to get the cabin door open and you’re glad you know your way around; it’s hard to see anything with the rain and wind. You watch the trees sway for a bit before going to get changed. There’s nothing to do now but wait out the storm.

♥

It’s a couple days before you head back to the beach. Lightening hit one of the larger trees and you’ve spent the last couple days making sure none of the forest caught fire. It’s not ideal but the job can change quickly. After making sure the nature center was alright, you finally head down to the beach. It’s mid-day, much earlier than you would normally go but you’re tired and want to head back early.

The beach is a mess. Seaweed and branches still cover the sand, the waves calm as if nothing had happened. These are some dead smaller fish but nothing too large and you’re thankful for that. Without thinking you begin to clean things up, gathering the sticks closest to you. You half watch a diving gull, seeing it swoop low and then fly off towards the large rock outcrop.

The air leaves your lungs as a gasp, wood falling to the ground at your feet. You can feel your heart starting to pound faster, brain trying to catch up to your eyes. It’s hard to see from the beach but there’s something in the rocks. You curse at yourself for not having your binoculars on you and turn to the stairs, taking a deep breath. It’ll be easier to see up from the cliffs and you’ll be able to tell what it is. Hopefully.

You curse the stairs once you’re at the top, knees aching. You love your job but it’s not made for fat people, even if you’re damn good at it. The sun is hot on your skin and you place your hand over your eyes, squinting at the rocks. It’s a better angle but farther away and you think you see something in the rock arch. It looks like another rock? Or maybe a log? It’s gray and part of you wonders if it’s some kind of ship that’s gotten stuck. The thought quickly leaves as something dark rises out of the water and slams hard against the surface. The gulls scatter with loud screaming and you feel like your eyes are going to pop out of your head.

Some sort of animal is stuck. Maybe a sea lion? A baby whale? Or a dolphin? You go over the possibilities as you rush back to the cabin. There’s a small boat you take out sometimes, mostly to chase fishing boats off. It’s nothing huge but the engine works and it should get you to the rocks.

At least you hope so. Being on the water makes you nervous; you can swim just fine but the boat rocking makes you sick. You don’t think about any of this as you take it to the water, putting it into the back of your truck. There isn’t a direct ride down to the beach but it’s better than nothing.

It takes an hour before you’re in the water heading to the rocks. You made sure to bring as many tools as you could, along with a camera, an emergency phone and gloves. You have no idea what kind of animal that you’re dealing with but if this creature has been stuck since the storm, it’s going to be in rough shape.

The rocks loom high overhead, casting dark shadows on the water. The sun is just starting to sink, even if it’ll take a few more hours. You have a water bottle and resist the urge to drink; you want to see what you’re dealing with first. You turn the boat off about 20 feet away and try to come to terms with what you’re seeing.

The hole in the rocks is about as big as a basketball hoop backboard, the edges not completely smooth but close enough. It’s about two feet above water and something is stuck. Scales so navy they look black are scrapped against the stone, bits of blood smeared as well. It doesn’t move as you get closer, swinging yourself around to get a better look.

You think that you’re looking at its back half. This side of the rocks is shaded by higher formations and it’s a bit difficult to see clearly under the water. Something that you guess must be a tail is slumped into the water but you can’t make out the shape. You grab an oar and paddle closer, letting the waves move you mostly.

Something hits the bottom of the boat and you jump; it was a brush more than anything and of course there are fish out here. The next hit is harder and the boat sways. You place your oar in the water to try to turn and something yanks. You yell as the oar is ripped from your hand and disappears into the water.

A loud rumble fills the air and you watch, horrified and full of awe, as the creature in the rocks moves. The tail rises and you realize that it’s not a tail, it’s webbing. Tentacles shoot out, some grabbing onto the rocks and others into the water. You quickly grab the other oar and move backwards, barely missing the flailing tentacles. Gulls on the rocks take to the sky and the creature begins to shift again.

It doesn’t take long to realize that it’s not doing well, whatever it is. It only struggles for a moment before sagging once more, the tentacles barely holding on. They push against the rocks but it’s weak and the longer you look, the worse it gets. The scales that are out of the water look dull and are starting to crack; it really has been stuck here since the storm.

You know that this isn’t a normal fish. First off, it looks like either a squid or an octopus but both of those would be able to get out of a hole. Also, the hissing and growling coming from the other side of the rock is ominous. You’ve never heard anything like it. You want to head back but you can’t ignore the suffering in front of you. Taking a deep breath, you count to five before paddling to the other side. You ignore the way your hands shake and hope that whatever it is won’t kill you.

Immediately the hissing turns into snarling and you meet blood red eyes. You flinch, holding the oar across your chest like it’ll help you defend yourself. Sharp teeth snap at your and you can feel the waves from the tentacles behind the rock. You’re not in the line of fire and you take a moment to understand what you’re looking at.

A furious face is set on a head coverd in fins, gills fluttering around the neck. The strong torso is covered in navy scales and two arms are digging into the rockface. You look the creature over once and then twice, your eyes always going back up to its face. It looks pissed and like it wants to break you in half. Blood red eyes stare out from a gunmetal gray face and keeps you in it sights.

“Holy shit.” Your voice makes the snarling quiet down, almost like it’s waiting for you to say something. “You’re a mermaid?” You phrase it as a question and the creature, honest to fuck, rolls its mother fucking eyes at you.

At the same time you take it in, the creature looks you over. You’re not much to look at, between your sad little boat and ranger uniform. It eyes you for a little longer between settling back down and looking exhausted. It’s hands, covered in long claws, detangle from the rock and lay against the surface. That’s when you realize it’s pinned.

There’s a log wedged between the rocks, washed up from the storm. The creature is half wrapped around it, the log pushing hard against it’s chest and forcing it’s torso out of the water. One of it’s arms can touch the water but the other is pinned too high up, it’s shoulders pushed far back. It looks painful and you wince in sympathy. You get a snarl for your look, the creature sending you a glare.

It’s eyes close with what you guess is exhaustion, not deeming you a threat. You want to argue but don’t; no need to push your luck. It looks worse from the front, scales dull and patches missing. The rockface has be gauged deeply in the mers struggle to be free.

It’s beautiful. Navy fins on its head and arms lay low, curled up and dull. It’s torso is lighter, the color of sand in moonlight. It’s clearly built for hunting; it might be lean but it’s covered in muscles. Darker scales cover the torso like stars and you know that you can’t leave it here, even if it wants to kill you.

“Hey.” Your voice has the creature opening it’s eyes again but only halfway. It takes you a second to get that they’re squinting at you; the sun must be bothering them. You lick your lips, knowing that it’s crazy to be talking to something this big. “Do you uh, want me to help you?” You wince at how uncertain you sound and the creature looks even more unimpressed than before. You hear something hit the water and assume it’s a tentacle.

You hold up a length of rope and then gesture ot the log. Eyes flicker between rope, your face and log. Some sort of spark comes into its face and it’s claws curl into the rocks slowly. You put the rope down and grab the oar, slowly moving closer.

It’s hard to get a good judge of size because of how it’s stuck but you guess that it’s at least eight feet long, maybe closer to nine. It doesn’t move as you get closer, eyes locked on you. The log is wedged in two places, one part under the water and the other above. When you look down, the bottom half seems to be covered in rocks, probably from the struggling. The only real option is to loop the rope of the top and yank.

“I’m going to go for the top.” You talk and gesture as you move closer, trying to be transparent in your movements. “The bottom half looks too stuck.” You would be concerned by the lack of response if it wasn’t for the red pinned on your face. It takes a little bit to get the boat maneuvered just right and the scrapping of its claws gets louder. You do your best to ignore the impatience; you don’t want to end up in the water today. Not now that you know things like this exist.

There’s a splash in the other direction and you flinch hard, almost falling from where you’re standing. The creature snarls, sharp teeth flashing in the sun and you look over the water. Nothing breaches the surface again and you shake your arms, trying to get rid of the tension. As long as there isn’t another predator you should be alright.

You have to throw the rope a few times before it’s looped just right and you can feel the waves of judgment coming out of the mermaid. Mer creature? You’re not stupid enough to pretend this isn’t some sort of intelligent creature; you’ve been pinching yourself too much for it to be a dream. That doesn’t mean that you want it commenting on your physical abilities and ignore how embarrassed you’re getting. Finally, you get the rope secured and you tug it to make sure. You can sense the growing impatience behind you and vow silently to go faster. It’s already in rough shape and you don’t want it to suffer.

Sending one last silent plea inside your mind, you start the boat engine back up. The creature flinches inside the rock and the gentle rumblings turn more into a hiss. You glance over and it flashes it’s teeth with a ‘get on with it’ feeling. You don’t hesitate, afraid that you’re going to lose your nerve. You throw the engine into reserve and gun it back, the boat taking off as fast as it can.

The rope is pulled taught quickly and you jerk, almost going into the water. Creaky rumbles come from the creature and you want to swear when you realize it’s laughing at you. You ease the boat back forward before going in reverse again, your eyes locked on the log. The first time it didn’t move but the second it seemed to slip. Gritting your teeth you repeat the actions, the log slowly becoming free.

The creature must feel it moving because it begins to push, well as much as it can with it’s chest. It looks painful with the open wounds but it doesn’t care, eyes getting brighter as the log shifts. You give it one last tug and the log comes free, the creature letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

A few things happen at once. Your boat, tugging with all it’s might, flies back once the resistance is gone and you scramble to not turn over. The creature slides backwards into the hole, sliding into the shadow covered water. Lastly, bright red fins crest the water in front of you, darting behind the rock.

Your boat spins for an embarrassingly long time; your arms ache and it takes everything in you to prevent it from flipping. The bottom of the boat has a good couple inches of water but you’re upright. A miracle. The clicking and hissing sounds are all gone now and it’s just you and the gulls. You watch the water once your heart calms down, eyes darting around to see if you can spot the creature in the water.

You wait for ten minutes before slapping your cheeks and turning the boat back towards shore. Your mission was officially done and you need to lay down, maybe have a drink, maybe get high. There was a lot you have to think about and you don’t want to do it in the open water. Two pairs of eyes, one red and one blue, watch as you make your way back to shore and share a silent look. The water barely ripples as they sink below the waves, determined to pay you back in some way.

#fnaf #sun imagine #moon imagine #fnaf daycare attendant #sun x reader #sun x reader x moon #moon x reader #daycare attendant x reader #daycare attendant #mermaid au #mer sun #mer moon #fnaf security breach

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jrob64 · 2 months

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Pet for Rent, Chapter 1/4 (The Meet Cute) A CS Modern AU Story

For those of you who read "Sowing Seeds of Trust", you might remember that my dog Zeke had a starring role in it. To my great heartbreak, he died of cancer last June. When we rescued him, the shelter had named him Ernie, and he will be referenced with that name in this story.

Life without a dog proved to be very lonely, so at the end of August, we rescued another dog. The sad story of the dog in this story is what really happened to our new dog. He was named Norman and we renamed him Winston, just like in the story. That's actually him in the pic set with his 'ducky'.

This was supposed to be a short, sweet story, but somehow turned into 4 chapters. Updates will be once a week.

Special thanks to my beta @hookedmom and also to @beckettj and @zaharadessert for helping me understand the football (soccer) system in England.

SUMMARY: Emma Swan tries to cheer up her heartbroken son by 'renting' a dog from the local animal shelter. When she attempts to do it a second time, she makes a mistake, and realizes the dog has been rented by someone else the same day - a very handsome man named Killian Jones.

RATING: M (for smut in the last chapter, which can easily be skipped if that's not your thing)

WORDS: 7754

ALSO POSTED TO A03 & FFN

Story begins under the cut

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Emma Swan flopped down onto her sofa with a sigh. Since their beloved dog Ernie died three weeks ago, she had come to dread her eight-year-old son Henry’s bedtime. Every night when he said his prayers, he ended with, “God, please tell Ernie I love him and miss him, and please send me another dog. Amen.”

Her son knew the chances of getting a dog were slim to none because of his soccer practices and games, and Emma’s schedule for her new job at the sheriff’s station. They had no time to train a puppy.

Understanding why he couldn’t have a dog didn’t make his heart hurt any less. Her heart was just as broken, knowing the sadness and loneliness Henry was experiencing.

After decompressing for a few minutes, Emma’s searching hand located her phone on the end table. She unlocked it and opened her Discord app, selecting the icon representing the parents’ group of Henry’s second grade class. Sitting up a little straighter, she typed a message: Does anyone have ideas of how to help Henry get over the loss of his dog? He keeps praying for a new one, but it wouldn’t be fair to the dog to get one with our busy schedule.

She watched the screen intently for a couple of minutes, but when no names appeared to show that someone was answering, she tossed the phone onto the couch and went into the kitchen to load the dishwasher.

Forty minutes later, after cleaning up the kitchen, going through her nightly routine and changing into her pajamas, she went back into the living room. Television held no interest for her, and realizing she finished her last library book the previous evening, she picked up her phone to mindlessly play a game. Upon unlocking it, her screen opened to the Discord page and she saw three replies to her question.

The first two simply expressed sympathy for the loss of Ernie, but the third one offered a helpful suggestion. Have you thought about ‘renting’ a dog for a day? The animal shelter just outside of town offers that option. We did it for my mother when her Maltese died. The post ended with the web address for the shelter.

Emma immediately pulled up the site and, after searching the homepage, clicked on the tab for ‘services’. Scrolling down the list, she saw ‘Rent-a-Pet’ and selected it. As she read the description of how the program worked, she idly twisted strands of blonde hair around her index finger.

It sounded like a great compromise for their situation. For a donation to the shelter in the form of money, bags of pet food, treats or toys, one of the available animals could come home with them for several hours. The dogs and cats were guaranteed to be docile and house-trained, and could be adopted by the ‘renter’, if desired.

Clicking on the link taking her to the bios of the pets currently housed at the shelter, she filtered it to include only canines. Pictures of nearly two dozen dogs filled the screen, each more adorable and aww-worthy than the last.

Quickly ruling out any that were guaranteed to shed fur all over her house or were bigger than her son, her search was narrowed to nine prospects. She knew her rambunctious son would be keen to play outside with the dog and walk him or her to Storybrooke’s dog park, so a tiny fru-fru pup was out of the question, too. That left six.

She selected one at a time, reading about their breed and temperament. When she brought up the picture of the fourth candidate, the big, chocolate brown eyes and happy expression nearly made her heart melt.

‘Norman’ was a mixed breed and very little was known about him, because he was found tied to a stop sign in the middle of Portland, Maine. He was guessed to be a cocker spaniel mix and was approximately 1-2 years old. His black fur looked sleek and Emma knew he probably wouldn’t shed. A short video showed him romping and playing with another dog in the fenced play yard of the shelter.

Saving the page, she brought up the calendar on her phone and checked their schedule for the rest of the week. Henry had an early soccer game on Saturday, which would be over by 10:30, leaving the rest of the morning and afternoon free. Switching back to the shelter website, she hit the ‘Rent-a-Pet’ button again and began filling in the information, selecting ‘Norman’ when it gave her the choice of animals.

She decided not to tell Henry about the plan, opting to surprise him with it instead.

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“Great game, kid,” Emma complimented her son, ruffling his sweaty hair. “Your pass to Avery was a nice assist. That goal turned out to be the game winner.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Henry grinned around his mouthful of granola bar. “That’s the first time all season we beat the orange team.”

“I know, and I think that calls for a celebration, don’t you?” Emma fished her car keys out of her jeans pocket, before picking up her lawn chair and water bottle.

“Are we gonna get ice cream?” he asked, before cramming the rest of his snack into his mouth.

“You just ate a granola bar and a banana, and lunch will be in just an hour or so,” she laughed. “I have something else in mind.”

“Whaisit?” he queried, the unswallowed food muffling his voice.

“Well, I know how much you miss Ernie, and Violet’s mom told me about a program at the animal shelter that lets you rent a pet for a few hours,” she answered slowly, watching his reaction out of the corner of her eye. “So, I signed up to get a dog for you to play with until three o’clock this afternoon.”

Henry stopped in his tracks, swallowing down the rest of his snack as his eyes grew wide. “Really? You can do that?”

“Yeah, we’re scheduled to pick him up at eleven. What do you think about that?”

His exuberant shout of joy and sprint to the car was all the answer she needed.

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Emma couldn’t keep up with her son once he unstrapped his safety belt, exited the car and bounded toward the front door of the shelter. He was already ringing the little bell on the counter for service before she made it inside and chided him lightly for not waiting for her.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with sandy hair and light blue eyes entered through a door, the barking of dogs stifled when it clicked shut behind him. He gave them a dazzling smile and greeted them warmly with a hearty ‘good morning’.

Emma reached forward to shake his hand. “Hi, I’m Emma Swan and this is my son, Henry.”

“David Nolan,” he responded, shaking her hand, then doing the same with Henry.

“My teacher’s name is Mrs. Nolan, the same as yours,” the boy told him.

“You wouldn’t happen to be in second grade at Storybrooke Elementary, would you?” David asked.

“Yeah,” Henry confirmed.

“Ah, well, that means your teacher is my wife!”

“Wow, cool!” Henry exclaimed. “She’s the best teacher I ever had!”

David’s grin grew even wider. “That’s good to hear. She tells me all about her students every evening and she thinks yours is the best class she’s ever had!”

“It’s quite a coincidence, meeting you here,” Emma commented with a smile.

“I’ll be sure to tell Mary Margaret I met the two of you. Now, what can I do for you today?”

Emma pulled her phone out of her purse, unlocked it, and tapped on the screen a few times. Then she laid it on the counter and turned it to show David. “I signed up for the Rent-a-Pet program. Here’s the email with my confirmation.”

David peered down at the screen and used his finger to scroll down a bit. “I see you chose Norman,” he commented, looking up at her.

“Um, yeah. Is he a good dog? I don’t want any messes in my house or car.”

“He’s a great dog,” he assured her, reaching back to the wall behind him to lift a leash off of a hook. “Gets along well with other dogs, seems to love kids, and is generally a very happy little guy.”

Henry bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. “Can we take him to the dog park? Ernie always loved going to the dog park.” His countenance dropped, a small cloud of sadness passing across his features.

David shared an understanding look with Emma. “Of course you can take him. I’m sure he will love it! Would you like to come back with me to get him?”

The boy turned to look at his mother. “Can I?”

“Sure, kid. I think I’ll come back, too, if Mr. Nolan doesn’t mind.”

“The more, the merrier,” David said cheerfully.

He waited until they joined him on the other side of the counter, then opened the door to the large room full of animal cages. Immediately, the sound of barking, howling and meows filled their ears.

“They get very excited when they know someone is coming back here. I think the animals closest to the door are spies and tell the others,” David joked, raising his voice to be heard over the din.

Emma walked behind Henry, watching him turn his head left and right to peer at the occupants of all of the pens.

“Aw, Mom, look at that little puppy! He’s so cute! Aw, that dog seems sad. I bet he doesn’t like being in a cage. Look Mom, they have cats here, too.” His litany was continuous as they slowly walked down the aisle between the enclosures.

Finally, David stopped in front of a pen and turned to them, gesturing toward the dog inside. “This is Norman. He has a sad story, but he’s kept his sweet temperament, haven’t you, boy?”

As if in answer, the black dog stood up, his tail starting to wag as he realized the man was talking about him. Henry dropped to his knees in front of the cage, placing his hands against the wire. “Hi, Norman! My name is Henry. Would you like to come home with us for a little while?” The dog’s tail was wagging so fast, his entire body wiggled. “I think he understands me, Mom!” Henry said excitedly.

As David slipped inside the pen to clip the leash to Norman’s collar, Emma asked, “Has he ever been rented before?”

“Several times,” David answered, straightening up once he had the leash attached. “He’s always done really well.” Opening the door of the kennel again, he allowed the dog to go ahead of him, out to where the boy still knelt.

“Hi, boy,” Henry crooned, running his hands over the dog’s head.

Emma bent down and stroked the sleek fur on Norman’s back and sides. “He’s so soft,” she commented.

“He appears to have the coat of a cocker spaniel,” David said, “but he’s definitely a mixed breed.” He watched the boy and dog interact for a few seconds before holding out the looped end of the leash. “Would you like to lead him out to the lobby, Henry?”

He looked up at Emma with hopeful eyes. “Is that okay, Mom?”

“How is he on a leash?” she asked David. “He won’t pull my kid’s arm out of the socket, will he?”

David laughed. “He does fairly well, but if he gets excited, he can get pretty rambunctious. He’ll be fine just going to the lobby, but you might have to walk him out to your car instead of Henry.”

“Sounds like a deal, kid,” she said, giving him a nod of approval.

Henry eagerly accepted the leash and started off down the aisle. “Come on, Norman. Come on, boy. You’re gonna like it at our house. We still have some of Ernie’s toys and balls.”

Emma and David trailed behind. “How long ago did you lose your dog?” he asked.

“Almost a month and Henry is really struggling with it. He and Ernie were best buds.”

“I’m sorry. That’s rough, especially for a kid.”

“And his mom,” Emma added. “I never realized how much I loved that dog, until he got sick and I knew we were going to lose him.”

“Hopefully, Norman will give you both a few hours of enjoyment and help ease the heartache a bit,” David said, before hurrying forward to pull the door open for Henry and the dog.

While David printed off the paperwork, Norman sniffed around Henry, who sat cross-legged on the floor, giggling when the dog licked his ears. “Ernie used to do that too, remember, Mom?”

Emma smiled down at him. “Yeah, you must have very tasty ears. Maybe you should start washing them better.”

“I won’t need to, after Norman washes them!”

She turned back to finish signing the papers. “It’s nice to hear him laughing again. He hasn’t done much of that lately,” she confided to David.

“I think this will be good for both of you and Norman. He really likes being around people. I’m very surprised he hasn’t been adopted yet.”

“Do you think there’s a reason for that?”

David shrugged. “This tends to be a slow time of the year for adoptions. Summer is over and school is back in session, so people don’t have as much time to welcome a new dog into their house.”

“That’s the boat we’re in right now,” Emma commented.

“Once it gets closer to Christmas, people will come in looking for pets to give as gifts. That’s good, but also bad, because about a quarter of them are brought back when they realize a pet is more work than they anticipated.”

“We got Ernie from the shelter when Henry was two. He was already five years old, house-trained and had all of the annoying puppy behaviors out of his system.”

“Most people want puppies instead of adult dogs, but there are a lot of advantages to getting an older dog.”

“Norman doesn’t seem to be very old.”

“I’d say at least two, but he’s pretty chill. Once he runs out of energy, he becomes a couch potato.” David collected the paperwork and tapped it on the counter to straighten it. “Well, that’s all I need from you. Norman is yours until three o’clock.”

“Yay!” Henry shouted, causing the dog to start barking.

Emma reached down to take the leash. “Don’t get him all riled up right before we put him in the car, kid.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Henry apologized. “I just can’t wait to get him home! Can he sit in the back with me?”

“Sure, but first you need to thank Mr. Nolan.”

Henry popped up from the floor and looked back at David. “Thanks, Mr. Nolan! I’ll take good care of Norman, I promise!”

“My pleasure, Henry. Have fun!” David grinned.

Mother and son exited the building, with Norman leading the way, tugging excitedly on the leash. “Slow down, pup,” Emma laughed.

Henry ran ahead to open the door of the yellow Volkswagen Beetle, sliding the front seat forward and clambering into the back. As soon as Norman reached the car, he hopped in and sat on the seat beside Henry like he’d done it every day of his life.

“Well, that was easy,” Emma commented, removing the loop of the leash from her wrist and tossing it beside the dog. After closing the door, she circled around behind the car to get into the driver’s seat. She looked into the rearview mirror and choked up at the sight meeting her eyes. Henry had his arms wrapped around Norman’s neck with his eyes closed and his head resting against the dog’s.

Emma was sure the time with Norman was going to be good for both boy and dog, but she couldn’t help but worry about what would happen when it came time to bring him back to the shelter.

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Emma was barely able to get Henry to eat when they got home, and had to reprimand him for sneaking Norman bits of his sandwich. The dog, for his part, sat politely while they ate, not begging or whining. She was impressed with his behavior, remembering how she had to break Ernie from begging at the table when they first adopted him.

Henry and Norman bonded quickly as they chased each other around the small backyard, playing with a tennis ball and squeaky toys from Ernie’s toy basket. Emma sat on their small patio, thoroughly enjoying the sounds of happy barking and her son’s laughter. She pulled out her phone and took a picture, posting it to the Discord group and tagging Violet’s mom to thank her for the idea of renting a pet.

Just after two o’clock, Emma suggested taking Norman to the dog park before going back to the shelter. They played there for forty minutes, then the three of them returned home and piled back into the car. Once again, she caught sight in the mirror of her son hugging the dog and sighed, but instead of dreading Norman’s return, she decided to enjoy every minute of happiness it was bringing to Henry…and herself.

Their time with the dog was over all too soon. After Emma parked the car at the shelter, Henry got out of the car and trudged to the door with the leash gripped tightly in his hand. Norman seemed to sense the boy’s mood and walked slowly beside him, his head hanging low.

David was at the desk to greet them again, an understanding look at his face at the dejected look of all three of them. “Was he good for you?” he asked.

“He was great,” Emma answered, rubbing her hand soothingly over her son’s back. “Wasn’t he, kid?”

“Yeah,” Henry quietly agreed, his eyes trained on the floor.

“You know, you’re welcome to rent Norman, or any of our other dogs, anytime you want,” David said.

Henry looked up. “But what if someone adopts him?”

“Well, that would be a good thing for Norman,” Emma reminded him.

“I guess,” Henry sighed. He knelt down beside the dog, wrapping him up in another hug. “I’ll miss you, boy, but maybe I’ll see you again.” The dog licked his cheek, eliciting a small giggle. Then Henry stood and held the leash out to David. “Thank you, Mr. Nolan. I had a lot of fun with Norman.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” David said, accepting the leash and moving around the counter. Patting the dog on the head, he added, “I hope we’ll see you again, soon.”

Henry turned pleading eyes to his mother. “Can we do it again next weekend, Mom?”

“You have Avery’s birthday party next Saturday, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Henry nodded, then bit his lip in contemplation. “The next weekend, then?”

Emma laughed. “We’ll see.” She leaned down to pet the dog’s head. “Be a good boy, Norman. You’re welcome at our house anytime.”

After saying their goodbyes, they watched David take the dog toward the door leading to the back. Norman turned and gave them a sad look before following the shelter worker through it, tearing at Emma’s heart even more.

She swallowed hard and said, “Come on, kid. Let’s go home.”

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The sadness soon wore off and for the next several days, Henry talked almost incessantly about all of the fun he had with Norman. Emma checked their schedule and saw that Henry had another early game three weeks later, which would be the last game of the soccer season. She relayed that news to Henry, asking him if he wanted to rent Norman again that day, and was answered with a very enthusiastic ‘YES!’

She nearly forgot to make the reservation, only remembering three days before, while waiting to pick Henry up from practice. Quickly, she pulled up the website and filled out the form, glancing up often to see if Henry was coming off the field because she always liked to meet him as soon as he did, instead of waiting for him in the car.

Emma was especially glad they decided to rent Norman Saturday, since Henry’s soccer team lost their final game by one goal. His downcast look was soon replaced with excitement when she reminded him that they would be going to the shelter.

When they arrived, he bounded out of the car and waited impatiently for his mom to join him, before practically sprinting to the door. It took a couple of minutes before David emerged from the back, beaming a smile when he saw them waiting at the counter.

“Henry! Emma! I’m very happy to see you again!”

“We’re here to get Norman,” Henry said excitedly.

A puzzled look crossed David’s face. “I’m sorry, but Norman is already being rented by somebody else today,” he informed them.

“What?” Henry asked, a slight tremor in his voice. Then he turned to Emma. “But Mom, you said we would be getting Norman.”

Emma was already pulling the email up on her phone. “There must be some mistake, Mr. Nolan. I reserved Norman when I filled out the form. See?”

She turned her phone for the worker to see it. David looked at it carefully, then pointed to the screen. “It looks like you didn’t ask for a specific dog.”

“I didn’t?” she questioned, then looked at her phone more closely, her heart dropping when she saw the blank space beside the ‘requested animal’ inquiry. “Oh, Henry. I’m so sorry. I was in a hurry when I filled it out and I must have missed that question.”

“We have several other dogs,” David consoled. “I’m sure you’ll have just as much fun with one of them.”

“No I won’t,” Henry pouted. “I only want Norman.”

“Henry…” Emma started, but was interrupted when the door behind her opened.

“Good morning, Dave,” said a deep voice with a distinctive British accent.

Emma turned to see the newcomer and nearly swallowed her tongue. The man standing before her had to be a mirage, because surely someone that handsome didn’t really exist. He had a lean physique clad in dark jeans and a maroon henley, with a tantalizing view of chest hair peeking out of the unbuttoned neckline. A black leather jacket completed his ensemble. His chiseled jawline was covered with a pleasing amount of scruff and his dark, windblown hair was falling over his forehead. He sported a wide grin and, between that and his deep blue eyes, Emma was mesmerized.

She was suddenly very aware of her own appearance. Henry’s early game meant she had thrown on a pair of sweatpants, donned an old hoodie and stuffed a beanie over her barely brushed hair that morning. Her face was free of makeup, unless you counted a few stray flecks of mascara that stubbornly refused to come off when she washed her face the previous evening.

“Hey, Killian,” David greeted.

The man’s - Killian’s - eyes had settled on Emma, a glint of curiosity evident in them.

“Oh, um, come on Henry,” she said, after several moments of silence. “Let’s get out of this man’s way.”

“But Mommmm…” he whined.

Emma put her hand on his shoulder and guided him away from the counter. “We’ll figure something out, kid.”

“I’m in no hurry, Miss,” Killian began.

“No, it’s okay,” she hurried to assure him. “I’m afraid I created a problem that might take a while to straighten out, so please, go ahead.”

“In that case, thank you very much,” he smiled. Turning his eyes to David, he asked, “Is Winston ready?”

Emma was surprised to see the genial shelter worker furrow his brow at the other man. “Why do you insist on calling him that?”

Killian shrugged. “He looks like a Winston to me, and he answers to that name when he’s at my house.”

David glanced at Emma and Henry and opened his mouth to say something, but apparently changed his mind. Grabbing a leash off of a hook, he said, “Give me a minute,” then he pushed the door open and disappeared into the back.

“Are you adopting a dog today?” Henry asked Killian.

“Alas, no. I just moved into a small apartment here three months ago and am still trying to get everything organized and put away. Being in a new town has been a bit lonely at times, so I’ve been coming here now and then to borrow a dog for a few hours.”

“That’s why we’re here, but somebody is taking the dog I want,” Henry grumbled.

“Henry, that’s enough,” Emma reprimanded. “You haven’t even looked at any of the other dogs.”

“None of them will be as good as Norman.”

Killian’s brows raised. “Did you say Nor-”

Just then, the door behind the counter opened and David came through, trying to control a very excited dog.

“Norman!” Henry cheered, dropping to his knees. The dog started jumping toward him, wildly licking his face as soon as he reached the boy.

“I thought you said he was already rented today,” Emma questioned David.

“He is,” he replied, looking pointedly at Killian.

Emma followed his gaze and saw the other man watching the interaction between Henry and the dog with a sheepish look on his face. The pieces began to click together and she asked, “Wait a minute - is Norman the dog you’re renting today?”

“Aye,” Killian confirmed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Looks like we’re here for the same dog.”

“But you called him by another name,” Emma continued.

“He’s the dog I’ve rented every time and he just doesn’t seem like a Norman to me, so I started calling him Winston,” Killian explained.

All three adults stood looking at the whirlwind of fur jumping all over Henry, who was giggling so much, he could hardly catch his breath.

Finally, Killian spoke. “It seems as though Win-, I mean, Norman, has made his choice. Please let Henry and…his mother have the dog today, Dave.”

“Emma,” she informed him. “My name is Emma Swan, and you don’t have to do that. You had him reserved first. Besides, Henry needs to learn he can’t always have his way.”

“I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my time with the dog, knowing how sad it would make Henry,” Killian responded. He took a step forward and offered Emma his hand to shake. “I’m Killian Jones, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma.”

As they shook hands, David cleared his throat. “Um, I have an idea of how to work this out. It’s a nice day, so why don’t all of you take Norman to the dog park together?”

Emma and Killian both whipped their heads around to stare at him. He seemed to shrink back a bit before stammering, “I mean, that way you could all spend time with him and get to know each other at the same time. You’ve been saying you’d like to meet more people in Storybrooke, Killian, and that’s where Henry and Emma live.” Looking at Emma, he added, “I’ve gotten to know Killian pretty well because he sings in the church choir with me and Mary Margaret. He’s a good guy.”

Emma slowly turned her eyes back to the very handsome man whose hand she suddenly realized she was still holding. She dropped it quickly, as she felt a blush heating her cheeks. Then she looked at Henry, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Norman sprawled across his lap. He was looking up at her with hope in his eyes.

Meeting Killian’s gaze once again, she asked, “What do you think?”

“I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position, Emma.”

“You wouldn’t have to go all the way back into Storybrooke,” David said. “There’s a small dog park at the end of the walking path, where a lot of people take dogs they’re thinking of adopting.”

“Please, Mom?” Henry pleaded. “Norman would like that, wouldn’t you, boy?”

Emma took a look at the pair and groaned, “It’s bad enough when you use the puppy dog eyes on me, kid. Now you’ve got the dog doing it, too.”

Killian chuckled lowly, the sound of it making Emma’s stomach flip in a very pleasant way. “I would hate to disappoint the two of them, so I’m game if you are, lass.”

Emma chewed her lip in contemplation for a few seconds, before saying, “Okay, but on one condition - you let me pay half of the rental fee.”

“I already paid the fee online,” Killian said.

“So did I, so I guess that takes care of that.”

“Not really,” David said. “You both paid, but you’re only renting one dog. I should reimburse each of you half of the fee.”

“Keep it,” Emma and Killian answered at the same time, then both laughed.

“The shelter can always use a little extra money, can’t it, Mr. Nolan?” Emma asked.

“Please call me David. And of course we can, if you’re both sure you don’t mind.”

As soon as they affirmed their answer, David walked around the counter and picked up the end of the leash. Handing it to Emma, he said, “In that case, Norman-slash-Winston is yours for the next four hours. You can bring him back sooner, if you like, but I’m sure he’s going to love getting out for a while. Oh, and if you get hungry, there’s usually a couple of food trucks near the dog park on Saturdays. Have fun!”

Emma and Killian thanked him, then went out the door with Norman straining at the leash, and Henry skipping along beside him. They quickly found the sign marking the path and started walking it.

After several paces, Killian turned to Emma and asked, “Is it me, or do you feel like David just set us up?”

“One hundred percent,” Emma laughed.

“How long have you known him?”

“David?” she questioned. At his hum of affirmation, she said, “Henry and I rented Norman three weeks ago and that was the first time I met him. David, I mean, not Norman. Well, it was the first time we met Norman, too. His wife is Henry’s teacher. Again, I mean she’s David’s wife, not Norman’s.” She knew she was rambling, but the thought of spending several hours with the gorgeous stranger was making her nervous.

Killian laughed. “That’s a relief. I borrowed Win-, uh, Norman three times and he never once mentioned being married.”

It was Emma’s turn to laugh - mostly because what he said was funny, but also in relief that he responded to her embarrassing prattling with humor, instead of judgment.

“So, if Dave just met you, he probably doesn’t even know if you’re married or dating anyone. That was a little presumptuous of him.”

“Are you fishing for information, Mr. Jones?” Emma teased.

“Killian will do,” he grinned. “And…perhaps?”

Before she could answer, Henry ran back to join them. “Can I take Norman, Mom? He’s walking really well on the leash, so I don’t think he’ll yank my arm out of the socket.”

She looked at Killian, who raised an eyebrow with a bemused look on his face.

“That’s something I said when we picked Norman up the last time,” she explained. Handing the loop of the leash to Henry, she said, “Don’t get too far ahead of us, kid.”

“We won’t,” he tossed over his shoulder.

Emma turned her attention back to the man beside her. “To answer your non-question Killian, no, I am not married or dating anyone. It’s just Henry and me, and always has been. When I told his father I thought I might be pregnant, he didn’t even stick around long enough to find out if I was or not.”

Killian absorbed this news for a few moments before responding, “If you don’t mind me saying, it sounds as if the two of you might be better off without someone like that, anyway.”

“Oh, definitely. Henry is more mature at eight than his sperm donor was as an adult. I was young and foolish, but I had to grow up fast once I became a single mother.” She watched her son trying to get Norman to walk beside him, then turned to look at Killian. “Sorry, that is a lot more information than I’m sure you wanted to know.”

“No need to apologize, Emma. I did ask, in a roundabout way.”

“So what’s your story? Did you move here from England, or am I misreading your accent?”

“You got it right,” he chuckled, then took a deep breath. “There was nothing left for me in England. My brother moved here soon after our mother died two years ago, and once I found out my girlfriend was actually a married woman, I needed a fresh start.”

“Ouch,” Emma commented.

“Aye, and now I’ve probably shared more than you wanted to know.”

“We’ll call it even, and promise to talk about much lighter subjects for the rest of the day,” Emma said.

“Deal.”

“You said your brother moved here. Does that mean he lives in Storybrooke?”

“Aye, he followed his heart and it led him straight to this quaint little town.”

“Who does he date, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“He’s engaged to the town librarian, Belle French.”

“Liam is your brother? I guess I should have figured that out since your last name is Jones.”

“It’s a very common name, lass. Yes, Liam is my brother. I gather you know him?”

“Belle is one of my best friends, so I know him through her. She used to babysit for Henry quite often, when I was a waitress at Granny’s.”

“Ah, the famous Granny’s Diner!” Killian exclaimed. “I visit that establishment frequently. She makes the best lasagna.”

“I think you meant to say the best grilled cheese and onion rings,” Emma grinned mischieviously.

“I’ve yet to try those particular delicacies,” he smirked.

“Try them,” she advised. “I guarantee you’ll love them.”

Looking ahead, they saw they were nearing the dog park and picked up their pace. They caught up with Henry and Norman just before reaching the entrance. There were about a half-dozen dogs running around the park, some loose and others on leashes.

“I think it would be a good idea for Mr. Jones to take Norman before we go in,” Emma told Henry. “He’ll be able to control him better if he gets too excited.”

“Okay,” Henry said, willingly handing over the leash.

“Thanks, lad,” Killian smiled.

Henry went through the first gate, holding it open for his mom, followed by Killian and Norman. When they were all in the buffer zone, Henry opened the next gate leading into the main part of the park.

“You’re raising quite the gentleman, Emma,” Killian commented, after he entered with the dog.

“He has his moments.”

They all watched Norman as he began sniffing around excitedly, then pulling on the leash when he noticed the other canines sharing his space. He nearly yanked Killian off of his feet with his enthusiasm to meet new friends.

The next twenty minutes were spent chasing the dog and trying to settle him down. After a few of the other owners left with their animals, Henry found a tennis ball and engaged Norman in a game of fetch. The adults sat on a bench to observe the pair, laughing at the clumsiness of the dog.

Emma noticed Killian rubbing his shoulder. “Alright there, Jones?”

“I think he might have pulled my arm out of the socket, Swan,” he quipped.

“Very funny, smart guy,” she said, making him laugh again. They watched for a few more minutes before Emma asked, “Do you have a job in Storybrooke? I started working at the sheriff’s station three months ago and I don’t remember seeing you around town.”

“I’m an architect. I was able to keep my job with the firm in England by working online and attending meetings with clients and my colleagues via Zoom. All of my time is spent in my office at home. It’s not ideal, but I appreciate my boss being willing to make concessions for me.”

“Do you plan to get a job here eventually?”

“Aye, if I decide to stay.”

“You don’t sound very sure.”

“I’m used to the hustle and bustle of a big city. Living in Storybrooke has been quite an adjustment.”

“I get that. We moved here from Boston when Henry was two. Granny’s granddaughter, Ruby, was our neighbor there, and when she decided to move back, she talked me into coming with her. At first, I had a hard time getting used to the peace and quiet. That was one reason why I adopted Ernie - just to have a little more noise in the house.”

“Ernie?” Killian questioned.

“Oh, he was our dog. We had him for six years, but he died a couple of months ago.” She pulled her phone out of the pouch of her hoodie and swiped to reveal her lock screen. “This is a picture of Henry with him.”

“Beautiful animal,” Killian commented sincerely, taking in the photo of the brown and white spaniel. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks,” Emma sighed, locking her phone and returning it to the pocket. “Henry grew up with him and he’s had a really hard time with it. Someone suggested renting a pet from the shelter to help him work through it, and that’s how we ended up renting Norman.”

“They seem to really like each other.”

“Yeah, they got along great the first time. That’s why I signed up to get him again, but I was in a hurry when I filled out the form and forgot to ask for a specific dog.”

“Ah, that explains the mix-up,” Killian remarked.

Another half hour passed while they chatted easily, until Henry came over and flopped down on the ground, quickly joined by Norman. “I’m hungry, Mom. Can we get something to eat?”

“Sure, kid. Put Norman back on his leash and we’ll go find those food trucks Mr. Nolan mentioned.”

They soon located the food trucks just down the sidewalk from the park. After discussing their options, they decided to get pulled pork sandwiches from the barbeque place. It was obvious that people who took their pets to the dog park frequented the food trucks, because each one had bowls of water set out in front of them and containers of dog biscuits on their condiment tables.

While they waited for their food, Henry tried to teach Norman to sit, rewarding him with pieces of the biscuits when he obeyed.

“He’s very good with him,” Killian noted.

“He prays for another dog every night, but our schedule is so busy right now. Plus, it’s such a big responsibility and I’m not sure Henry is ready for it. I might be wrong about that though, seeing how he is with Norman.”

After eating, they followed the sidewalk a little further and spotted a playground. Emma and Killian sat on a bench, with Norman sitting between them as they watched Henry play on the equipment.

“You know, we’ve lived in Storybrooke for six years and I never knew this playground existed,” Emma commented. “We don’t come this way very often, because whenever we go out of town, we take the road going south.”

“It appears to be fairly new,” Killian observed. “Perhaps they constructed it when they built those apartments over there, because they don’t look like they’ve been there very long.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I remember when they were being constructed a couple of years after we moved here, which means they’re less than five years old.”

They lost sight of Henry for a few seconds when he climbed a ladder up into a tower. Suddenly they heard him shout, “Hey, Mom! Look what I found!” and saw him coming down a twisting slide with his arms over his head, clutching a tattered looking soccer ball.

He landed at the bottom and came running over to them. “Someone must have forgotten this at the top of the tower. Wanna kick it around with me?”

“Sure, kid,” Emma answered, hopping up from the bench. “It looks a bit deflated. Are you sure it’s even going to roll?”

“It’ll be fine,” he assured her. Placing it on the ground, he gave it a kick and watched it roll across the grass. “See?”

A black streak flew past him, with Killian following close behind shouting, “Wins-, I mean, Norman! Come back here!”

The dog ignored him, but stopped when he got to the soccer ball. He was trying to pick it up in his mouth when the three humans reached him. Killian was able to kick it away from him, directly to Emma, who stopped it with her foot, then booted it over to Henry. Norman ran from one to the other, in hot pursuit of the elusive ball.

The ‘keep away’ game kept them entertained for a long time. They ran, shouting instructions to each other and laughing until all of them were completely out of breath. Norman was able to intercept some of their passes, but they always managed to get it away from him before he was able to pick it up and run off.

Finally, Emma declared that she had to take a break. Picking up Norman’s leash, she said, “I think we should take him back to the food trucks to get a drink and buy a couple of bottles of water.”

“Aww, Mom,” Henry complained. “I’m not ready to go yet. Can’t I stay here? Killian will stay with me, won’t you, Killian?”

“First of all, you should call him Mr. Jones, and secondly, you’re putting him on the spot, which isn’t cool,” Emma admonished.

Henry looked appropriately chagrined. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones.”

“Thank you, Henry, but if I may be so bold, I don’t mind you calling me Killian. That is, if it’s okay with your mother.”

Henry looked to his mom, who considered for a few seconds, then gave him a nod of approval.

Killian put his arm across Henry’s shoulders and walked him the short distance to where Emma was standing. “I’d be happy to go get the water, Emma.” He took the end of Norman’s leash from her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

While he was gone, Emma sat on the bench watching Henry continue to kick the soccer ball around. Killian and Norman returned a few minutes later, handed her a bottle of water and sat down beside her.

“Do I owe you anything for this?” Emma asked, unscrewing the lid.

“Not at all. I think I can afford to buy a lovely lass a bottle of water.”

She refrained from rolling her eyes at his use of the adjective, still rueing the fact she met such a handsome man while looking like she just rolled out of bed. As she was getting ready to take a drink, Henry kicked the ball and sent it sailing over their head, causing Emma to duck and spill some of the water in her lap.

Henry ran over, stopping in front of her. “Oops. Sorry, Mom. I was trying to kick it at the teeter-totter.”

Emma brushed at the water droplets, looking around to locate the teeter-totter, which was at least twenty feet away from the bench. “Not even close, kid.”

Killian stood up. “Perhaps I could give you some pointers, lad. I was a rather good football player when I was younger .”

Henry’s forehead creased in confusion. “I play soccer, not football.”

Killian chuckled as Emma explained, “Killian grew up in England and over there, soccer is called football. They call what we play ‘American football’, don’t they, Killian?”

“Aye, lass. Sorry to confuse you, Henry.”

“Oh, I never knew that. So, how good were you?”

Killian rubbed a finger behind his ear, ducking his head a bit. “I played in a semi-professional league for a couple of years and actually tried out for a professional club, before I decided to go to Uni and become an architect instead.”

“Wow! Cool!” Henry exclaimed. “You probably know even more about soccer than my coach!”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure he knows a bit more than a volunteer coach for a youth league team.” She took the dog’s leash back from Killian. “Norman and I will sit this lesson out.”

Killian attempted to wink at her. “As you wish, Milady. Come on, lad. We’ve got work to do.”

She smiled fondly, watching the two of them passing the ball back and forth for a while, before pulling out her phone to catch up on her social media apps.

When she looked up a few minutes later, she saw Killian giving Henry instructions for controlling the ball as he dribbled it down the field. Apparently, they were using two trees as the goal and Henry was moving toward them quickly, while trying rather unsuccessfully to keep the ball under control. When he kicked it from quite a distance away, the ball hit one of the trees and ricocheted away.

Killian went to retrieve the ball and took it back to where Henry was waiting. He squatted down in front of the boy and began talking to him, gesturing now and then to different parts of the field.

Henry listened intently, nodding once in a while. When Killian finished speaking, he stood up and did a short demonstration of how to move the ball back and forth from foot to foot. Then he patted the boy’s shoulder, walked the ball further away from the trees and set it down.

Henry lined himself up behind the ball and looked up at Killian. After getting a reassuring smile from him, Henry started dribbling the ball across the ground with shorter, more controlled kicks, while Killian jogged beside him, shouting encouragement. This time, he got the ball much closer to the trees, before giving it a powerful kick that sent it shooting right between them.

Killian whooped as Henry raised his arms in victory, giving a triumphant cheer. What Emma saw happen next put a lump in her throat. Henry flung his arms around Killian’s waist, hugging him tightly, and Killian returned the hug, rubbing his hand over her son’s head as he looked down at him with a proud smile on his face.

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vidding · 7 months

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On June 23, 2021, You Tube announced that any Pre-2017 unlisted videos will be made private on July 23, 2021. Why? BTW this is an attempt to raise awareness about an event few fans may even know took place and highlight the importance of supporting archiving projects. It's written by those directly involved - any re-blogs are appreciated. An example of a rescued vid is at the end. Security update: Why? You Tube screwed up when it first developed unlisted videos. There was a loophole. Any unlisted video that was added to a playlist would automatically be made public. Oops! June 23, 2021 was when they made a formal announcement about their efforts to rectify it. You Tube's Solution? - Blanket privatization of ALL pre-2017 unlisted videos & then apply the security update for all new unlisted videos going forward. What if you don't want your pre-2017 unlisted videos to be made private? Filling out a form telling You Tube to do nothing is one option. Great for people who don't mind filling forms to send to You Tube. Make your videos public. 🤨 or download them and reupload them then make them unlisted with the new update. 🙄 You can watch the video below for descriptions of all the options. Most not ideal. Official Video: Released June 23, 2021. You can watch it whenever if you want to, but I must say contrary to what one would expect it is a very clear explanation without too much technical jargon. However, it doesn't really explain the obvious ramifications of this.

youtube

What are the freaking Ramifications: You Tube is 18 years old. What?!?!! 😲 Yeah, I know. Any pre-2017 videos would account for more than half of You Tube's history (11 years) and therefore fandom's history on You Tube. How many fans would be aware they had a 30-day notice and could act in time? Were you even aware of this?

More Issues: More importantly, how many users with abandoned accounts with noteworthy, valuable unlisted fanvids are no longer around to fill out a form. How many "Dead Embeds" would be the result of this when the videos go private. Many prefer to Unlist and Embed on other sites. Unlisted is not the same as private. It only means the videos can't be searched and found on You Tube but is available to anyone with a link or Embed. Private basically means no longer accessible and limited to people who were emailed a link directly.

There were only 2 people in Fandom (to my knowledge) who worked on rescuing content like that. We had about 2 weeks before the July 23, 2021 deadline to archive about 11 years of Pre-2017 unlisted fanvids and ask questions later. One of those people was Morgan Dawn and the other was myself. Other archive teams did work on this but their focus was on other types of videos related gaming, political history, anime, etc. Essentially non-fandom. In a nutshell, our collaboration led to the rescue approximately 12K unlisted fan videos. 12K fanvids that would have been made private forever and unable to be seen. The Work About 50% of that total came from accounts that had never uploaded a video since 2018. The work involved required more technical knowledge & resources than we had ever used before on any prior archive projects. There were several brand-new archive techniques we developed specifically out of necessity during that intense time period. One example was renting multiple virtual machines to sift through thousands of playlists just to find a fraction of unlisted videos. There was so much at stake. What happened with the content that was archived?

To my knowledge, there isn't an Open Doors for fanvids. There is just a few dedicated individuals who may be bad at promoting their work. Let's face it, when there is a fire at a library you marshal all resources to save as many books as you can and worry about everything else later. If archiving speaks to you whether that is fanzine, oral history or fanvid related, then there are certain things you can do:

Follow this Tumblr (we will post about relevant projects here)

If you have time, ask us how you can volunteer on projects and see if what we offer works for you. You can always opt out.

Re-blog this so that maybe someone who does have time sees this.

If you don't have time support our Patreon https://patreon.com/vidding

If you don't have time or money like this post acknowledging you appreciate that this work is being done even if you can't assist in those ways.

Choose whichever options work for you if possible.

This kind of work is done by very few people and not necessarily by those you would think would do this type of work. It can fly under the radar and so can support. This is an attempt to raise awareness which sometimes we are too busy to take time to do. If support doesn't go to the right places projects like this may never have happen or may not be as successful as they could be. This Unlisted You Tube Project is a perfect example of something a lot of fans may not be aware even took place. Thank you for whatever method of support you choose. The following experience was brought to you by archiving.

The following vid is one of the 12k saved. It's a Kirk/Spock vid. You will not find this vid anywhere but here. I know. I went to the original vidder's You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@xKelociraptor and they have other vids on there. Last vid uploaded 11 years ago and no contact info. You want to know the kicker? I looked at all the other vids they have available but the best one (in my opinion) is the one that was unlisted & rescued. Unlisted vids are not necessarily unfinished projects or bad takes of a final version that should not see the light of day. They can in some cases be the best vids you will never see.

If you liked this post you might like this:

The last vidder friendly hosting & streaming site?

#fanvid #vidding #archiving #Youtube

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blockygraphics · 4 months

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Animated GIF from Action Cat Postcards (via GifCities). Surprisingly, the site is still extant. From its About page:

"I started this site in 1997 in honor of my cat Action Cat.

It used to be a postcard site, back in the old days when people communicated via email instead of texts. Now, I'm redoing the animations that used to be on Action Cat Postcards for use in text messages. When I finish that I'll be doing some new ones, so if you like them, check back every now and then.

If you enjoy this site at all, please consider donating a few dollars to a pet shelter or a rescue or anyone who feeds feral cats. They all appreciate even the smallest donation."

#cats #snow #winter #gif #snowfall #gifs #animated #animated gif #animated gis

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chaoticm0therfvcker · 16 days

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A New Job (Sequel to Bittersweet)

Summary: after Dark Cacao resigned from his role as a police officer, he finds a new job at a local national park. He didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t until this particular instance that he genuinely enjoyed his work.

A/N: this story will be featuring my OC, Caffeine, just as a supporting character for one of the scenes

As much as Dark Cacao enjoyed having more time to spend with his family, he couldn’t help but feel that retirement was boring. He enjoyed helping people, keeping people safe, and while Pure Vanilla hated seeing his husband in danger, Cacao had to admit that he enjoyed the thrill. So, while Dark Cacao loved being able to be with his family, he was constantly antsy, wishing he could be back in action. It certainly didn’t help that everything reminded him of his old job; Caramel Arrow training to become a police officer then dropping the idea after she realized it wasn’t for her, Crunchy Chip approaching that age where he was looking for a job too, and of course, both took after their father in the sense that they also want to help people and answer any call to action that came their way.

Then, as if the universe was listening, a new job opportunity came their way.

Nearby to the PureCacao household, there was a famous national park, Dragon Hill National Park. It had a museum, a nature preserve with tours, hiking trails, camp sights, and even a small ski resort for the winter. It was where Pure Vanilla and Dark Cacao had their first date, and now it was hiring people for their new job division, a special first responder division for the camp site and hiking trails. They needed a division manager, a fire watch team, a search and rescue team, and a few nurses in the visitors center to manage the med bay in case someone was injured.

Of course, the three pounced on the job opportunity. They finally had the opportunity to help people, to keep people safe while also being able to enjoy the beauty of nature, and most of all, despite the high stakes, it was much safer than Cacao’s job as a police officer.

So, as expected, they applied for the jobs, and after some training, Dark Cacao, Caramel Arrow, and Crunchy Chip were hired.

Dark Cacao was in charge of the whole division. He got his own office with his own telephone line and walkie-talkie channel, and most of his time was spent wandering the park, making sure that emergency supplies were stocked and helping out in the med bay whenever help was needed. And of course, have the occasional picnic with his darling husband when Pure Vanilla wasn’t working his part time job at the local volunteer clinic.

Caramel Arrow was in charge of fire watch. She had her own observation deck to scope out any major fires, but luckily, those only happened during dry seasons when the trees and grass were extra flammable. When she wasn’t scoping out wildfires, she was training her team, explaining what to do to rescue people trapped in the flames, and all the different ways to extinguish a fire depending on how it started and what was fueling it. She was glad to be in charge of training too, because it was pretty disturbing how many trainees thought it was okay to put out a grease or electrical fire with water.

Finally, Crunchy Chip was in charge of search and rescue. Because of how big Dragon Hill was and how many people enjoyed the many hiking trails throughout the forest, it was inevitable that a hiker would occasionally get lost in the woods. However, due to ticks, bears, the occasional rabid animal, and the plethora of roots, rocks, and slippery mud and leaves just waiting to badly injure someone, it was imperative that anyone who got lost was rescued as soon as possible. Chip absolutely loved this job, being able to explore the forest and use his survival skills to better use than he could in his suburban home, and the best part- he could bring his wolf-dog with him to search for people by sniffing their trail.

As weeks passed by and the three got more acclimated to their jobs, they started to grow a bit bored. They were so excited to be able to help people, but the only people they had helped so far were a few kids who scraped their knees and some newbie hikers that didn’t know how to read maps and acted like they were allergic to bug spray.

Then, Dark Cacao got a very panicked knock on the door.

Opening the door, Cacao was approached by a very out of breath young woman with blonde and pink hair, keeled over trying to catch her breath.

“We need… your help…” she wheezed, “some old… school friends and I are camping, and our tent fell into the fire pit! There are four of us, and two of them decided to take it upon themselves to go find water to put it out!”

“Shit,” Cacao mumbled under his breath, “okay, show me where you guys are staying, I’m calling for backup.” He yanked the walkie-talkie off of his belt, pressed a red button on the side, and yelled, “Arrow, Chip, we need your help! There’s a fire at one of the campsites and two of the campers are missing!” Before following the woman to the site. When they got there, it was just as she had described. There was a collapsed tent engulfed in flames in the middle of the site, a very nervous man with long purple hair whimpering off to the side, sitting in front of an RV about twenty feet away from the flames. When he saw Dark Cacao, he rushed up to him.

“Hi, thank you so much! I’m Prune Juice, this is Kouign-Amann, and two of our friends, Caffeine and Capsaicin are missing! We were setting up for the night and cooking some dinner when the tent collapsed and well, I think you can guess what happened after that.”

Just then, Caramel Arrow and Crunchy Chip arrived, worried looks plastered on their faces. “We came as soon as we could! What happened?”

“They were setting up for the night and one of their tents collapsed onto the fire pit,” Cacao explained, “and two of the campers ran off to find water and are currently missing.”

“Do you have anything that has their scent on it so we can search for them?” Crunchy Chip asked.

Prune Juice nodded and grabbed two alumni jackets from the RV. “These are their jackets from when they were classmates. It should make it pretty easy to find them.”

Crunchy Chip’s dog, Wolfy, sniffed the jackets for a moment before barking and running off into the woods, nose buried in the forest’s underbrush. Crunchy Chip chased after him.

Meanwhile, Caramel Arrow reached into her bag and pulled out a large grey fire blanket. Unfolding it, she offered one side of it to Kouign-Amann. “This is a fire blanket, and it’ll help extinguish the flames. I need you to go to the opposite side of the fire and drape it over the flames with me. Can you do that?”

Kouign nodded rapidly. “I think so, yeah.”

Kouign-Amann clutched her end of the fire blanket tightly, walking over to the opposite side of the fire, as Caramel Arrow had instructed. Caramel Arrow counted to three, and on three the two women lifted the blanket as high as they could, draping it over the fire pit and laying it down afterwards. As Caramel Arrow had stated, the flames calmed down, and eventually, they fizzled out completely.

“The fire blanket suffocates the flame so that it can’t keep burning,” she explained, “it’s a much more effective method than just pouring water on it. No offense, but your friends are really stupid for running off like that.”

Kouign-Amann nodded and sighed. “No, none taken, I know they are. Those two have been insanely reckless the entire time I’ve known them, I’m surprised they haven’t gotten themselves killed yet.”

“Well, the fire is out now, so you two should probably head over to the visitors center to get a checkup at the med bay.” Dark Cacao said, “They’ll be able to check for any burns or injuries and once we find them, you can meet up your friends there.”

While Kouign and Prune Juice were being led to the visitors center, Crunchy Chip ran through the woods with his wolf-dog, jumping over roots and fallen branches and ensuring that Wolfy never left his sight. While he knew how serious this was, he couldn’t help but enjoy his little adventure through the forest. He had always loved the woods and nature, and he always had a strange intuition for how to survive in the wild.

Suddenly, Wolfy stopped dead in his tracks, Chip following suit. Listening carefully, he could faintly hear a man’s voice yelling. “Help! We need help here!” Off into the distance. This had to be them.

Running off in the direction of the shouting, Crunchy Chip soon approached a large river surrounded by rocks and mud, and more importantly, he found who had been shouting. Standing by the river was a tall man with fiery red hair and a muddy black t-shirt, and he was standing by a woman with vibrant green hair and a matching black t-shirt, although it was hard to tell because she was covered in mud as she sat by the river clutching her knee.

“Are you two alright?” Crunchy Chip asked. The man nodded.

“We’re okay, well- sort of,” he replied, “we’re camping with some old friends, and there was a fire. We decided to go find some water, but we got lost after a while. Clearly, as you can see, we found water, but then my friend here slipped on some mud and bashed her knee on a rock. Are you a park ranger or something?”

“I’m here to get you guys back to safety,” Crunchy Chip explained, “what are your names?”

“I’m Capsaicin, she’s Caffeine.” The man, Capsaicin, replied, gesturing to the woman.

While the two were talking, Chip’s wolf-dog approached Caffeine. Sniffing her face for a moment, he started to lick Caffeines face, earning a giggle out of the woman.

“Well hello there!” Caffeine squeaked in a baby voice, “aren’t you just the cutest doggy ever? Are you gonna be the goodest boy ever and rescue us?”

Glancing over at Wolfy and Caffeine, Crunchy Chip chuckled. “Wolfy, here.” He patted the side of his leg, then turned back to Capsaicin. “You two need to follow me back to the visitors center. There, you two can get looked at in the med bay and we can help you with any injuries. Especially her, it seems like she damaged her knee pretty bad.”

Caffeine scoffed. “I’ll be fine, I’ve gone through worse.”

“C’mon, Caff, you could be seriously messed up.” Capsaicin turned to Chip, “thank you.”

Walking over to Caffeine, Capsaicin picked up his friend and followed Crunchy Chip out of the forest. Walking into the visitors center, Capsaicin lit up at the sight of Prune Juice and Kouign-Amann.

“Hey guys!” He greeted, helping Caffeine onto one of the beds, “were you guys able to put out the fire?”

“We were, no thanks to you.” Prune Juice replied. He didn’t intend to have that much venom in his tone, but those two idiots had him worried sick! He knew that they weren’t always the most rational when it came to thinking of something to do, but this could have gotten them killed.

While the friends argued over whether or not running off to find water was a good idea, Crunchy Chip sighed and met with his father in Dark Cacao’s office. Caramel Arrow was there too, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

“How did it go?” She asked, “were they all okay?”

“They were both fine,” Chip replied, “the green haired one hurt her knee pretty bad though. She might’ve broken it, but at least her and her friend are both alive. What about you?”

“The fire was pretty easy to put out, I had some help from the girl.” Caramel Arrow replied.

The three smiled at each other for a moment, proud of themselves for being able to help that group of campers. Sure, their job could be boring sometimes, and sure, it’s never good when someone is lost or injured or there’s a fire, but this crazy emergency reminded them of why they got this job in the first place, as well as why it was so amazing.

It was amazing because they got to help people.

Taglist: @janayuga @katsunemillennium @trustymikh @c00kietin

#cookie run kingdom #cookie run #crk #crk modern au #cookie run oc #dark cacao cookie #caramel arrow cookie #crunchy chip cookie #capsaicin cookie #prune juice cookie #kouign amann cookie #triple cone cup

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verai-marcel · 22 days

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Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 28 of 28)

Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.

AO3 Link is here, my love.

Word Count: 2,422

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Act III, Chapter 7 - The Epilogue

Five months passed in blissful domesticity. You had started a small apothecary shop which made enough money to keep you in business and build up your savings. Astarion, when he felt the whim, would make scents for you to sell. Those always seemed to sell out extremely quickly, and after the first three months, he began taking commissions. That is, when he wasn’t busy with his little adventures in the night.

Astarion had continued his little bouts of heroism. You noted that he had a penchant for going into Rivington and helping the less fortunate, getting a sort of high from sucking the life out of evil thugs and getting praised for it.

Oh, of course he lives for the praise.

You mildly wondered if some of the people he rescued had ever praised him a little too much, when he came back with an extra pep in his step.

“Did someone call you the most handsome hero in the Gate?”

He scoffed. “Please. They don’t need to say it.” Leaning against your work table, he gave you the most perfect grin. “I already know.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, yes, you’re the most beautiful beau in all the land.”

“And don’t you forget it,” he sassed, taking off his armor and weapons. “And what is my little witch making tonight?”

“Just a new batch of potions. Bluurg and Omeluum had a fresh batch of mushrooms from the Underdark and—”

You felt a tingle of power in the air and turned around just as a dove appeared in your window, a small message box tied to it.

“Thank you,” you said as you took the letter.

~*All part of the job, ma’am,~* he said, sounding like an elderly retired officer. The dove saluted with his wing and took off.

Being able to talk to animals regularly still throws me off.

Opening the letter, you smiled. Withers’ handwriting was a bit shaky, but still elegant.

Astarion read the letter over your shoulder. “Oh.”

You turned towards him. “What do you mean, ‘oh’?”

He looked away. “I, erm, may have forgotten to let the others know that you returned.”

You sputtered for a moment in shock. “Astarion!” you screeched in annoyance.

He gave you his classic shrug. “Well, it’ll be a hell of a surprise when you show up.”

***

When you and Astarion arrived at the old camp site where Withers had set up the little soiree, you realized that you and he were the first people there. Seeing Withers waving his staff and setting up the final dishes on the table was a bit surprising.

“Wait, so you could have summoned food and drink all this time?” you asked as you came up to him.

You swear you saw a wry smirk before he returned to his usual neutral expression. “No one asked.”

You damn skeleton!

Putting on a polite smile, you asked tentatively, “Erm, do you need any help?”

“Thou hast helped enough,” he said, but not in an unkind way. “It is thy turn to relax and wait for thy meal.”

You nodded. “Well, I guess I should let you get back to it then.”

He nodded and resumed preparing the feast.

You went back to Astarion, who was perusing the selection of wines at the other end of the table.

“Found something good?”

He shook his head. “You’d think he’d find a fresh bottle of blood somewhere,” he muttered. “Does he expect me to just drink this wine?”

“I’ll feed you when we go home,” you said, patting his arm.

He suddenly wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you against his body. “You could feed me now. Nobody else is here—”

Suddenly you felt a tingle in your spine, right before you heard your name being yelled with jubilant glee.

Turning towards the voices, you saw a portal from Avernus close, and two familiar figures staring at you in surprise.

Without any further words, Astarion let you go as you ran to them, hugging them tightly.

“Where have you been? When did you get back?” Karlach asked in a rush of words.

You started to tell your story, but Wyll held up a hand to stop you. “I get the feeling everyone will want to hear your tale,” he said. “Perhaps you should wait until everyone is here.”

“That sounds good, otherwise I’ll be repeating myself all night.” You turned back to Astarion, who saw someone behind you and quickly walked away, pointedly poking at the decorations around the site.

You heard her before you could turn to look. “Of course he would forget to tell us.”

Looking over to Shadowheart, you saw her sassy grin and smiled back. “Of course.”

She gave you a big hug, holding you tight before pulling back to look at your face. She shot a sour glare at Astarion before giving you a brilliant smile. “Or maybe he didn’t want to share you with anyone else for a while.”

You shrugged. “Him? Selfish? Whatever do you mean?” you joked. “You look great, by the way.” You looked around. “So…”

“Oh, he’ll be here shortly. He took far too long figuring out what to wear, so I left first.”

Oh Gale, you silly man. “I didn’t expect that from him.”

As the others slowly showed up, you got a chance to catch up with everyone. It was nice, seeing how everyone had carried on after enduring the adventure of a lifetime. Jaheira and Minsc were living in Baldur’s Gate doing their own things while Halsin had moved back to Thaniel’s lands to take care of the war orphans. Lae’zel, though she appeared spectrally at the party, told you that she had been fighting the good fight against Vlaakith.

Volo had somehow found his way to the party, but when you gave a subtle nod to Withers, he suddenly found that he had somewhere else to be.

Wyll and Karlach had gone to Avernus a couple weeks after you had cast your spell on her heart engine. At least knowing that she had time to prepare, with Wyll by her side, Karlach had gone willingly, and with a goal in mind: to find a way to fix her engine. And it turned out that they had discovered some blueprints and a map to a blacksmith, nabbed from the corpse of a cambion. They had hope that they’d be able to return to Baldur’s Gate soon.

Gale finally arrived, dressed rather sharply, and you caught he and Shadowheart sharing a loving gaze before he came to greet you. You found out that he had become a professor at the wizard academy in Waterdeep. While he had mostly moved back to his tower, he had also purchased some land outside of the city for Shadowheart and her parents to start a farm and take care of orphaned animals. Of course, they had a direct portal between the tower and the farmhouse so they could visit each other whenever they wanted.

You finally told Gale why you had always dodged his questions about Waterdeep. About who your old master was, and why you had fled town. Turns out that Gale had known of the man, since he was from a well known noble family.

“So that man was actually a masked lord, huh?” Gale had shrugged. “Well, no matter. Apparently the Zhentarim have, shall we say, disposed of him, so unless you have any other dark secrets, you’re free to come visit.”

You breathed a sigh of relief. The one major thing that had been haunting you from the past was now gone for good.

Scratch had been living in Baldur’s Gate with a very nice family, but from time to time he would wander off to visit with Owly, who had been living near the outskirts of the city. You asked if perhaps the owlbear might be better off staying with Shadowheart at her farm, and realizing you had accidentally offered someone else’s home without her permission, you quickly told Shadowheart about it. Fortunately, she was delighted to take him in.

And during your conversations with each person, you confessed to them your ability to feel emotions through touch. You let them know that you had never shared anything with anyone else, and now you knew how to shield properly, so their emotions would be private. You had expected some backlash, but they all just shrugged it off as a thing in the past. It was comforting to know that all the dread you had felt about telling them was all in your head, and you need not have worried. They were your friends, after all.

“So that’s why you always wore gloves,” Karlach had said, as if she had been holding onto that mystery all this time.

Well, that wasn’t so hard to confess… Guess I didn’t need to be so anxious about it.

With everyone here, sat around the table, sharing food and drink like old times, you felt that warm, cozy feeling surround you.

I think now is the time to tell everyone what happened to me after I fell into the portal.

You cleared your throat, and immediately everyone turned to you.

“Are you going to tell us a story now?” Karlach asked excitedly.

“Have you been waiting all night?” you asked with a grin.

She nodded enthusiastically.

You looked at everyone, and their eyes were all on you.

“Alright, well, after I got thrown into the portal…”

You told your story, summarizing your year in the Feywild. High on the attention, you took a chance.

“Could I… share one of my songs with you all?”

Their enthusiasm was so overwhelming that you immediately got up and went to Milil.

He had looked at you at first with disdain, but when you had identified him as the God of song, poetry, and inspiration, he was a great deal happier. So much so, that when you asked him to play your song, he readily agreed.

“No need,” he said as you offered to scribble the notes. “Just hum a few bars and I’ll adapt to you.”

You did so, and was pleasantly surprised when he played along beautifully. Satisfied, you climbed back down from his platform, only to find that everyone had gathered around. So you stood right where you were and began to sing.

You weren’t sure how long you sang, and you also weren’t sure when you began to change. Your hair turned fiery red before it broke free from its bun and cascaded down your back, locks of it floating around you, swaying with your song. Your voice split into three harmonious layers, making you sound like a choir unto yourself. Buoyed by the magic you could feel flowing through your body, you began to dance, and the vegetation around the campsite began to glow and flutter softly, as if all of nature swayed to your melody.

By the time your song ended, your magic had formed sparkles of fae dust, scattering around as you twirled around one last time, the flecks of light dissipating into the cool night air.

You took a deep breath and bowed.

Your friends erupted in cheers.

“Amazing!”

“Brilliant!”

“Gorgeous, absolutely stunning!”

You looked at Astarion, who was standing in the back, so no one could see the soft look of love on his face.

Smiling back, you let everyone pull you back to the table for more drinks.

The night carried on, and as everyone was getting a bit more drunk, you slipped away to take a breather. Wandering into the abandoned building on the other side of the small bridge, you found Withers, who was quietly looking through a book. You didn’t recall all the bookcases here before, but perhaps he had brought them here to entertain himself while the others were partying.

Just as you were about to sneak back out, not wanting to bother him, he turned to you.

“Was it worth staying?” he asked quietly.

You blinked. “What do you mean?”

“With thy companions on their journey.”

Oh. I see. You smiled. “Yes. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met Astarion and the others. I wouldn’t have found my mother. I would have stayed in the dark about a lot of things, and continued to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.”

Withers nodded. “Good.”

As per usual, he silently watched you as you tried to look for the right words to express yourself, but you realized perhaps that simple was best.

“Thank you, Withers.”

He stared at you for a moment. “I did nothing to warrant gratitude.”

You shrugged. “You said something just cryptic enough that made me stay. So whether it was on purpose or not, you still have my thanks.”

The skeleton’s expression changed for a mere moment, but you caught the smile before it disappeared again.

With nothing more to say, you bowed politely and began to walk away, but then he spoke once more. “Tell Lady Orla she owes me a cup of tea.”

You twirled around to stare at him in utter surprise.

Does my mother know everyone in the realms?! And what the fuck did they bet on?

Knowing that neither of them would ever tell you, you took a deep breath and let it go. “Will do,” you replied. You opened your mouth to say goodbye, but decided to change your wording. “See you later, Withers.”

Returning to the party, you found Astarion, who was being grilled by the others.

“Why didn’t you write to us that she had returned?”

He shrugged. “I may have forgotten…”

“You wanted to keep her to yourself, didn’t you?”

“Well, wouldn’t you?” he replied matter-of-factly. He turned towards you. “Look at her. She’s incredible.”

You grinned from ear to ear. “Not half as incredible as you,” you replied. “And I mean that for all of you. You’re all wonderful. I hope we meet up many more times in the future!”

Amongst the sounds of cheering and revelry, you saw Astarion holding his hand out to you, just as he always did. You took his hand and let your shield down, taking in the warmth of his emotions as he pulled you aside.

With his eyes gazing lovingly at yours, he brought your hand to his lips. “Are you happy, darling?”

You smiled warmly at him. “Yes, very much so. Are you?”

“Of course I am.” He stepped closer and pressed his forehead to yours. “You always bring my happiness with you, my love.”

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Act III, Chapter 7 End notes: Wow, what a journey! I’m so happy to finally complete this story, and so glad that all of you have joined me on this ride. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, it really means a lot to me to hear your feedback. For now this is the end of the main story, but I’m thinking about posting a few side drabbles from Astarion’s POV, if anyone has any interest. And if I have any side ideas about our hearth witch, I’ll post them here!

Also my author’s notes and HW’s character summary are here if anyone has any interest in a peek behind the scenes.

Also full disclosure - I stole a part of that last line from a manga; I wish I had come up with that on my own. I’ve used it in other fics too, haha. I just love that line. Let me know if you can guess which manga and which character said it!

Tags List: @numblytemporary @xalphafox @avitute @stormyjane7 @kmoon21

#bg3 #astarion #astarion x f!reader #baldur's gate 3 #writing #bg3 fanfic #female reader #bg3 spoilers #your hearth is my home

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silvermoon424 · 6 months

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My manga collection (October 2023)

I did a post detailing my manga collection back in 2021, but it's grown a lot since then so I figured I'd make a new post! It was also a good time to do so because we're repainting my room and while there's usually a ton of anime merch in front of the books on my shelves, now it's all been packed up. So there's a clear look at the books without me having to move anything, lol.

Anyway, without further adieu, here we go! My manga collection is largely shoujo (specifically magical girls) and horror manga.

Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino

Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo by Matsuri Akino

The Clique by Yishan Li

Frozen II manga by Arina Tanemura

Dark Metro by Tokyo Calen and Yoshiken

Yokai Rental Shop by Shin Mashiba

Confidential Confessions by Reiko Momochi

Pichi Pichi Pitch (aka Mermaid Melody) by Michiko Yokote and Pink Hanamori

Magical Girl Site by Kentaro Sato

Reiko the Zombie Shop by Rei Mikamoto

Les Miserables (manga adaptation) by TszMei Lee

Nightmares for Sale by Kaoru Ohashi

Presents by Kanako Inuki

Mail by Housui Yamazaki

Dark Water by Meimu

Tale of a White Night by Tooko Miyagi

Goth by Otsuichi and Kendi Oiwa

Beautiful People by Mitsukazu Mihara

Attack on Titan: No Regrets by Gun Snark and Hikaru Suruga

In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno

A Girl on the Shore by Inio Asano

Bride of Deimos by Etsuko Ikeda and Yuuho Ashibe

Limit by Keiko Suenobu

Helter Skelter by Kyoko Okazaki

Dolls omnibus (in Japanese) by Yumiko Kawahara

Ibitsu by Haruto Ryo

A God Somewhere (Western comic) by John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg

Beauty (Western comic) by Hubert and Kerascoët

Ah! My Goddess by Kōsuke Fujishima

Only One Wish by Mia Ikumi

Higurashi When They Cry: Festival Accompanying Arc by Karin Suzuragi

Chronicles of the Grim Peddler by Lee Jeoun-A

PTSD Radio by Masaaki Nakayama

Elfen Lied by Lynn Okamoto

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase

Happy Sugar Life by Tomiyaki Kagisora

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood by Hirohiko Araki

An Ojamajo Doremi artbook (in Japanese)

Mermaid Saga by Rumiko Takahashi

Dolls by Yumiko Kawahara

Maid-sama by Hiro Fujiwara

Franken Fran by Katsuhisa Kigitsu

Hell Girl by Miyuki Eto

Gurren Lagann by Kotaro Mori

Doll by Mitsukazu Mihara

Mantis Woman by Senno Knife

Various Sailor Moon artbooks from the anime, manga illustrations by Naoko Takeuchi, and fan artbooks

Sailor Moon Eternal Edition by Naoko Takeuchi

Sailor V Eternal Edition by Naoko Takeuchi

Puella Magi Madoka Magica by Hanokage

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story by Hanokage

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Wraith Arc by Hanokage

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Rebellion Story by Hanokage

Puella Magi Oriko Magica by Kuroe Mura

Puella Magi Oriko Magica: Sadness Prayer by Kuroe Mura

Puella Magi Tart Magica by Golden Pe Done

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story by Fuji Fujino

Assorted PMMM and Magia Record artbooks

Pokemon Adventures (aka Pokemon Special) by Hidenori Kusaka and Mato/Satoshi Yamamoto. I own the complete set of the RBG, Yellow, GSC, FRLG, Emerald and HGSS arcs as well as a few volumes from the RS, DP, and Black/White arcs.

Various Pokemon 4koma (in Japanese)

Pokemon: I Choose You by Ryo Takamisaki

Phantom Thief Pokemon 7 by Miho Asada

The Rise of Darkrai by Ryo Takamisaki

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventure by Shigekatsu Ihara

The Electric Tale of Pikachu by Toshihiro Ono

The Art of Pokemon Adventures by Satoshi Yamamoto (both English and Japanese versions)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team by Makoto Mizobuchi

Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea by Makoto Mizobuchi

Various Junji Ito Manga:

Dissolving Classroom

Fragments of Horror

The Liminal Zone

Sensor

Black Paradox

Gyo

Uzumaki

Tomie

Deserter

Tombs

Lovesickness

Smashed

Shiver

Frankenstein

Remina

Venus in the Blind Spot

No Longer Human

Twisted Visions (artbook)

Uzumaki coloring book

Uzumaki (original printing) by Junji Ito

Museum of Terror by Junji Ito

Soichi by Junji Ito

The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezu

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency by Hirohiko Araki

Orochi by Kazuo Umezu

Be Very Afraid of Kanoko Inuki! by Kanoko Inuki

Wonderland by Yugo Ishikawa

Shadows House by Somato

I Had That Sane Dream Again by Yoru Sumino

Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki

Nightmare Inspector by Shin Mashiba

The Ring by Misao Inagaki

Wonder House of Horrors by Miyako Cojima

Puella Magi Suzune Magica by GAN

Puella Magi Kazumi Magica by Masaki Hiramatsu and Takashi Tensugi

Magia Record: Another Story by U35

I also have some manga in storage like Inuyasha and Kitchen Princess, but that's about it!

#my collection #manga collection #manga collector #manga

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camillasgirl · 7 months

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla will undertake a State Visit to Kenya

The visit will take place from Tuesday 31st October to Friday 3rd November 2023, and will celebrate the warm relationship between the two countries and the strong and dynamic partnership they continue to forge.

The visit is at the invitation of President Ruto and comes as Kenya prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence. His Majesty’s first visit to a Commonwealth nation as King is therefore to the country in which Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began, having acceded to the throne in Kenya in February 1952.

The King and Queen will visit Nairobi City County, Mombasa County and surrounding areas. Their Majesties’ programme will reflect the ways in which Kenya and the United Kingdom are working together, notably to boost mutual prosperity, tackle climate change, promote youth opportunity and employment, advance sustainable development and create a more stable and secure region.

During the visit, Their Majesties will meet President Ruto and the First Lady as well as and other members of the Kenyan Government, UN staff, CEOs, faith leaders, young people, future leaders and Kenyan Marines training with UK Royal Marines. The King will also attend an event to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate the late Professor Wangari Maathai, together with Wangari’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai.

The King and Queen’s programme will celebrate the close links between the British and Kenyan people in areas such as the creative arts, technology, enterprise, education and innovation. The visit will also acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history, including the Emergency (1952-1960). His Majesty will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya. Together, Their Majesties will tour a new museum dedicated to Kenya’s history and will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens, as well as visiting the site of the declaration of Kenya’s independence in 1963.

The King and Queen’s programme also will include:

Their Majesties will be greeted in Nairobi with a ceremonial welcome at State House and will each attend bilateral meetings – The King with The President and The Queen with the First Lady, before The President hosts a State Banquet at State House.

His Majesty will visit the United Nations Office at Nairobi, to learn more about the work of UN Habitat and the UN Environment Programme. UNON is the only UN Headquarters in the Commonwealth.

His Majesty will attend a technology showcase, meeting Kenyan entrepreneurs who are driving forward innovation in the country’s tech sector. Kenya has the third largest start up eco-system in Africa.

His Majesty will host a reception focussed on Kenya’s young people and future leaders across development, trade, media, the creative arts and environmental conservation.

Their Majesties will visit a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, joining British and Kenyan military personnel in an act of Remembrance, before hearing about the Commission’s recent work to ensure all those who supported Britain’s efforts in both World Wars are commemorated.

The King and Queen will visit Nairobi National Park to witness the vital conservation work being undertaken by the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is integral to Kenya’s thriving tourism industry.

Her Majesty, Patron of the equine welfare charity Brooke, will hear how the charity is working with the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals to rescue donkeys at risk and promote their welfare.

The King, as Captain General of the Royal Marines, and The Queen, will visit Mtongwe Naval Base in Mombasa. There, Their Majesties will witness Kenyan Marines, trained by the Royal Marines, demonstrating a covert beach landing, showing defence collaboration in action.

The Queen will meet survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, learning how they are supported and sharing her own insights from working in this area.

The King will meet faith leaders from Mombasa’s diverse community, hearing how they are working together to promote harmony amongst the city’s population.

#king charles iii #queen camilla

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cinderella-ish · 21 days

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Kyo, Momiji, and the beach trip that changed everything (part 4 of 5)

So, the beach arc is one of the best parts of the beautiful story that is Fruits Basket. Functionally, it's the midpoint, occurring from chapters 54-65 (out of 136) of the manga, and episodes 31-35 (out of 63) of the anime.

What is the midpoint in story structure? From author K.M. Weiland's site Helping Writers Become Authors:

As the centerpiece of the story, the Midpoint in many ways encapsulates the entire point of the story. Plot, character arc, and theme all coincide here (more obviously even than usual) to provide the protagonist with at least the opportunity to see the world in a different and potentially more functional way than previously. Depending on what the character realizes and accepts at the Midpoint, he should be able to use this new knowledge to move onward more effectively toward the plot goal.

In the article I linked above, Weiland talks about the two halves of the story's midpoint: first is the plot revelation, where something key about the external plot is revealed to the protagonist; and second is the moment of truth, where the protagonist uses that new information to change their perspective on the story.

For Tohru, the main protagonist, the plot revelation is when Akito reveals that the cursed Sohmas will all return to her and Kyo will be confined after graduation. The moment of truth is when she decides she wants to break the curse.

For Yuki, second protagonist, the plot revelation is that Tohru was the little girl he saved all those years ago, and the moment of truth is that it's time for him to "open the lid" and accept his feelings for what they are.

Even Hiro experiences his own midpoint shift. His plot revelation is that Tohru, like him, has her own feelings hidden deep in her heart, and that she covers up her pain with a smile. His moment of truth is that he wants to stop taking out his frustration on Tohru.

So, let's look at the beach arc as it pertains to Momiji and Kyo and their character arcs.

First, we have this cute little moment where Momiji comes to let Kyo know about the trip.

Momiji: Kyo! Hey, Kyo. You sick? Kyo: I'm tired. I don't have the energy to talk to you. Get out. Momiji: Got it. *inhales* We're going to the vacation house tomorrow, so get packed! Kyo: (angrily) You don't get it! (calmly) Wait, tomorrow? To the vacation house? Momiji: Yep! Kyo: Don't 'Yep' me! Momiji: Wah! Kyo hit me! But you'll come, right? You won't say no, right? Right? Kyo: Stop bugging me. Momiji: Tohru will be sad if you don't come. We'll play together! We'll swim together! Kyo: I said to stop bugging me! I never said I wouldn't go. Sheesh. I'm so tired. Momiji: You've gotten nicer. Kyo: Huh? Momiji: Nothing! Oh yeah, I'm gonna catch stag beetles! And Hercules beetles! Kyo: You're being serious?

I love that Momiji is consistently the one to invite Kyo to do things. While Yuki is helping Tohru finish her homework, Momiji tells Kyo about the trip in the most obnoxious way possible. Kyo gets annoyed, naturally, and gives Momiji a bonk on the head. Momiji pretends to cry (as usual), but then asks Kyo if he'll come.

Momiji seems genuinely worried that Kyo won't come, and goes right for Kyo's weak spot to manipulate him, saying, "Tohru will be sad if you don't come."

I also love the soft look on Momiji's face when he says to Kyo, "You've gotten nicer." Cuuuuuute.

After they arrive, there are a few cute moments in the first day or so at the beach. When Momiji points out Tohru's swimming and Kyo goes to rescue her (because he knows she's holding her breath), he asks Momiji to teach her how to breathe while swimming. Here, Kyo demonstrates a great deal of trust in Momiji. Tohru's safety is the most important thing to him, and he's trusting Momiji to look out for her safety, too.

I also love Momiji's comment when Yuki baits Kyo into staying in the water to race. "They should just swim like normal people. How childish." Yeah, okay Momiji.

Later (and this may be a change for the anime, as I couldn't find it in the manga), when they're all looking at the beetles, Momiji says Kyo is the person who taught him the sugar water trick.

But soon, Akito arrives, and everything changes.

This is a great scene for understanding how Akito operates as an abuser, but to keep the focus on Kyo, it's when Akito brings up Tohru that Kyo's entire demeanor changes. He'd been crying, begging Akito to stop, at his lowest point both literally and figuratively, when Akito shifts the conversation from Kyo's mother (and, in his mind, Kyoko) to Tohru, and her reaction to his True Form.

He immediately shifts from self-pity to fear and then anger, yelling back at Akito, defending Tohru from Akito's accusations, even when Akito is yelling at him to shut up. Suddenly, he falls quiet, and we hear his internal monologue:

She knew that if she let go of my hand, I would never return. That I might never return to anybody. She didn't take up all my pain. She didn't fill in all the brokenness. But those... those weren't important. The most important thing was that she stayed with me. Finding joy in the smallest things, being happy and smiling so cheerfully... Why? She should think of herself more. Why? Doesn't she think she's getting the short end of the stick? She thinks that she's stupid, or that there's nothing good about her.

And then we see Momiji and hear his voice.

It's a waste of time to think about loss or life getting harder. The traveler never thought about that stuff. Even if other people think that makes her an idiot, I just don't. That's all. Yuki, Kyo, What about you? What do you think when you close your eyes?

We then see Kyo with his hands over his eyes, interspersed with images of Tohru and the sound of her saying his name, as he lowers his hands and looks directly at the camera, articulating exactly how he feels about Tohru.

I love you. I love you so much. Just as you are.

It's a great callback to The Foolish Traveler, and the way Momiji closed his eyes when he was reflecting on how he interpreted the story, opening them when he realized he saw it differently than his classmates.

The sequence where Kyo finally realizes his feelings for Tohru is beautiful, possibly one of the best-done sequences in the anime. It's painful and moving and both Yuma Uchida and Jerry Jewell deliver gorgeous performances as Kyo. This is Kyo's plot revelation.

But most importantly (for the purposes of this series of posts, at least), it's Momiji whose voice Kyo hears at this crucial moment. It's Momiji whose words lead Kyo to realize he's in love with Tohru.

There's a lot that happens between Kyo's revelation that he loves Tohru and when he finds her on the beach that evening, but it's less important to the relationship between Kyo and Momiji, so I won't include it in this post.

What is important, though, is Kyo's moment of truth. The thing he decides is to spend as much time with Tohru as possible while he's still free.

I love you. I don't want to take anything else from you. I don't want to trample you ever again. At some point, I hoped we could always be together somewhere far off, but I won't hope that anymore. I won't hope that I could make you my own anymore. I won't hope that, so please, at least... at least be by my side for the time I have left. I want to be with you. Until we're separated far apart.. until the last moment.

I wonder who put that idea in his head?

In the next episode, we get this conversation between Kyo and Momiji.

Momiji: Kyo, Akito didn't call you in tomorrow, right? Kyo: Nope. Momiji: Really? If I thought, 'Good for you,' would you get mad? Kyo: I wondered why you all abandoned Tohru as you were told like good little kids. But I see. If you prioritized Tohru over Akito, Akito would get mad, huh? That would just make Tohru look bad. You guys, including Yuki, were protecting Tohru from Akito, huh? Momiji: You make it sound like we were doing such a good thing. But that's not it. We've- I've been doing it all wrong. I'm selfish for wanting to make memories with Tohru, despite everything. I'm selfish for loving Tohru so much. Kyo: I'm selfish, too. Momiji: Hmm? Kyo: Never mind. Anyway, weren't you going on about watching something on TV earlier? Tohru: Momiji-kun! Kyo-kun! Momiji: I was so scared! Kyo was trying to mug me! Tohru: What? Kyo: Seriously, you think I'm some delinquent?!

They both display a vulnerability and honesty here that they've really only shown before to Tohru. Kyo's reflecting on his anger at Yuki, and Momiji's being much more straightforward than he usually is, stating his realizations as they're coming to him, rather than using them to manipulate. I also love the detail of Momiji correcting from "We've" to "I've." It really shows the change in his maturity that occurred during this arc.

I see this as Momiji's plot revelation, that fun isn't the most important thing when you love someone.

This is also the first time Kyo verbalizes his feelings for Tohru out loud, if obliquely. When he smiles to himself and says, "I'm selfish, too," he's referencing what Momiji just said, that he's selfish for loving Tohru so much. It's notable that the first time he does this is in front of Momiji, even if he doesn't repeat it when it's clear Momiji didn't hear what he said.

I think, from this point on, Momiji and Kyo are trusted confidants for each other. This will come up more in part 5, but I really just love the way their relationship matures here.

And then, Akito returns.

This is one of the most harrowing sequences in the anime. We know Akito's already in a bad mood, we know she blames Tohru for taking away her Zodiac, and we've seen exactly how she abuses those she serves as god.

Momiji: Akito. What are you doing here so late? Akito: I came to see Honda Tohru-san. I have to return home suddenly, you see. But I haven't seen Honda Tohru-san yet. Momiji: Right now? But Tohru's most likely sleeping. Akito: Wake her. Momiji: No. Akito, you're mad right now, right? You'll take out your anger on her, huh? Akito, what's wrong? Why are you so mad? Did something happen? Akito: Something happen? What? Why do you need to know? You want to get to know me? To understand me? Why? [Akito punches Momiji] Akito: You make me sick! Understand? Understand me? You just want to belittle me! You just want to define me by your twisted logic, to paint me as a villain! Tohru: Stop, please! Momiji: T- Tohru: Sto- stop, please! Akito: Stop? You're giving me an order. Terrible. Terrible. You're not a very nice person. Momiji: Akito! Akito: But Tohru. Honda Tohru, I was kind enough to come see you. I don't care how disrespectful you are to me. There's... there's something I came to tell you. Don't be so full of it, scum. You might think you saved Yuki and Kyo. Better take that arrogance down a notch right now. Let me tell you something. I'll tell you. Kyo, you see, after high school, will be confined. Just like the previous cat, confined for life.

It's here that we see Momiji is no longer there. In the manga, we see Momiji run away. Akito and Tohru's conflict continues, but I want to focus on Momiji's actions here.

When he understands the situation, he starts gently, reasoning that Tohru is probably sleeping. When that doesn't work, he moves to defy his god in order to protect her.

When Tohru shows up and puts herself between Momiji and Akito, Momiji is clearly upset. He'd only wanted to keep her from getting hurt, and now she's trying to protect him. He feels like he's failed, but the danger is still happening. When Akito takes Tohru by the head and starts telling her about Kyo's impending confinement, he runs for help.

Momiji likely blames himself for Tohru getting hurt. It was his idea to go to the beach house, and he angered Akito before Tohru arrived. His moment of truth is that he needs to focus on protecting Tohru and consider her safety in the future.

I wonder where he got that idea.

It's worth noting that this scene happens the same night as his hallway conversation with Kyo. While Kyo was beginning to understand that fighting isn't the only way to protect someone, and that sometimes you need to keep your head down and play the role in which you've been cast in order to protect someone, Momiji was learning the opposite lesson, that sometimes, you need to acknowledge the hard truths about a situation, that fun and pleasure don't erase pain, and that some things are worth fighting for.

Akito and Tohru's conflict ends when Kureno arrives and takes Akito back to the estate. Next, Shigure and Hatori arrive, and when Tohru asks why they're there, Shigure reveals where Momiji ran off to.

Shigure: Momicchi ran to me in terror. I didn't know what was wrong. Tohru: Is Momiji-kun hurt!? Where's Momiji-kun!? Hatori: Don't worry. He's right there. Tohru: Momiji-kun! Momiji-kun, are you all right?

Momiji tries to smile, but he can't, and he breaks down instead.

We've seen Momiji fake cry dozens of times before now. We've seen real tears from him only twice: once when he told Tohru about his mother (and even then, it was only after he transformed that he let himself cry), and once on Kisa's behalf, when he was telling the others about her bullying, and that he imagined how he'd feel if people laughed every time he spoke.

But this is the first time we've seen him break down.

Again, Momiji is blaming himself for what happened. He sees the mark on Tohru's face, and he knows she got hurt even worse after he left. He's upset that she ended up protecting him instead. He believes he's failed in every way. It's a feeling Kyo's incredibly familiar with.

But even though Momiji thinks he's responsible for Tohru getting hurt, everyone acknowledges he did something very difficult and brave.

Shigure: Well, Momicchi really hung in there. Compared to him, look at the other young folk. Hatori: Compared to him, look at us... right?

It's then revealed that Yuki, Kyo, and Haru were watching from just inside, and Haru was physically holding Kyo back from intervening.

Haru: See, Akito left. I told you Momiji would get the older ones. Kyo: I'm so pathetic I could puke.

Kyo is ashamed that he didn't act, even though he knows it wouldn't have helped, and might have gotten Tohru hurt worse.

Momiji and Kyo both feel responsible, but by thinking themselves responsible, they belie the fact that they don't hold the other person responsible. Kyo sees that Momiji actually did something, that he stood up to Akito, while he stood back and let Tohru get hurt. Momiji isn't upset that no one else stood up to Akito beside him. He's not even sure that was the right thing to have done.

But they're both wrong, of course. The only person who's actually responsible for Tohru getting hurt is Akito.

Thankfully, the arc ends with a nice moment of everyone enjoying fireworks together. They've all changed, but some things will always be the same.

Momiji: Let's do some sparklers together! Tohru: Okay! Momiji: Kyo! Come do them with us, Kyo! Kyo: So annoying. Just do them without me!

Yuki then baits Kyo into joining them, and the four sit together and do fireworks.

Even after everything that's happened, Momiji's still the one who invites Kyo to join in the fun.

Momiji and Kyo: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5

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