#((i meant to answer this but then I totally forgot and then i saw it and then wrote all this angsty crap down))

[sirlordevil]

🙈 (ignore how late this is please)

The worst thing I've ever seen? I've seen so many terrible things and yet I can pick one out so quickly and easily it almost astounds me.

I watched him die and there was nothing I could do about it...

The blood pouring from his stomach... The shredded shirt and skin... The torn apart flesh.. the organs... bones... so much blood....and worst of all his eyes. His eyes growing dimmer, losing the bright glow of life as the color in his face drained. It was all almost as if as to taunt me. To rub it in that he was going to die. As if to show me how powerless we both were. His hand slumping down and his body, usually full of bounce and energy, growing still. I couldn't even scream when I looked at him... I couldn't.

Then seeing that wretched woman with his child, our child. Her face made my stomach sway with the way he looked at him. Her nose scrunched up in what seemed to be disgust and the way she looked up at me. Her deep blue eyes full of a sick delight, her lips quirking up in a grin. I see that face in my nightmares the same way every time. Smiling, blurring as she darts out of the window. Always just out of my reach.

That smile....oh how I could cut her lips into a frown after that smile...

After I had repressed that memory it would surface in small flicks...

I would see his eyes losing life shifting so suddenly into that wretched woman with her wretched smile. I would see his impaled corpse and try to wake myself up. "It's not real! Wake up it's just a dream!" But I couldn't wake up, so I'd stand there staring as the blood kept spreading across the floor and a baby's shrill cries echoed in my ears.

I can't ever unsee it. For weeks after it occurred, each time I'd blink I'd see it play out in flashes. At the funeral I felt my stomach twist at the sight of him. They say they look like they're sleeping but... they just look dead... I know how he looked sleeping. Hair tossed about, drooling, limbs snaked out taking up room anywhere they could. Him in a suit so still, so so still, laying face up arms over his chest conservatively was just dead. I gave a speech and after...I cried...I cried so hard I puked. And I stayed indoors and each time I saw the kitchen, floor still stained from his blood, the pit of my stomach would sink. I'd see it. I'd see it over and over again until I lost my mind.

There was no more light in the world so I turned to the dark.

[moonpascal]

LESSONS IN HUMILITY

summary: Remus can’t help but embarrass himself time and time again in front of the twins teacher. pairing: single dad!remus x teacher!reader au. warnings: fluff, remus is a stumbling idiot, fem!reader. use of y/n wc: 850

a/n: still new at writing but @amiableness gave me the idea and just had to write this. also i totally forgot about luna lovegood and theodore nott, when naming the kids so ignore the similarity. (i loved the names too much and didn’t feel like going back and changing them). i’m american so beware some errors. gif from @/ewans-mitchell

Remus Lupin had never been particularly good at this sort of thing. Parenting, yes -at least he thought so. He was pretty sure he had that down, thanks to years of patience and the help of his friends. But the whole navigating Theo and Luna’s school life, especially the interactions with the teachers—one teacher in particular—was an entirely different subject.

Every time he went to the twins school, he felt a mix of anxiety and excitement. Most of that excitement could be attributed to seeing Miss Lovey. A name picked out from the students on account of being their save space. She was always kind, never without a warm smile that made Remus’s heart race and his palms sweat.

Today was no different.

As he arrived at the school and signed in for a visitor’s pass, his heart raced with anticipation. Remus stood awkwardly in the hallway, holding two slightly crumpled permission slips for the upcoming museum trip. He had meant to get it signed yesterday but had completely spaced till this morning. Now, he was faced with the prospect of another conversation with her, which simultaneously thrilled and terrified him.

As he approached the classroom, he could hear her soft voice reading aloud to the students. Waiting until she finished, then knocked gently on the open door. Miss Lovey looked up and smiled, her eyes lighting up when she saw him.

“Mr. Lupin, how can I help you today?” she asked. No doubt wondering what brought in today’s visit.

Remus felt his face heat up. “I, uh, I forgot to turn in the twins permission slips for the upcoming museum trip. I’m really sorry about that. I know having things late isn’t helpful and I don’t mean to add to your plate I-”

She cuts off his rambling, and gently takes the slips from his hand, their fingers brushing briefly. “Mr. Lupin, it’s no problem at all. I’ll make sure it’s added to the others.”

“Thank you,” he mumbled, feeling foolish that he couldn’t stop rambling. He always seem to turn into a blithering idiot around her.

Just then, the bell rang signaling time for play-time, and students began to file out of the classroom. Theo and Luna saw their dad and immediately ran over, giving him a big hug.

“Dad! Did you remember my permission slip?” Luna beams looking up at her father, while Theo hung off his leg.

Remus ruffled Theo’s hair before answering Lu. “Yes, I did. Miss Lovey has them now.”

She smiles softly as she hears her name. “Luna, your dad is very responsible. You guys are lucky to have him.”

“I know! He’s the best dad ever!”

“The bestest!” Theo countered back.

Remus felt a lump in his throat. He was never quite sure if he was doing enough for them, but hearing those words from them meant the world to him. He glanced at Miss. Lovey, who was watching the interaction with a soft smile.

“Well, I should get going. Only have so long of a break myself,” Remus said awkwardly. “Thank you again, Miss”

As he turned to leave, Remus stumbled over a chair leg, nearly losing his balance. He managed to catch himself, but not without looking like a complete fool. Adjusting his glasses, Theo started wheezing and Luna giggled, Remus felt his face turn crimson.

Miss Y/L/N bit her lip, trying not to laugh. “Careful, Mr. Lupin there’s a chair right there.”

“Yes, right. Thank you. Bye!” he said hastily, nearly bumping into the door as well.

As if he couldn’t be more embarrassed, Y/N poked her head out and shouted, “Have a good rest of your day, see you at pick-up.”

Despite always making himself a fool he couldn’t wait.

The rest of Remus’s day dragged on. He tried to focus on his work at the Ministry, but his mind kept drifting back to the school, to the warm smile of Miss Lovey, and the way her eyes sparkled when she spoke to him. He wondered if she noticed his awkwardness, or if she just found it endearing.

Finally, the clock struck three, and he gathered his things, eager to see Theo and Luna again—and, of course, Miss Lovey. As he arrived at the school, he saw her standing at the gate, chatting with another parent. She looked up as he approached and gave him that heart-stopping smile.

“Hello again, Mr. Lupin,” she said warmly. “Bump into anything else today?” A small smirk adorning her face.

“I- I uh, managed to stay upright with no more incidents,” he replied, trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

Before further embarrassment, the twins ran up to him, chattering excitedly about their day. Miss Lovey handed him their backpacks and gave Theo and Luna a gentle pat on the head.

“You two behave for your dad, alright?”

“We will, Miss Lovey!” they chorused.

As they walked away, Theo and Luna talking a mile a minute, Remus glanced back and saw her watching them with that same soft smile. He knew he was hopelessly smitten, and for once, he didn’t mind.

[dizscreams]

Hello !! First of all I how are you ? !! I do not know if your request are open (so sorry if they’re not !) I wanted to know if you could make a fanfic where reader is an actress and she get asked the question “who is your celebrity crush” and at first she’s kind of hesitant like she doesn’t want to say it but then she says it and gets all shy and later on Jack comes across the interview and watch it and like make a move by sending or dm OR they see each other at a premiere and they start talking blahblahblah ?? TYSM !! And it’s totally okay if you do not want to make this ! Byee

I LOVE THIS SM AAHH AND IM FINE HRU :))

“I WANNA BE AN OBJECT OF YOUR AFFECTION!”

— Jack Champion ★

PAIRING: Jack Champion x Fem!Reader

TAGS: @wenvierismycomfort @evanpeterswifeyy868 @xyzstar @wekiamo @beary-rambles @h34rtsformilli @c8rdigan @teyamsgirll @aqellano @aesthetixhoe @dizzyscreams @mbankfav

A/N: not feeling great but Jack always fixes that!! 🤭

“So, Y/N..” the interviewer paused and you tilted your head slightly, waiting for them to continue. “Do you have a celebrity crush at the moment?”

You tapped your fingers on your knee while you thought about how to answer. You did have a celebrity crush but you weren’t sure if you wanted to answer the question. You didn’t want a big controversy or anything. I mean you knew how some fans were and you definitely didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

But then again you weren’t sure he would even know who you were or if he would even stumble across this interview.

Guess you would just have to pray he didn’t.

“Um, yeah I do,” you said softly, “Jack Champion.” The interviewer made an “ooo” noise and you laughed nervously. Please don’t let him see this, is what you kept repeating in your head. “Jack Champion huh? Quite the man! What’s your favorite movie of his?” The interviewer asked sort of teasingly. You tapped your foot nervously and forced a smile, “Scream 6, but he was also great in Avatar.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Would you like to work with him some day?”

“Um yeah maybe. It could be fun.” You smiled again but more genuinely this time. Cause while you were still slightly uncomfortable, you meant what you said. It could be fun, but you’d also be a nervous wreck.

If he did ever see this interview you just hoped he would laugh it off or something. And HOPEFULLY you’d never have to work with him on a movie. As much as you’d want to and as much as you admired him it would just be too embarrassing for you.

Thankfully the interviewer didn’t say anything else on the topic and kept the rest of the questions professional. That didn’t stop you from getting nervous though. But you kept your composure and continued the rest of the interview completely normal.

When you ended the interview you had completely forgot about it. You were so busy with work and everything that you hadn’t had time to watch it. Jack on the other hand did watch it, because what you didn’t know is that he also had a small celebrity crush. On you. When he watched the video he was flattered to say the least. He definitely didn’t run to his mom and ramble about the whole thing or anything

He found himself watching the interview more than once, but he couldn’t help it! You had a crush on him!You were an amazing actor, you were gorgeous, and you were also just really kind. He had never met you, but he’d always wanted to. Maybe now the interview would give him an excuse to talk to you, so he thought about it for a few minutes and decided he was going to dm you.

For some reason he found himself getting nervous when he pulled up the chat. I mean he had never spoken to you before so he just hoped you didn’t find this creepy. He took a deep breath and typed out his message.

Hey! I saw the interview you did for your new movie and you looked really good.

He cringed looking at it and deleted it, “That sounds weird,” he muttered to himself. So, he retyped it and found himself retyping it a good 10 times before he typed something hr was content with.

Just saw your most recent interview and I’m excited to see your new movie! I was also super honored to hear that I’m your celebrity crush haha

Maybe tiktok was right, maybe he was a millennial. Regardless he took a deep breath and sent the text. He threw his phone on the bed and got up to busy himself so he wouldn’t think of your response.

You think your heart leaped out of your chest when you got the notification. Jack Champion had texted you and he saw the interview. You were out at dinner with some of your coworkers so you had to try hard to contain the grin on your face. Obviously you texted him back, you’d be a fool not to.

Oh thanks! I’m glad it didn’t weird you out haha

Was that too simple? You didn’t want to flirt with him right off the bat and scare him off..

You bit your lip as you stared at it. Fuck it, you thought. It’s not like you’d see him in person any time soon. Plus maybe he’d forget about it. You sent it and went back to talking with the person next to you. That was before your phone buzzed about 5 minutes later.

Of course not. You’re actually my celebrity crush too ;)

You had to contain a sequel when you read it. “Hey are you good?” Your costar chuckled as they asked. “Oh yeah I’m fine, I’m just going to head to the restroom.” You sped walk over there and once you entered you pulled out your phone. You looked in the mirror and tapped the side of your phone wondering what you should say back. You weren’t very good at flirting and for some reason this time it felt more nerve wracking then any other person you had attempted to flirt with.

You really wanted to make a good impression. He was a total sweetheart and downright beautiful so a good first impression was important to you.

Is that so? Maybe we should meet up sometime.

He responded to you almost immediately

I’d like that! I’ll let you know when I’m free :)

Your eyes widened a bit in surprise. You didn’t think he’d say yes.

I’ll look forward to it, Jack. 🤍

Jack slammed his phone on the table and cheered like he just won the lottery. And in his eyes he did, you had just asked him on a date! It was a date right? He immediately got to typing to make sure.

This is a date right?

You chuckled at the notification

It is a date! Unless you don’t want it to be!

He smiled as he read your text. It made him happy to know you were just as nervous as he was.

I’d be sad if it wasn’t.

You bit your lip as you held in your giggle. You really couldn’t believe that this was happening.

Can’t wait, Jack. <3

He slammed down on his bed and covered his face with his hands.

Neither could he.

[haikyu-mp4]

I’d say it’s destiny

word count; 1605 – f!reader, implied age gap

Osamu and Atsumu weren’t completely identical, as some might know. Most notably, they decided to dye their hair differently in high school and it made the contrast of their eye colours stand out more.

However, one scenario it always worked for was substitute teachers. Osamu really didn’t mind stepping in for Atsumu today, because it meant he owed him later, but he totally forgot he was stepping in at all when he saw you.

Fresh out of university and first-time substitute teacher.

And you were crazy good-looking.

So when you were taking attendance and asked for Miya Atsumu, it went something like this…

“Here!”

“Hello, Miya,” you said, just like you did with all the other students because some teacher you once had said it made the pupils feel seen. Perhaps they weren’t considering high school students though.

“Call me Osamu,” he said with that trademark smirk he borrowed from his twin as if he was acting his part despite saying the complete opposite.

“…Atsumu?” you read off the paper, with no intention of using his given name but still curious about the name change. Suna already had his phone out in his lap, camera peeping just over the edge of his desk to film this.

“No, that’s my stupid brother.”

“So why are you… here then?”

Osamu slowly deflated, not looking as confident as he did a few seconds ago. Right, he’s not actually in this class. “I’d say it’s destiny?”

You blinked for a moment. This was not what you expected on your first day, and you weren’t quite sure what to do. Do you send him to the principal’s office? At least he’s getting an extra lesson, his apparent twin is the one who missed his. “Come to my desk after class, Miya,” you said strictly before moving on to the rest of the list, not missing the way some brunette kid snorted in the corner as Osamu agreed like you asked him out for dinner.

“You wanted to see me?” Osamu said, a cocky smirk back on his face and bag slung over his shoulder. You frowned, trying your best not to find it funny.

“Not like that, but you know it’s not okay to attend in someone else’s place?” you started, still not decided on how to lecture him properly. Fortunately, you had the number of another teacher that gave you some help.

He sat down on the chair on the other side of your desk. “I’m sorry my brother gave you trouble. What did you say your name was?” he asked, earning another squinted glare from you.

You ignored the comment and question, sighing and looking at the post-it note stuck to your schedule, scribbled with a name. “I was told I should talk to Kita Shinsuke about this, so unless you have something better to say, I think we should move along to find him and your brother.”

Osamu felt like the colour might have drained from his face, thinking of facing both his idiot brother’s complaints and Kita’s cold lecture at the same time. “Oh, uhh…”

You gave him a small smile, standing up already. “They should all be in the gym, right? Please show me the way there, I still get lost.”

Osamu would be damned if you kept smiling at him like that, making him stand right up with a sigh and hold the door open for you before leading you there. “Right this way, my lady.” At least he got to ask you about your favourite foods and other basic stuff that you didn’t mind answering on the way there.

Once again, he opened the door for you when you got to the gym, eyes quickly scanning around to see Suna already showing Atsumu the video. “Kita Shinsuke?” you asked loudly, looking around until you made eye contact with someone who seemed to respond to that name. The grey-haired boy came over, calmly asking you how he could help you while Osamu avoided eye contact but still didn’t want to leave your side. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, but another teacher told me you’re familiar with the problem. I had this Miya in my class while it should have been the other one,” you informed him, almost letting their given names slip off your tongue. Osamu was tuned into your voice, but it was difficult to ignore the agitating voice of his brother, which he heard in the background.

Kita nodded with a confirming sound, dark in his throat as he glared to the side at Osamu. “My apologies, I will make sure they receive the proper consequences,” he said and bowed to you.

Osamu looked at you with a sheepish smile. “Thank you for following me here, I’ll see you around?” he asked, using his possibly last moment alive to look at you one more time with every ounce of charm he had left.

You huffed a small laugh, nodding and turning around to find your way back. “Sure, have fun at practice, Miya.”

Kita and Atsumu were both angry, but who cares?

Osamu Miya was in love.

You saw Osamu around a couple more times while substituting for other teachers, even stepping in for the volleyball coach once. Now that, was something.

“What’d ya think, coach?” Osamu asked you, quite frankly looking like a puppy after spiking and turning to you. You sighed, once again trying to act indifferent and ignore him while also treating him like any other student.

“That was great!” you said with some enthusiasm, also leaning a bit to the side to look at his twin. “And a great set as well!” So now you had two flustered Miya twins.

“Let’s try the soul swap, ‘Samu!” Atsumu roared with newfound vigour, and you could see Kita about to protest.

“Here we go, I should film this,” Suna snickered from somewhere beside you, and you couldn’t help but agree.

After a year, you were offered a permanent position at another school in the prefecture, meaning you didn’t really see any students from Inarizaki again. You had almost forgotten them by the time you walked past a sign that said Onigiri Miya after going to an interview for a higher position in another school.

You tilted your head, squinting at the sign as you tried to remember where you heard that before, and then you looked down and through the window. Jaw slack, you were looking at a much more grown version of your biggest fan, Miya Osamu.

Walking in, you were overwhelmed with the delicious smell, your chest filling with air as you took in a long breath. Then you walked over to the short line, standing behind a rather burly man, meaning Osamu probably hadn’t seen you yet. You got a bit nervous, almost wondering if he would actually remember you or not.

Finally, the line moved along and you were face to face with a mouth-watering man. Mouth-watering food! He was even taller than in high school, shoulders broader and body a bit beefier from choosing this line of work but probably still maintaining some workouts.

You had to shake your head a bit when you realised you were just staring, plastering on a smile and then realising he was staring too, looking pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it was inappropriate to suddenly be interested in him, but while an awkward age difference stopped you from looking at him like this before, he was now an adult and you suddenly saw him in a new light.

“Hi!” he said cheerfully before huffing when he accidentally knocked over a cup of pens, scrambling to pick them all up again and shuffle them back into the cup. He glanced up at you with that familiar sheepish smile. “What can I get you today, teach?” he asked, applying the nickname to further emphasise that he remembered you.

You could feel your ears turning red as you pursed your lips, and you were about as beautiful as he remembered. “I’d like two tuna mayo onigiris, please,” you requested, pulling your card out to pay while he was watching your every move. He was glad he already had a lot of food prepared at this time of day so he wouldn’t have to leave this station to make them for you.

“I thought you liked salmon, want to try one on the house?” he asked, somehow remembering your conversations back in high school. You were shocked for a moment before nodding.

“If you insist.”

He smirked, and it was so familiar yet the feeling it gave you was so new and exciting. “I sure do,” he confirmed and then put one on a plate to hand it over. No one had come in after you yet, luckily. “I haven’t seen ya in a long time, do ya live close by?” he asked hopefully, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I’m out on a job interview actually,” you said, taking a bite of the onigiri and sighing with appreciation at how delicious it was. Truly made with love. “So who knows, maybe I’ll be around here more.”

“Then you’re more than welcome to stop by again.”

You smiled at him, and it was warmer than the ones he had received from you before. “I’d love that. It’s a bit far from where I live, though.” Your voice drifted off, unsure if you were oversharing because you were nervous.

“Oh? How did ya end up applying for a job here, then?” he asked, moving around to grab some fresh onigiri in a box for you and taking an extra breath to calm his heartbeat.

“I’d say it’s destiny.”

masterlist

[itskattkm]

Based on a request

Tara Carpenter x Fem Reader

Warnings: Christmas stuff, slight fluff, being nervous and shy as f*ck

A/N: Sorry for my bad writing, sorry for switching the perspectives :D I hope that the translation was at least good. Have fun. I tried my best.

When you’re home

Y/n sat on her armchair in her two-room apartment as she comfortably drank a ginger tea. When she took a sip of it, she slightly twisted her face and whispered "spicy." She smiled and looked out the window. It was snowing and the snow breathed the city of New York into a beautiful white. She ran over to the window and sat down on the window sill to watch the snow.

It was her first Christmas in New York. Before that, New York seemed to be a dream world for her. A world she only knew from movies. If her ten-year-old self could only see her now. She lived in a small overpriced apartment near her college. She studied (insert) and even had a girlfriend.

She was surprised herself. She could never have guessed how things would develop after she moved here. Y/N had a girlfriend. How strange.

As y/n continued to observe the falling snow, she had to think of Tara. What did Tara do right now ? She asked herself. She hadn't seen her girlfriend for a week because they were both busy with their exams. Now it was finally the weekend. For now, that meant that she could switch back and relax. No learning for now.

A flashing light attracted y/n attention. She looked to the left and could see how her neighbors opposite the house decorated their windows with fairy lights. "Oh shit," y/n said to herself. She had forgotten to buy and decoration for Christmas herself she totally forgot because of all the exam tasks, after all, tomorrow was already the first Advent. Y/N sighed and put her cup aside. This was her first Christmas alone. Without her family. Otherwise, her mother had made sure that everyone in the family came to decorate. She always bought the Christmas decorations.

Suddenly y/n cell phone rang. She looked over to the living room table and saw a picture of herself and Tara.

She answered and said shy "hey"

Tara laughed into the cell phone "y/n where are you? We're waiting"

Y/n looked confused out of the window

"What do you mean?" She asked laughing slight

Tara sighed slight

"Decorating. Christmas. You. Me. In... my apartment?" She said in a cute way

Y/n laughed and felt her heartbeat running faster "is this your way to ask me if I Wanne come over to decorate with you?"

Tara hesitated with the answer and grinned broadly when she said "maybe?"

Y/n grinned "wow who's the shy one now?"

Tara laughed "thin ice y/n... thin ice"

Y/n grinned wider and felt the heat in her cheeks. Normally y/n was always the shy and nervous one of both, but there were those rarely sweet moments when it was exactly the other way around.

"Okay Fine..." said Tara and sounded like she was giving up "would you like to come over for decorating? Since it will be our first Christmas together?"

"But it's not Christmas yet" I said teasing

Tara sighed again but y/n could already see in front of her eyes how Tara smiled, her dimples came out and the slight blush appeared in her cheeks.

"My god do you two always need so much time to get to the point?" I heard Sam say on the other side of the line.

Suddenly the cell phone rushed at Tara's side and Sam said to Y/n "please come over y/n. We wanted to decorate the apartment and we had the idea to invite you"

I smiled broadly and nodded even though she couldn't see it.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes... Should I bring anything?" I asked out of intuition and looked through my apartment. Im such an idiot I have no decoration at all I thought.

"Yes, I had the idea that the three of us could eat something... meet Tara in the New Bodega store you can help her with the groceries," said Sam

"Okay, I'm on my way"

Both ended the phone call and y/n put on her coat and gloves. She packed her keys and left the apartment. Outside, she immediately hit a light gust of wind with thousands of snowflakes. She straightened her coat and made her way to the bodega. As it was getting more and more windy, she tried to hurry.

When she saw the lights of the bodega, she sighed with relief and ran across the street. She ran into the bodega and a warm wave hit her. She took a relaxed breath and looked around to find Tara. At that moment, a laugh also had to refrain. Tara was too small to be able to see her across the shelves. And just as this thought went through y/n head, Tara appeared in the next aisle and looked at her warningly "I know exactly what you just thought" she said and pointed her finger at y/n.

Y/n laughed nervously and was thrown off by Tara with a pack of napkins the next moment. Y/n just caught the pack and looked at Tara with a crooked head "Sorry...?" Said y/n shyly.

Tara's facial expressions became gentler and she smiled as she slowly approached y/n. She grabbed her coat and pulled y/n closer to kiss her.

Y/n closed her eyes for a brief moment and had felt a pleasant wave of goosebumps all over her body as Tara's gentle lips touched her.

"What will we cook later?" I asked Tara as we separated from each other.

Tara looked at the little note in her hand "Just some pasta. Nothing special. But on Christmas Eve... you'll get the best Mexican food you have ever eaten"

She said excitedly. Y/n sprays a pleasant warmth in her body when she nervously said "so I’m invited for Christmas?"

Tara smiled wide and moved closer to y/n

"Your my girlfriend... did you though I want to spend Christmas without you?"

Y/n shrugged her shoulders "Yes but... Sam... your family?"

Tara slowly put her arm around y/n waist and kissed her gently on the cheek as she whispered "your my family now..."

Tara detached herself from y/n and searched the shelves for the last ingredients. Y/n looked at her with admiring eyes as she still felt the kiss on her cheek and Tara's words repeated themselves in her head. If only Tara could know how important these words were for y/n. Y/n didn't even knew it herself until that moment. Y/n came out of her trance and followed Tara.

Finally arrived at Tara's and Sam's apartment. Y/n Smiled amazed it was the complete opposite of her apartment. It smelled like baked cookies and there was decoration everywhere. When she entered the living room of the carpenter sisters, it was felt with warm light and a large Christmas tree.

"Wow..." y/n said speechless and looked at the top of the tree that touched the ceiling.

"Sam had to exaggerate a bit with the tree" said Tara and laughed behind y/n.

"Yeah sure... at least we have a Christmas tree. Now let's get this started," said Sam, who came out of her room and pressed a box into y/n hands. Tara brought the groceries to the kitchen and I stood in the living room like a lost deer. I looked around nervously and didn't know where and how to start. My heart began to beat faster and faster and I looked around slightly panicked.

The next moment, Tara took the box from me. She smiled warmly at me "Take off your coat and then help me..."

I nodded silently and went back into the hallway where I hung up my jacket at the cloakroom. I took off my gloves and went nervously back to the living room.

I stood in front of the tree with my arms crossed and looked up to the top with a concentrated look. Since the tree was too big, the top was bent a little because of the ceiling.

"If I get scissors... I could try to cut off the tip. So that a star still fits on it," I said shyly to Tara.

Even before I could finish my sentence, Tara was already holding scissors in front of my face.

I laughed lightly and took it from her.

After I took one of the dining table chairs and climbed on it to get to the top better, I struggled with the scissors to cut through the wood of the tip.

"How's it going up there?" Tara asked and without looking I knew that she was just grinning. I sighed "if you want you can give it a try," I said in a sarcastic tone and looked down at her.

She stood there with her arms crossed and grinned dirty "no thanks. Im good. I like the view tho..."

I looked away nervously and couldn't resist a slight laugh. I immediately felt the heat in my ears and shortly afterwards in my whole face.

After a few seconds, I managed to cut off the tip. And then threw it at Tara with a grin as I got off the chair.

"Hey!" She called and threw the tip back.

I caught it and put it on the living room table.

"I have to admit... I feel a little overwhelmed," I said nervously and looked at the tree and the boxes with the decoration.

Tara hugged y/n from behind and put her head on her shoulder.

"Relax..." she said.

I sighed "relax? Decorating the tree was always stressful at home. No matter how I and my dad had decorated in, my mom then corrected everything afterwards," I said and laughed nervously.

Suddenly I felt Tara's lips on my neck and I got very stiff.

I felt a tingling at the point where her lips had touched me. My thoughts were empty and I began to perceive more the pressure of her arms around my body.

"It's okay..." she now whispered in my ear and I had goosebumps again.

I went to relax my body and let myself fall into Tara's embrace. She held me tight and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Come on lovebirds..." said Sam and joined us in the living room.

Y/n blushed slightly again and started decorating the tree with the carpenter sisters. They began to tell each other their weirdest Christmas story's and made sure to not break any Christmas decoration.

When we finished decorating the tree, Sam and Tara began discussing about who could be the one to put the star on the top. I just kept grinning watching them discussing.

"Tara you don't even reach the top and I bought the tree" she said teasing and held the star up so Tara couldn't reach it.

I had to keep my laughing back so hard. I never thought Sam would really tease Tara because of her size.

"Oh really? Watch me!" Said Tara competitive and managed to get the star out of Sam's hands.

Tara walked towards y/n and said

"Pick me up"

"What?" I said and laughed.

Tara looked at me with a tilted head and a slight serious look.

I stopped laughing and nodded. I bent down and put my arms around her thighs and lifted her up the next moment.

Sam laughed "I can't believe it"

We laughed when I held tara up so she could reach the top.

"Everything okay up there?" I asked grinning after Tara still didn't manage to put the star on.

"Why don't you try?" She said slightly annoyed, but I heard a smile.

I grinned broadly and held her tighter.

"Im good... I like the view" I said teasing and looked up at her while her ass wasn't far away from my face.

Tara stopped in her move and looked down at y/n with a grin, before putting the star on top of the tree.

"Finally..." said Sam and left into the kitchen.

I breathed out and let Tara down careful.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek.

After decorating the rest and eating together it was already dark outside.

"Thank you for the invite..." I said shy and finished to clean the last dish from our dinner.

"You don't have to be y/n... you’re part of the family" said Sam with a warm smile and touched slight y/n’s shoulder as she left the kitchen.

Again I had that goosebump on my whole body. Family. I repeated in my head.

I turned around and leaned on the kitchen counter when Tara walked towards me and grabbed my hands and intertwined our fingers.

"You good?" She whispered and moved closer to y/n

"Yeah why?" I asked quite and looked into her dark welcoming and shining eyes.

Tara shrugged her shoulders and smiled shy

"You seemed to be a bit off..."

Y/n let go of Tara's hands and placed them on Tara's hips and pulled her closer in.

"I'm good..." I whispered with a slight smile.

Tara moved her hand slowly around y/n neck and moved even closer whispering "you stay the night?" Her lips brushed slight y/n’s.

Y/n blushed and grinned shyly.

"Only... if you help me next weekend to decorate my apartment cause I totally forgot about Christmas and have nothing for my apartment".

Tara smirked and kissed y/n deep before whispering "I'll take care of that".

One week passed. It was Friday evening y/n was lying on her couch in black joggers and a hoodie. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Y/n furrowed her brows and got up. Who could that be. She didn't had invited anyone. As soon as she opened the door she saw Tara, Mindy, Chad and Sam. Holding many shopping bags and boxes in their hands.

"Hello there!" Called out Mindy like y/n always did.

They walked past y/n and got into her apartment.

"Damn we got some work do to here" said Sam. While y/n looked confused after chad, Mindy and Sam. Tara was standing beside y/n with a wide grin.

"I told you I'll take care of that"

Y/n looked shy at Tara "thank you..." she said quite.

There was this spark in Tara's eyes again. She moved closer to y/n and held up suddenly a mistletoe.

Y/n blushed more and felt caught off guard.

Tara kept grinning "your so shy sometimes I love it" she whispered while grabbing y/n by her chin and kissing her deep.

Y/n felt herself melting away in Tara's hands. She felt the warmth of her hands on her face and her soft lips on hers.

She pulled Tara closer and kissed her back

After both stopped kissing, y/n rested her forehead on Tara's and whispered "you feel like home to me you know that right?"

Tara smiled and caressed y/n cheek

"I know..."

Y/n kissed her softly and pulled her arms around Tara "we're family now..."

[demaparbat-hp]

I used to just think Zutara was cool because Zuko and Katara had that whole fire-water duality, had more chemistry with each other than their canon love interests, Kataang gave me this sexist pseudo-incestuous vibe while Mai was just way too under-developed to interest me (Zuko gets the most character development out of all the characters but they pair him off with the most boring character in the series?).

Now when I actually think about it more deeply, Zutara genuinely made more sense for the narrative and characters too. Aang was told he had to let go of Katara so he could become a fully realized Avatar but then he just gets a deus ex machina so he doesn't have to. They dropped an entire arc just for Kataang to get together and made it happen in the most stupid way. The lion turtle deus ex machina was already badly done but at least it sorta made sense with the lore. The rock was just beyond ridiculous. Aang solved his problems by randomly hitting a rock even though they already established how Aang had this unhealthy attachment to Katara because she was his coping mechanism for his lost people. Instead of letting her go, Aang keeps that attachment and becomes even more possessive of her. He never learns to prioritize the world over Katara even though it is his duty as the Avatar! He didn't have to sacrifice or learn anything to achieve his goals and the way he became a fully realized Avatar NEVER made any sense. Katara and Aand were not always intended to end up together if you look at the IP Bible. Katara goes back to the SWT to help rebuild it while Aang goes looking for the hidden Air Nomads. There's hints early on in Book 1 that the Air Nomads are still alive (like how Aang was able to get a bison whistle from some merchants but they never explain where they got it from).

Meanwhile the whole Maiko relationship seemed like it was a metaphor to represent Zuko's false destiny and dissatisfaction with his life since Mai encouraged him to sink into his bad habits and ignore everything else, and Azula actively encouraged them to get together so she could control Zuko easier and keep him in the Fire Nation. Zuko leaving Mai behind felt like him embracing his true destiny. This entire thing falls apart when they get back together though, and them being so toxic in the comics is just further proving how dysfunctional they are (like, do they think this is going to sell us on the ship?). I also thought it was strange that apparently Zuko and Mai liked each other since they were kids but Mai never bothered to write him his entire banishment, Zuko never thought about her, Iroh never mentions her, Zuko was totally fine with going on a date with Jin (which Iroh also encouraged), and Iroh thought Zuko and Katara would make a good couple as soon as he saw them interacting as friends. It makes me think Bryke just created Mai and put her with Zuko as a way to discourage Zutara shippers but then forgot to develop her properly. Zuko doesn't even think about Mai after she risked his life to save him lol.

I'm about to make this a long answer, sorry about that :)

I love narrative, and I love to analyze how it is built. Narrative is the way a story is shaped to express its themes. Narrative is using the events within the story to build metaphors. Narrative is the smart foreshadowing, the parallels, the foils. Narrative is intentional, until it isn't.

I am not a professional. I do not have a college degree on this subject. I just like to think about what can make writing be great or lacking. I am merely expressing my personal opinion on this show and these characters, not stating an universal truth.

ATLA is such a well-written show. It treats its themes maturely and builds the story and characters masterfully. Of course, it isn't perfect, as nothing made by human hands is meant to be. ATLA has issues with its storyline and characters and, ultimately, with the narrative itself.

Aang's character arc is different to Zuko's in that, while Zuko's is focused on change, Aang's ultimately ends with him standing his ground. (And isn't that poetic? That in order to grow they need to embrace the philosophy of their opposite element?)

Zuko was forced to change in order to survive from a very young age. He learned to suppress his true, compassionate nature, to become The Perfect Prince—that which Azula embodies. When Zuko fails to do this, he is burnt and tossed away and forced to change once more. He has been hurt and thus is the farthest he has ever been from his true self—Zuko almost forgets who he is.

Zuko's arc, in that way, is similar to Aang's. It's about staying true to himself, but also about learning, about opening his eyes to the horror and using that same passion he has always had to do the right thing. Zuko changes, not into the person he was, but into someone who could, in the future, turn into the better version of himself.

Aang is different. Aang is a child born into peace, who does not have the personal, terrible experience of his people's genocide or the hundred years of war that have left the world wrecked. Aang's arc is about changing and learning and adapting to this new reality, about accepting his role as the Avatar. But it's also about standing firm and saying, "This is who I am, this is where I come from—pain will not break me".

Aang's struggle to control the Avatar State was all about that. The Avatar State meant that Aang lost control. It meant the pain and the hurt had turned him into a thing of anger (righteous as it was) and instinct and awe. Aang needed to be at peace with himself in order to control the Avatar State.

That tiny rock at the final battle felt like an easy way out. It felt like taking from the sheer terror of watching yourself almost kill a man as if from afar. The real moment of triumph for Aang in the finale happened when he stopped. It happened when he took control back and ended the Avatar State, stopping himself from betraying what he believed in.

Was not killing Ozai truly the best choice? I won't get into that debate. I know where I stand on it, but it's not really the point I'm trying to make here.

Aang's triumph, character-wise, happens when he stands his ground and refuses to abandon who he is and what he believes in. And for someone whose flight or fight response almost always turns to flight, this is a huge deal.

Now, where do Katara and Mai stand on this?

It has always been clear to me (even as a Maiko shipper) that Mai was always supposed to be a narrative device. Her relationship with Zuko is supposed to give us, the viewers, and him, another reason to see that this isn't the life he wants, that everything isn't perfect even when it should be on paper.

Zuko goes back home. Zuko is welcomed by his nation with open arms. He is revered. Loved. His father tells him he is proud of him. Zuko has a doting girlfriend—a beautiful, noble girl who can kick his ass and is everything a Fire Prince could wish for. She is adequate and things with her are easy, untroubled. Zuko has everything he could wish for.

And yet he is not happy.

Mai and Zuko have issues that should not be pinned fully on either of them. They had trouble comunicating. They wanted different things in life. They had different ways to look at the world. Different ways to look at each other. Different ways to cope. Different ways to express themselves. Different expectations.

And that's okay. It's possible to make a relationship like that work. Nobody is perfect and no relationship is flawless. Opposites attract and it's possible to find a middle ground in which they can both be happy.

Except they never truly did.

Mai and Zuko's relationship was a plot device. One that did its job damn well... Until it didn't.

If your relationship with the girl is supposed to symbolize the lowest point in your life, and going back into being someone you don't like anymore, then why get back to her when the story is over?

As for Katara, well...

Many things have been said about the abandoned Letting Go Of Katara arc. I'd like to avoid that discussion right now, if that's okay.

I think Zuko and Katara's relationship would have made a lot of sense both narratively and thematically, but also (and most importantly) it would have made sense character-wise.

Give them a few years, let them explore the beautiful friendship they had at the end of the series. Let them find themselves and grow into their roles in this different, exciting new world. Let them reconnect.

If they fall in love in the process? Well, maybe it was a long time coming.

[ech0schamber]

i hope your injury gets better asap!! but as for requests,, how about dazai/ranpo reacting to you waking up after being in a coma for a year(s)?

awhh, thank you :] and sorry this took so long, i totally forgot to check my computer lmao

and damn, jumping straight into the angst lets go

☆i just had to use this gif i couldn't find the one from oda's scene

☆ANYWAYS

☆you had been on a mission with dazai when you got severely injured, he had tried to get you out of the area and to a hospital as fast as he could, but you still went into a coma due to your injuries

☆he had tried his hardest to stay stronger for you, but as soon as he was told that you were in a coma and that the doctors had no idea when you were going to wake up, he immediately wanted to sob his eyes out

☆he got incredibly drunk that night

☆for the first couple of months, he visited you every day. even if it meant that he left work early to see you. for once, kunikida never scolded him about it

☆eventually, he stopped visiting as frequently. it went from everyday, to every couple of days, to maybe once a week. it got to the point that he would only visit you a handful of times every mouth. the longer you were there, the more and more hope he lost

☆during this time, his alcoholic tendencies got worse, he ended up hurting himself more, even his suicide attempts got worse and more frequent. everyone at the agency started to look after him, hell, even chuuya started to look after him

☆you had finally woke up from your coma, and you immediately asked where dazai was. once the doctors checked your vitals and made sure you weren't at risk for falling into another coma, they had called dazai to tell him

☆he was at the agency when they called, now normally, he wouldn't answer his phone, but he had saved the number of the hospital just in case

☆he almost broke down as soon as he heard that you were awake. he basically ran out of the agency, much to kunikida's dislike. (he understands once he finds out your awake though)

☆it took him like 10 minutes to get to the hospital bc his lanky ass ran the whole way there

☆the second that he walked into the hospital room and saw that you truly had woken up, the tears immediately started falling. he hugged you and sobbed into your shoulder for almost an hour before he could calm himself down

☆thankfully, the doctors had informed you that you were in a coma for over a year, so you didn't freak out when this happened

☆you had held him tightly the whole time, whispering reassuring and comforting comments to him the whole time

☆once he had finally fully calmed down, he gave you a big ol' smooch

☆he took a second to text kunikida to give him the news, and to ask for the next few days off, dazai was not going to leave your side. if the hospital staff wasn't willing to let him stay, they would probably have to drag his ass out of the hospital

☆but, for the sake of my sanity, the doctors were nice and let him stay :]

☆now, after being in a coma for that long, your muscle start to weaken and basically give out on themselves. i mean, you were stuck in one position for over a year, that to be expected. you are going to be stuck in a wheelchair for a while, your legs can't carry your weight anymore

☆dazai was very willing to help you with your physical therapy, he basically moved himself into your apartment to help you. he'd even leave in the middle of work if you called him stating you needed help with something

☆jumping forward a bit, you're on crutches now, and can walk around your apartment without much help now

☆now that dazai's head had finally fully processed that you were awake, he'd become clingy as fuck. he wanted to cling to you earlier, but he was terrified of accidentally hurting you

☆you got yourself a human koala now, congrats ;]

☆he is going to get possessive of you, he lost you for a year, he is not going to let you out of his sight for a long time. don't even think about trying to go onto a dangerous mission, he will trap you, and threaten his co-workers if they try to assign you a mission they know is dangerous. you are probably going to have to reel it in a bit, he can get very possessive at times, but it is because he is absolutely terrified that you are going to get injured and he won't be able to save you

☆please comfort him, he needs a lot of love after that

☆ohhh this poor baby

☆he knew that you were going to get hurt by taking this mission, and he told you that. you still went, ignoring his warning. he did not know that you were going to be sent into a coma due to your injuries

☆he, of course, stayed back at the agency, his job doesn't intel mission work like yours does, but he knew something was very wrong when you didn't come back when you supposed to

☆he was contacted by the hospital, as he was your emergency contact. he was absolutely devastated by the news. for once, he just quietly left. he didn't even tell fukuzawa what was happening, he only found out later when yosano had reported back to everyone.

☆he didn't go to the hospital immediately. instead, he went home and bawled his eyes out. he didn't know what to do, and it honestly made him fill like a lost child again

☆he visited you everyday. he didn't care if you didn't wake up from the coma, he would still visit you every single day

☆he cried. a lot. it ended up taking a toll on his mental health, everyone at the agency had noticed and started caring for him in your absence, he even ended up staying at fukuzawa's place several times bc he couldn't bear the thought of going home alone

☆anytime his phone went off, he'd immediately checked it to see if it was the hospital calling

☆when the hospital did finally call though? he shot out of the agency at lightning speed, his beloved was finally awake and he was not going to let them be alone for very long

☆he quite literally threw himself onto you when he finally saw you. the doctors were not to pleased by this, but neither of you cared

☆he cried into your shoulder for the longest time, clinging onto you as he was afraid that you would disappear into thin air if he let go of you, so there is no way he didn't stay with basically the whole time you were in the hospital

☆he'd also be very willing to help you with physical therapy! and he'd make sure you'd eat properly, you probably lost a lot of weight

☆literally made a rule that if he tells you not to go on a mission, you don't go on that mission. like, no one at the agency would let you leave for said mission, even fukuzawa wouldn't assign you cases if ranpo said that you were going to get hurt on them

☆get ready for possessive ranpo, he is going to make sure that will never happen again

☆will literally ask yosano to go kill a bitch if they lay their hands on you

----

while you can request angst headcanons as much as you want, please be aware that they are not going to be first priority! while i absolutely love writing angsty stuff, it's not always gonna be easy for me to do so

please don't let that stop you from requesting! i love to see all your ideas!

[cassiachales]

Journal Entry Three [And Noticing That Grayson Hawthorne Has Extremely Nice Arms]

note: y'all are so sweet with your comments like sjhfhdgjhs. anyway since some of you guys wanted to be in the taglist, i made one!! taglist: @f4iry-bell, @never-enough-novels, @reminiscentreader

Wednesday– Sunday was the last day I saw Grayson Hawthorne but that does not mean Sunday was the last day he was in my head. And oh my gods that waist. So slutty. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Xander crossed his legs from where he was leaning against the wall. “I thought Whiskey Woes would’ve been enough.”

You scoff. “Do you even know your brother? He’d rather drink his and my bottle of whiskey before answering any question.”

You remember how his lips looked on the full glass of whiskey, and how he drank the whole glass without looking away from you.

“If you get turned on by looking at a guy drink whiskey, I don’t even know who to set you up with.” Xander says.

“I don’t get turned on–”

“Don’t even start.” 

“Fine.” You huff. “But why is he so damn hot?”

“We have to make him fall for you.” Xander says, ignoring you. “Fall into his arms.” Xander wags his eyebrows suggestively, and you look away.

“One, I can’t trip on purpose, and two, that will make me look desperate.”

“Everyone’s throwing themselves at him; all you have to do is do it classily.”

You grin. “Like what? Like, oh no, the heat. It wounds my heart, Mr. Hawthorne.”

“That is such terrible acting.” A voice behind you says, and you groan.

Grayson Hawthorne is behind you, and you don’t know just how much he overheard.

And he’s leaning against the wall, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and top button unfixed.

And he looks hot.

“It was meant to be terrible.” You grumble, rolling your eyes.

“No doubt.”

You begin to wonder why someone who talks so dryly has some so close to capturing your heart.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── He talks as though he’s constantly in a business meeting, and he dresses as though life is business and he’s the chairman. Except for some times where he actually looks extremely ravished. Like today. Gods I just want to run my hands through his hair and mess it all up. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“I need to ask, why do you stare so much? Is it just at me, or do you stare at everyone you meet?”

Only the attractive ones.

He raises his eyebrow. “You find me attractive?”

And there comes your habit of saying things out loud. And the fact that there’s no Xander snickering behind you, he probably left.

Traitor.

“You know what, I just realised that I have three essays due. So like, bye.”

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── He probably thinks I’m obsessed with him or something. Maybe I am but he’s never gonna read this journal so. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

He tilted his head to the side and watched you turn and go the other way before he called your name.

Your name.

Not a “Ms.” and your last name.

Your real name.

“Your car is parked in the opposite direction, in case you forgot.”

You turn around, before shooting a thumbs up. “Totally knew that.”

His lips quirk up, and you can’t help but stare. He looks so infuriatingly gorgeous in his neatly pressed suits and perfectly styled hair and you often find your mind straying to how he would look messed up.

His hair all ruffled and his shirt with slight creases and your lips on his–

Not the last one. That was just an extra thought.

“Would you like me to drop you off? To your car?” Grayson asks, and you feel like he could do anything and you would find him every bit the gentleman.

He could kiss you and make you look ravished and wrap your legs around his waist and even then, he would be perfectly gentlemanly.

You nod. “That would be nice.��

He pushes off the wall, using his hand to show you the way. “Then? I do not have all day, love.”

Your brain is lagging.

He called you love.

And Grayson Hawthorne looks like he knows exactly what that did to you. 

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── He called me love. LOVE. And by god, if that self-satisfied smile on his face means anything, he looks so smug seeing what effect that had on me. Bloody bastard. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

His confidence doesn’t slip at all, and you walk towards him.

His eyes are maddening.

It’s like a bottle of wine. Heady and intoxicating but you just want more and more even if it could poison you.

The two of you walk towards where your car is parked, and then, you feel as though the universe hates you.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── Guess what happened then. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

You tripped.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── I tripped. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

On a pebble.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── I fucking tripped on a pebble. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

You’re falling forwards, thinking you’re going to smash your nose against the pathway when two really strong arms come around your waist.

Very strong.

You notice how good his arms look when they’re flexed like that, and god, does he look hot.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── He caught me before I fell, but goodness. I thought his waist was the best part about his body. I was so damn wrong, because man, do his arms look amazing. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“Are you all right?” He whispers. You feel his mouth at the curve of your ear, and you shiver.

For a moment, you berate yourself for having such a reaction to just his voice.

“Yeah.” You whisper back.

You can hear the stupid smile in his voice when he says: “I guess you did fall into my arms after all.”

You're too lost in his touch to feel embarrassed that he heard you and Xander talk about it.

He pulls you back, making you stand steady on your feet, before he removes his arms from your waist.

But he doesn’t do it sharp and quick, as though you burned him.

He does it slowly, his long fingers featherlight on your waist as they pull away.

You can still feel his phantom touch.

“Why– How do you do this to me?” He murmurs, so low as though he doesn’t want you to hear it.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── Then he goes and murmurs about how I do something to him and his voice is gorgeous when he murmurs. I’m becoming one of those fangirls on the internet. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The man is seducing you, slowly. Everything about him is slow.

The way his lips touch the glass of whiskey and downs it in one slow gulp.

The way his fingers move from your waist and leaves a phantom touch.

The way he blinks now, leading you forwards towards your car again.

It’s like he knows what he does to you.

Oh, he knows.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── He knows that I’m falling for him. He knows that when I’m with him, I lose myself. Oh god, he knows. And I love it. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Journal Entry Two ☆ Journal Entry Four

[ipostwhatiwant1202]

Them as Bridgerton Scenes: Confessing

note: different quotes from different scenes will be spliced together/modified to fit the character.

Leo:

"Why can't you just look at me!?"

"Because I fear of what I'll do!"

Leo's blue eyes grew to look frightened. You went on a date and were excited to tell him all about it. The person was wonderful to you all evening and you looked forward to seeing them again. You were until Leo refused to hear anything at all about how your night had went. It was odd, he was always willing to listen to you.

It happened a few weeks ago that you were playing truth or dare with the turtles. April introduced you to them a few years ago, you and Leo became attached at the hip. He thought highly of you, and you him. A game of truth or dare came about and Casey dared you to kiss Leo as payback for your dare on him. You weren't one to back down so you kissed who you were dared to. But there was a problem.

Something changed in Leo. He grew distant, cold even. He felt himself choking when he saw you and unable to look you in the eye. The kiss meant nothing but meant everything. He had wanted to kiss you for so long but you didn't seem to feel the same. You continued on dating while he stayed back and watched you.

"What are you saying? Leo, you haven't even looked at me in weeks! Why?" You pleaded, walking closer to him.

He kept his eyes on the ground. "I can't tell you."

"You can't or you won't?" You whispered. You were met with silence. "Answer me!" You shouted.

"I am a gentleman!" He shouted back. "My father raised me to act with honor, but that honor is hanging by a thread that grows more precarious with every moment I spend in your presence." His voice dwindling to a whisper.

"I don't understand..." You whispered, your eyes finding his.

"I have spent so long trying to feel less, trying to be the kind of man society expects me to be. And for a moment, I thought I had succeeded." Leo bit the inside of his lip, his eyes casting down to the floor. "But these past few weeks have been full of confounding feelings. Feelings like a total inability to stop thinking about you." He slowly looked up, his eyes shining. "About that kiss. Feelings like dreaming of you when I'm asleep. And in fact, preferring sleep because that is where I might find you. A feeling that is like torture, but one which I cannot, will not, do not want to give up." His eyes became determined.

"I-I...I don't know what to say." You whispered. "I thought," you swallowed, "maybe you forgot that."

"I could never forget that." He whispered back, leaning down so his eyes were level with yours. "I could never forget that rush, no matter how hard I try."

"Leo..." You breathed.

He leaned in and closed the gap between your lips. You knew you 100% owed Vern.

Raph:

"Will you please just tell me what's wrong!?"

"Will it shut you up!?"

You and Raph had known eachother for a long time. You met one night at the park. You were riding your dirtbike (or other device) and he decided he would challenge you from the shadows. It wasn't until you hit a rock and flew off the bike that you saw his true form. You were instantly drawn to him because of his difference.

Your friendship blossomed and you looked forward to meeting him every week, doing different activities like dancing or just walks. You exchanged numbers and talked every moment you could. You considered him to be your best friend. His family even liked you and accepted you, you were happy for the first time in a long time. Up until two weeks ago, anyway.

Raph had been acting stranger than usual. Not saying much, acting like you were genuinely annoying him. He was brushing you off and making excuses to not see you. You finally had enough and went to the lair to confront him for his odd behavior. You didn't expect him to get this angry about it, however. You poked the bear too hard.

"God, Raph! You're so childish! Why is it so hard for you to talk like an adult? You need to grow up!" You snapped, walking toward him.

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "I am grown!"

"Then show it, dammit!" You snapped. "Tell me why you now hate me."

"I never said I hated you." He mumbled.

"Then what is it, Raphael!?" You shouted, shoving his arm. "I can't play these games with you!"

"I love you!" He shouted, his eyes widened. "I’ve loved you from the moment we raced each other in that park. I've loved you at every dance, on every walk, every time we’ve been together and every time we’ve been apart." His face softened, he ran a hand over his face. "Ya don't have to accept it, you don't have to embrace it or even allow it. Knowing you, ya probably won't." He swallowed, moving closer to you. "But ya gotta know it in your heart. Ya must feel it, because I do. I love you." He whispered.

"Raph...I didn't know." You whispered, putting a hand on his arm. "I wouldn't have pushed you."

"I know I'm imperfect, but I will humble myself before you, because I can't imagine my life without ya." He whispered back. "Y/N, I mean it."

"Prove it." You muttered, your eyes finding his green ones.

Raph reached and cupped your face, pulling you into a kiss. You were thankful for that night in the park.

Donnie:

"You're avoiding me."

"I'm not, I said I'm busy."

Donnie was, for a lack of better terms, a strange guy. He had a way with words and a way with actions. Geeky charm, if you will. You found yourself drawn to him the moment April brought you to meet the turtles. Dare you say, you considered him to be your best friend. You had a lot in common and he always treated you kindly.

He was always willing to help you with anything you needed. You enjoyed listening to him ramble on and always valued his thoughts and opinions. He offered a safe place for you to go when you needed to escape and you were a great listener. Donnie liked that about you, he trusted you and you him. You could both be yourselves without fearing any judgment.

The strange thing was that he was suddenly shutting you out. You figured it was because he was stressed but he was completely fine with April. He also didn't offer to help fix your laptop without you asking like usual, he wasn't acting like his usual self. It was starting to weigh on you. You felt like you did or said something to offend him.

"You're not too busy for April, not even Casey." You replied, crossing your arms. "Did I do something or say something?"

"No." He simply said, not looking at you.

"Donnie, you're obviously upset with me about something." You stated, putting a hand on his shoulder. He moved away. "You're mad at me."

"I said I'm not mad." He stated again, standing up.

"Then why are you acting like this?" You pleaded. "I promise whatever it is I'll fix it!"

"You vex me." Donnie admitted, his body turned away from yours. "You are the bane of my existence. I did not ask for this, to be plagued by these feelings. Being driven to distraction everytime you walk in a room." He peered over his shoulder, his eyes on the floor. "I have never met anyone like you. It is maddening how you consume my very being." His voice had gone to just above a whisper. His eyes had become glossy. "I burn for you. Every scar, every flaw, every imperfection." He swallowed. "I love you."

"Donnie..I-I had no idea.." You whispered, walking towards him. "All this time..?"

"All I find myself being able to breathe for," he turned around and walked towards you, "is for you."

"Just kiss me." You breathed, reaching up to embrace him.

Donnie captured his lips with yours. You felt like a real prince/princess.

Mikey:

"How could you do this to me!?"

"I said I'm sorry!"

You were putting yourself back into the dating scene. Mikey was all for helping you and listening to your troubles. He even helped you ready for the dates and hyped you up. He always wanted to hear all about what worked and what didn't. He just wanted to make sure that you were going to find someone to make you happy.

Mikey was harbouring a dark secret, he deeply felt for you, more than a friend should. He couldn't stop thinking of you. He hated you going out with other people, despised it even. But he couldn't tell you that because he couldn't give you what you deserved, a normal life.

Casey introduced you two, and while Mikey was always flirty, he found himself smitten right away. He tried to be a gentleman and treat you right, hoping you'd get the hint, but you never did. Instead, you treated him like you did his brothers. It stung but he never wanted you to know, but you found out anyway, you only caught the end of the conversation.

"I really liked them! They were kind and-and treated me nicely." You snapped. "Why would you lie to them?"

"I didn't." He stated, his eyes on the floor.

"But you did! Mikey, I'm not dating anyone!" You huffed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "I would be if you hadn't of said that."

"I lied about the dating thing but nothing else." He mumbled.

"What?" You asked, walking closer. "What do you mean about nothing else? What else did you say?"

"Everything I told them was true. I can't stop thinking of you. From when you wake up to when you go to sleep, and your dreams. My thoughts of you never end." He whispered, his eyes brimming with tears. "With you, conversation has always been easy. Your laughter brings me joy." He slowly looked up from the floor. "To meet someone beautiful is one thing, but to meet your best friend in the most beautiful of people is another." He sadly smiled at you. "I want a life that suites us both...So," he swallowed, "tell me you feel nothing and I'll walk away forever."

"Mikey...Since when..? Why?" You whispered. "Why did you wait to tell me?"

"Because I'm tired of pretending and I can't continue acting as if I don't love you." He replied, reaching out and grabbing your hands. "Because I do. I love all of you."

"I love you too." You whispered.

Mikey's hands went around your waist and pulled you into a kiss. You walked in just in time.

[satans-helper]

Eat You Up

Pairing: Danny Wagner x (F) Reader x Sam Kiszka

Word Count: ~5k

Warnings: this is a threeway with HEAVY slash ft. fingering, food play (is that a term? Idk. It's whipped cream. Y'all know I'm not big on fetishes lol), oral sex, unprotected penetrative sex, facial, dirty talking. 18+ only <3

Thanks for the V-Day request, @brokebellsgvf ❤️💕 I spent zero time working yesterday and today. Instead, I wrote this LOL I really hope you enjoy!

---

Your heart buzzed with excitement when you opened the front door and stepped onto the beginning of a trail of red and pink rose petals. You bent down to pick one up, feeling the silky softness between your fingers, and smiled to yourself as you imagined what might lie at the end of the trail, undoubtedly in the bedroom–a bottle of champagne, perhaps? A box of chocolates? Or maybe even chocolate sauce and whipped cream, and maybe some strawberries too, since sugar and your boyfriend just went so well together regardless of it being Valentine’s Day or not. But Danny always knew how to make each holiday exceptional, especially Valentine’s Day–he loved every aspect of it, no matter how tacky or commercial, because it meant he had even more of a reason to dote on you, to show how much he adored your and how much he enamored you. 

Too bad he wasn’t home yet, you thought as you dropped your bag and hung up your coat, then walked down the length of the rose petal trail. It would be difficult to not break into whatever was waiting down the hall for you without him, but he’d be home soon enough and then you two had the entire night together, and it wouldn’t be a short one. 

But when you opened the bedroom door and flicked the light on, it wasn’t a pile of romantic gifts on the bed that you saw–it was Sam, spread out and lounging atop a big smattering of those rose petals, and he was chewing on a strawberry in nothing more than a pair of bright red boxers.

“Samuel!” you shouted, bringing a hand to your chest. Totally unexpected in every way, his sudden appearance had given you quite the fright. Sam having his own key to yours and Danny’s place sometimes proved to be a total disruption. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” he answered, sitting up and crossing his legs. “And waiting for Daniel.” 

Since you’d been given a moment to catch your breath, you could see the bowl of strawberries next to him and the bottle of champagne, the box of chocolates and a can of whipped cream all on the floor–you’d guessed correctly about those. You just hadn’t guessed right about your boyfriend’s best friend being there too, because that thought had never entered your mind.

“What? Why?” you asked, remaining standing in the doorway, arms crossed over your chest. You loved Sam with all your heart, but Danny had your heart and soul, and you’d really been looking forward to Valentine’s Day with JUST your boyfriend. 

“He said he didn’t want you to have to spend one single minute of Valentine’s day alone,” Sam told you, then patted the empty space next to him. “Join me, Y/N. I’ve been waiting for fucking ever.”

“Sam, you know I get off work at five,” you replied, still motionless and still feeling bristly from this unexpected turn of events. All day, you’d been thinking about Danny, not his best friend.

“Ah, that’s right. I forgot.” Sam grinned, those Bambi eyes turning scandalous as he looked at you. “Well, between now and whenever Danny gets home, I could also get you off for real. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

You sighed with more irritation than was sincere, because a tingle was already between your legs at the thought of that and at the image of Sam before you, always so beautiful even when he was annoying and obscenely intrusive. It wouldn’t be cheating. You and Danny had an arrangement–both of you could fool around with Sam and only Sam whenever you wanted as long as the other knew about it and gave permission. It had never been an issue, primarily because the two of you had always involved Sam together, not separately. Sam proposing some one-on-one time with you was brand new. 

“Did Danny say that was okay? Really?”

Sam nodded fervently. “He said we can do anything and everything until he gets here. So what do ya say?” He gestured to the nightstand lamp that was glowing a soft, warm yellow light. “And turn the light off–you ruined the mood.” 

You considered all of that, lips pursing as you narrowed your eyes at him. You unlocked your phone and swiped to Danny’s number. “I’m gonna call him. Just to be safe,” you said, and you caught Sam rolling his eyes in response. 

“Hey, babe,” Danny said when he picked up, so casual–like he hadn’t orchestrated all of this. So had he really?

“Hello, my love. I have a quick question,” you said, eyeing Sam, who looked way too comfortable nearly naked and on your bed without Danny. “Did you really invite Sam over here?”

Danny laughed. “Yeah, I did. It was a surprise! I just didn’t want you to be alone. But I’ll be home soon.” His pitch dropped and his words slowed just a bit as he asked, “Are you guys having a good time?”

You were in shock all over again, but at least Sam hadn’t been sneaky about any of this. Well, so it seemed. You still had some questions: “So you’re okay with us…killing some time together? Just the two of us?”

Sam grinned in front of you, leaning back on his elbows against the mattress, while Danny said, “Sure. Just one thing–hands only.”

“Oh?” you chirped, glancing down at Sam’s big yet graceful and lithe hands spread out over the comforter. 

“Kissing is also allowed,” Danny told you. Even though he was talking about you and Sam, his voice had returned to being deep and seductive, making that tingle between your legs return. “But not down there. You know? Not until I come home, anyway.”

Before you could reply, Sam chimed in with, “Ask him if we can drink the champagne.”

“I heard that. Tell him no,” Danny answered. “And don’t tell him about the other bottle in the fridge. All good, princess?”

“Yes, all good. This was all just so surprising,” you admitted. “How much longer ‘til you’re home?”

“Probably another hour. I’ll text you when I leave but I, personally, won’t be surprised if you don’t check your phone.” Danny let out a soft chuckle before he added, “Have fun. Just not too much fun.”

“Okay. Love you,” you said, only hanging up after Danny said it right back. Suddenly you were a bundle of nerves with this new venture, and you wished you could crack into the champagne without Sam hogging it for himself. Instead, you reminded yourself that this was just Sam, one of your best friends, Danny’s own best friend, and someone you’d already kissed and touched more than enough times to be comfortable with doing all that again.

“Danny said to save the champagne,” you said as you flipped the ceiling light off. Then you were stepping forward; Sam was watching, eyebrows slightly raised. “He also said hands only.”

Sam tsked and rolled his eyes again. “Oh, come on.” 

You were directly in front of him now; you placed your hands on his bare shoulders. “Those are the rules, Sammy, and we’re gonna follow ‘em.”

Sam’s head turned, his eyes landing on your right hand on his shoulder; when he looked back up at you, dark eyes wide with what you surmised as his own version of surprise, his visage of smugness totally fell away. That was all it took for your nerves to cool off, and it didn’t take more than a few moments until you were also just in your undergarments, the two of you lying on the bed with your hands all over one another. Things always moved quickly when Sam was around.

“No special V-day lingerie?” he asked as he ran one finger down your bra strap. He was on top, straddling you, and his apparent erection was tenting his boxers and pressing right into your thigh. 

“I was going to put something on,” you said. “But just for my boyfriend.” It was true–you had a matching set of red and pink lace tucked away in the dresser. Instead, you were now still in basic black, though you knew that it was nothing for Sam to complain about. He was lucky to see you in anything–or nothing–at all, especially with Danny being absent. 

“I’m your boyfriend right now,” Sam replied, slick and easy, and you laughed and shook your head. He chuckled and brought his hands lower to squeeze your breasts, making your heartbeat speed up. “What do you think he’s gonna wear for you? Do you think he’s got some sexy briefs on right now or something?”

You looked up behind yourself, thinking about it for a moment, imagining what Danny truly might be wearing beneath his innocent blue jeans. “Maybe. He’s clearly full of surprises. Besides, he might want to top what he wore for me last year.”

Sam wiggled on top of you a little bit. “What’d he wear last year?”

You could still see it so clearly in your mind. “A purple crushed velvet g-string.”

Sam’s jaw dropped. “He did not.”

You laughed and ran your hands up and down Sam’s arms. “He did! It was made for men, but it still barely covered his junk. I loved it. It was also totally unexpected.”

Sam hummed in thought before he said, “Yeah. Danny does have a really big cock.”

It’d been a while since you’d heard Sam say that word, and it had the same effect on you as it always did–sweeping arousal that made you blush furiously. You could feel the flush spreading up your chest to your neck and face, and Sam, of course, took note. He bent down, cupping your face in his hands, and pressed a long, soft kiss to your lips. 

Although it had taken only seconds for Sam to help you strip down to your bra and panties and climb on top of you, his kisses remained slow and lingering–also surprising. It was as if he was a little nervous too, though he was skilled at playing it off and masquerading as confident, even cocky. Instead of the rushed, over-eager gnashing of teeth and tongue you’d imagined, he was gentle and considering with each brush of his lips and small swipe of his tongue; his hands were the same along your body, with those longer fingers dancing over your skin, his palms skating gracefully over the the planes and curves of your muscles and flesh. 

You reciprocated, touching him wherever you could. Sam’s shoulders were slighter than Danny’s and his back was narrower and, unencumbered by anyone else, you were able to touch him completely freely. His skin was satiny and warm, inviting beneath your fingers, which slipped lower and lower, traveling down his waist, over his belly, then finally to linger at the elastic waistband of his boxers.

“Should I take them off?” Sam asked, his lips pressed against your chin while the kisses were paused. 

“I think,” you said as you indeed thought about it, quickly coming to a conclusion while Sam ground against you. “We should leave what we have on, on. Let Danny unwrap us both when he gets home. It’s the least we can do.”

Sam gave a huff of disapproval, but your hand wrapping around his cock cut the noise short. He sighed with what sounded like relief instead and nuzzled his face into your neck, his breath warm against your ear as he said, “Fair enough. A few scraps of fabric have never truly impeded me.” 

“You hate clothes,” you said with a small laugh. You caressed Sam’s upper back with one hand while the other still managed to stroke him down below, the weight and structure of his dick still very obvious in your hand despite the layer of cotton acting as a barrier. 

“Yeah, but I like you enough to respect your wishes.” Sam hummed and humped into your hand as his nose brushed against the side of your neck. “This feels good, but you sliding your hand down there might feel better.”

To spare him from chafing and ruining the whole night, you obliged and, when you did, Sam reciprocated by slipping his fingers beneath the top of your panties. Though the contact was expected, your breath still hitched at the sensation, then a quiet moan slipped out when Sam’s middle finger slid right over your clit. 

It was a little funny, or that was the best word you could come up with in your Sam-filled haze, that just as you were fully relaxing into everything, Sam said, “This is kinda weird without him, isn’t it?” You didn’t have time to reply before he deliberately circled your clit and went on: “If Danny was here now, what do you think he’d be doing?”

It didn’t take long to conjure the image in your head which you relayed to Sam: “I’d have my head in his lap…and he’d be leaning over me to kiss you.”

Sam popped up, looking into your eyes now with rejuvenated excitement. “You think so?” He glanced up while his fingers slid down, spreading through your warmth and wetness. “Yeah, I could see that.

Your groin tightened as Sam, seemingly unknowingly, teased you, still looking up as though he were still musing to himself. “Do you like kissing Danny?” you asked, already knowing the answer. Sam never did anything he didn’t want to do, and he had kissed Danny a lot. You were pretty sure the two of them had kissed long before you and Danny had kissed. 

Sam’s eyes met yours, and a tiny smile just barely curled one side of his mouth. “Fuck yeah, I do.” He dove back down to plant a kiss on your mouth–this one was searing, stealing your breath away, and you didn’t doubt the sudden surge of passion was inspired by him just thinking about kissing your boyfriend again. Soon, that would be reality for both of you.

As you fisted Sam’s cock beneath his boxers and the kisses carried on, a dribble of precum helped the slide and you imagined Danny behind him, holding him and kissing his neck. You moaned softly against Sam’s mouth as your imagination kept constructing those pictures behind your closed eyes, and as two of Sam’s fingers slid inside you to curl and pump slowly. 

The slightly distant sound of the front door opening and closing made you both pause. You turned your cheek, breaking your swollen, tender lips away from Sam’s, and Sam also turned his head to listen. When Danny’s gentle footsteps sounded over the wooden floorboards, he looked back down at you with a broad smile, white teeth gleaming. He winked before he rolled off you and laid on his back, tucking his arms behind his head and staring at the open doorway. 

You stood up, legs slightly shaky, and met Danny just before he could step inside the room. He smiled even bigger than Sam had, eyes brightening as soon as he looked at you, and scooped you into a tight hug with his face pressed into your hair.

“Happy Valentine’s day,” you said against his shoulder. One of Danny’s hands trailed down your waist to your ass, giving it a squeeze, and you sighed. You leaned back and reached to touch his face, guiding it to yours, and the kiss your boyfriend gave you felt like the only gift you really needed. Everything else was a bonus.

Danny pulled back, that one hand still on your ass while the other caressed your hair and the nape of your neck. “Happy Valentine’s day, babe. What have I been missing?”

“We’ve been thinking about you, big man,” Sam announced from the bed, and Danny peered past you to look at him. You pivoted to lean against Danny’s side and look back at his best friend. 

Danny laughed, but you caught him also blatantly raking his eyes up and down Sam’s long, nearly-naked form, then your own. “Red boxers, Sam–so festive.”

Sam held his hands up over his head. “You said hands only, so I kept them on.” 

“Appreciate it,” Danny said, hooking his arm around your waist and holding you close, his eyes still fixed on Sam.

“We have to get your clothes off,” you declared, revved up by just the unwavering and smoldering eye contact those two boys were sharing. You tugged at the hem of Danny’s sweater, lifting it up past his stomach, then Sam was shifting in your peripheral vision. A second later he was standing there next to you, unbuckling Danny’s belt as you got the sweater completely up and over his head. 

Once Danny’s upper body was clothing-free and his jeans were being yanked down by Sam, he grabbed a handful of Sam’s hair and pulled him up. You watched, thighs pressing together with an ache, as Danny enraptured his mouth–he held the side of Sam’s sharp, pretty face while their lips moved together and a slip of their tongues interrupted, and Sam’s hands gripped Danny’s hips tight, his fingers digging into his lower back. 

You and Sam ended up both swarming Danny with hands and mouths; Danny had to cajole the two of you to the bed and he ended up on his back with you on one side, Sam on the other. Both the boys’ boxers were discarded, then Danny’s hands were back on you, tearing your panties away and unhooking your bra. 

“I waited all day for this,” Danny said, cupping the back of your head and bringing you closer for a sweet kiss that made you melt against him. 

“Me fucking too,” you heard Sam say, then you glanced toward him, watching him latch his mouth to Danny’s neck. His hand roamed down Danny’s body to grab his cock and Danny gasped while he threw his spare arm out to clasp Sam’s shoulders. 

“I still can’t believe you guys planned this without me,” you said, sliding down the bed on your knees. You pulled one of Danny’s legs to the side to kneel between them, giving Sam another minute of stroking your boyfriend’s cock before you knocked him away and took it over for yourself. 

“We both felt pretty confident you’d be into it,” Danny explained, then exhaled deeply. He was idly running his fingers over Sam’s shoulder while he watched you jerk him off, then his thighs quivered around you when you sent a trail of saliva dripping down over the head of his cock. “Oh fuck,” Danny said softly, transfixed on you for another moment until he looked at Sam, Danny’s dark eyelashes fluttering while Sam stared right back at him and licked his lips. Sam’s hands found Danny’s chest, fingers toying with his nipples while he leaned forward and stole your boyfriend away into a sequence of heated kisses that made that ache in your belly intensify.

You just couldn’t take much more. It’d been a while since the three of you had gotten together like this, and you hadn’t clearly remembered how viscerally turned on and bewitched just watching those two made you. Their kisses were fluid and full of passion, so much history and love between them that, every once in a while, got the most profound physical outlet and expression–how could you be even slightly annoyed at Sam’s interruption of Valentine’s Day when what you were witnessing was so beautiful?

A few more strokes, then you were hiking yourself over Danny’s hips and sinking down onto his spit-slick cock. Neither he nor Sam expected it–Danny groaned, peeling himself away from Sam’s flurry of kisses, and both of them were looking at you now. You had to glance away for a second, biting your lip as Danny’s impressive size stretched you out and instantly hit all the little sensitive spots–the extension of your tender pussy lips, the slight brush of his shaft against your clit, the jab of the head of his cock against your g-spot when you leaned forward. Everything sent shudders and tingles up your spine.

You closed your eyes and breathed deeply, hands planted firmly on Danny’s chest, then you were whisked away by his hands on your waist and his mouth on your cheek. Soft kisses spread over your face to your mouth, then everything was interrupted by a sharp grunt.

“And you think I move fast!” Sam remarked with a hand in Danny’s hair, tugging it hard enough to make your boyfriend wince and grunt again.

Danny’s hands flailed upwards to cease Sam’s torment. “Jeez, Sam. Chill with that. Tell me what you want.”

Sam looked down at him with a grin. “The whipped cream.” Before either you or Danny could reply, Sam hopped off the bed, dick swinging, and retrieved the can of it, nearly forgotten, from the foot of the bed. 

Danny’s eyes found yours, his hands gentle on your waist. “What do you think he’s gonna do with that?”

“Eat you up, apparently,” you replied, because Sam was working fast too. He shook the can and uncapped it, then sprayed a line of foamy, white cream up Danny’s sternum and neck.

“That’s right,” Sam agreed, bending down to drag the tip of his tongue through just a little bit of it over Danny’s chest. Then he straightened and pulled you into a kiss, knocking you forward more; you gasped sharply at the pressure of Danny’s cock inside you, then Sam said, “And you are too, right?” 

Well, how could you not? Danny had clearly thought about using that whipped cream for more than just strawberries too, and though it was strange, the perfect white cream that was already starting to melt over his golden skin and through his dark chest hair did make him look even more delectable. 

You bent down too, licking up his sternum, getting him clean, then licked up the streak of whipped cream from the warm column of his neck. You could feel one of Sam’s hands in your hair while Danny’s hands moved down to squeeze your ass again; when you were sliding your tongue up the underside of Danny’s chin, you felt him pulled to the side. Sam was the culprit again–his other hand was caught in Danny’s curls, tugging him closer, and then his hand in your hair was gone to wrap around his own cock instead.

“Oh my god,” you said, transfixed as Sam squirted some whipped cream onto the head of his cock and Danny wasted no time. He swapped one of his hands for Sam’s ass too, urging him forward while he stuck his tongue out; he slid it around Sam’s sweetened cock, slurping the whipped cream up, then Sam pushed forward, sliding himself deeper into Danny’s mouth. 

Sam’s head tilted back, his lips parted in ecstasy, eyes closed and cheeks flushed. “Fuck yeah, Danny. Show her how much you love sucking my dick.” You trembled on top of Danny, feeling paralyzed and so tight with red-hot arousal. Your own mouth fell open in endless surprise when Sam, dropping his head forward, hair hanging in his face, went on with, “Fuck up into Y/N while you suck me off, okay, beautiful?”

Danny could only let out a stifled moan in response. You were stuck on studying both of their faces–Sam’s plush, pink lips still parted as he gazed down at Danny, his dark eyes even darker with stormy arousal. Danny’s long lashes were pressed beneath his eyes, his strong brows knitted slightly with his effort, his cheeks hollowed. Beneath your hands, you could see his chest was flushed and still a little shiny with leftover spit and remnants of that whipped cream, then you saw his ribs press against his skin when his hips shoved up, taking Sam’s request seriously. He started to fuck up into you and a moan tore out of your chest, and one hand flung out to grab Sam’s arm.

Sam twisted his upper body to meet you, his long fingers finding your cheek, stroking your own heated skin, then tangling in your hair. You made him taste the whipped cream on your lips and tongue and swallow your shallow moans as Danny kept thrusting upward, apparently unencumbered by the dick in his mouth. His hand on your ass found your clit, his thumb brushing over it while his fingers splayed over your belly, and Sam began to moan more freely too while he was, undoubtedly, brought closer and closer to the pinnacle of his pleasure.

Suddenly Sam hissed and shook himself away from you. His head fell back again and his entire body was shuddering while he tugged on your hair and tugged on Danny’s with the other; you saw Danny’s eyes open and look up at him. That shared, prolific stare and Danny’s thumb circling your clit with his hard cock deep inside you, repeatedly jutting against your walls, had you mentally scrambled and physically in shambles. 

Danny popped off Sam’s dick to say, “Oh man. You two are gonna come at the same time, aren’t you?” and that expert prediction was timed perfectly with your shuddering orgasm, your pussy squeezing tight around Danny, and Sam’s very vocalized one to match. As Danny jerked him off and gave little licks to the tip of his cock, Sam huffed and groaned, whimpered and whined, and as the aftershocks of your own orgasm were running through you, another, wilder shock shot through as Sam came all over Danny’s face and into his mouth.

Everything seemed beyond your control, really–Sam and Danny were such an enchanting duo that you were lost, wrapped up in them, uninhibited and free to feel as much as you wanted. And there was a lot to feel, and a lot to give, and one thing you thought Danny deserved was to feel just a little less messy. Though he really did look beautiful like that, Sam’s cum painted over his cheekbone and jaw, a dribble caught on his bottom lip, so you took in the image for another moment before you lowered yourself and licked all of it away.

“Wow, Sammy,” you said, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. You wanted to give more, to ride Danny now and make HIM come, but your whole body felt like jelly. “You taste better than I remember.”

“Clean living,” Sam said breathlessly, his eyes still closed, staying closed as he collapsed back onto the bed next to Danny in a heap. He seemed to forego that clean living for now, because he opened his eyes and reached for the whipped cream to uncap it and spray a heaping glob of it into his mouth. He turned and blinked slowly at Danny as he swallowed, then said, “Why didn’t you finish?”

“I was close,” Danny said. You were going to offer to get him there as you were, still clenching around his cock and steady over his hips, but he rolled you over instead. He started to move his hips again, giving shallow but dense thrusts into you; he whipped his head to the side to look at Sam and added, “You shooting your load all over my face distracted me.”

Sam snorted and crawled over to meet the two of you, his hair hanging above your face, his throat bobbing slightly as he tilted his chin up and replied with, “You loved it, Daniel.” Then he peered down at you and touched your forehead, petting your hair back, as you caressed Danny’s biceps and hooked your legs around his hips. “But I won’t be insulted when you love coming inside Y/N even more.”

Danny chuckled, then he gritted out, “God–fuck!” You chuckled too, gazing up at him, who was only blatantly blasphemous while in bed. As his own warm slick filled you up, you pulled him down and let him pant in your ear as you kissed and nibbled on his neck, then down to his shoulder, letting his thrusts die down into tiny rocking motions. 

You wished you could see what Sam saw too, though–how Danny’s traps locked up for a second, how his shoulders squared before slumping, how his thighs and ass tightened just as his cock and balls swelled before softening. But what you actually saw was good as well, even more so when Danny lifted himself up and smiled at you–that perfect, charming, sweet-as-sugar smile was the cherry on top. 

Or maybe the strawberry, which Sam was eating another one of, coming back to life in full lines, shapes and color once Danny moved off you and took you in his arms. Sam met you two against the headboard, leaning on your right side as Danny leaned on your left, and topped a strawberry with whipped cream before he extended his hand to feed it to you. You chewed and relaxed between your boys; Sam prepared another strawberry and passed it off to Danny.

“So can we open that champagne now?” Sam asked, resting his head on your shoulder. “Or are you guys gonna kick me out now for your own little love fest?”

You exchanged a glance with Danny, who then leaned forward and said to Sam, “I mean, you’re already here. You could stick around for a while longer.”

“And yes, we can open the champagne,” you added, to which Sam gave a victorious smile.

“Excellent,” he said with a contented sigh. A moment of bizarrely comfortable silence passed between you three unorthodox, codependent, brazen and deeply adoring people before he asked, “Does this mean I can see you in that lingerie?”

---

Tagging: @mackalah @brokebellsgvf @sparrowofrhiannon @starbuggie @lightsofthe-living-gvf @sanguinebats @gvfrry @mindastreamofcolours @clairesjointshurt @bizzielisteningtogreta

If you’d like to be tagged in any of my fics, you can go here or DM me :)

[thequietkid-moonie]

Slowly forgeting someone important

[ ONE-SHOT ] [ Teru Minamoto ]

[ Toilet Bound Hanako-kun / Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun ]

This idea has wonder in my head for a while and I totally loved it since the moment t I thought about it!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

As the clan representative, Teru had grew giving his full life to his job as an exorsist, learning how important is to never forget that the supernaturals are nothing but a threaten and they most be erradicated

Once Teru falls in love and even have the opportunity to be selfish enough to start a relasionship he didn't let himself forget about his duty, and that he need to protect you from the threatens the supernaturals are, so once in the relasionship he takes the freedom to explain it to you, how he is actually an exorsist and about his duty only because he wants to keep you safe

Teru made sure to tell you about the threaten of the supernaturals, to give you a warning (mainly for your safety) and even give you something will protect you while he isn't with you, because even when he is confident on his habilities and knows that you will listen to his warning he just can't help but worry and ve alert

Thats is why he just can't comprehend why something like thats could have happened, he was alert and he made sure to protect you and still some stupid natural was able to reach you and attack you, he wasn't there when it happened but that didn't meant he didn't know it was the work of a supernatural, he knows how to reconize this kind of things, the moment you didn't showed up to school that day nor answered his texts he knew something had happened to you

He had enough experience of fighting supernaturals to don't reconize that this was their work, but that didn't make him feel less guilt, if only he was more alert or more careful then you won't be missing right now. Trying to overcome his frustration Teru started his search for you, following the traces and collecting as much information as possible, even forcing other supernaturals (inside and outside the school) to tell him if they had saw you and when

As much as Teru want to keep his composture is dificult when the person he loves is missing and he has not even tracks of you, the more time it pass the more frustrated Teru gets because every second it pass it can mean more suffering for you, if he doesn't know even who had attacked you how he can be sure that you are safe and unharmed

Teru was so focus on searching you or the culprit between the supernaturals that he didn't even noticed when the worried whisperings about you had stoped, it was obvious that it would be just matter of time for people to start talking less about it, but Teru quickly noticed that there was more of it, there wasn't just that they stoped talking, it was more like they just forgot at all that there was even a missing student, not even the ones that used to be your friends were talking about it anymore, and that just made him feel more and more anxious

Teru knows that the powers of the supernaturals may vary, and that there have being diferent supernaturals that can affect the humans world in dangerous ways, and even when he had being avoiding to think about it he had no other option than to accept that the supernatural that have attacked you has also the power to manipularte the humans world to erradicated your existance, making everyone else just forget about you, but not him, Teru isn't someone that will be fulled by a supernatural trick (specially if you are the one who had being affected), he still remember you and he will work really hard to bring you back and made that supernatural pay

From that day Teru's life become more messy and stressful, his siblings grow quite concern by seeing him so in the edge all the time, being a little more messy but aggresive while fighting because he want to end quick and go back to his search, people around him had heard a few times now asks about someone they have never heard about, even Akane can admit that he had been not paying the same attention to him, even if he tries to mess with Teru he just put him out of his way

It was a while now since people around him noticed how Teru seem to be distracted or even troubled by something, even when he insist that he is fine is obvious how his mind wander around, and the more time it pass the stranger it gets because is all of the sudden that seems that slowly Teru start to goe back to the normal by nor being so distracted all the time, but even if in the exterior he seems to start going back to his normal self he is far from being okay, every day it pass he just get more and more confused and anxious

In his mind started to wander the weak memory of a voice that he doesn't reconize, calling him by his name, and even if he doesn't remeber where he had heard it he can feel himself feeling quite happy and nostalgic, he had catch himself on the school waiting for someone even when he doesn't really is that close to anyone to actually go out of his way to spend time with. Also there is this weird sensation of having to find a supernatural when doing his exorsist job, no matter how much supernaturals he fight that sensation of having to find one in particular never leaves him, and it frustrate him even more because he knows that is something really important, he feels angry at that one even when he doesn't really know who it is

The more time it pass the more he feels his heart heavy and just hurt more and more, Teru feels a huge emptiness inside him, as if he was forgeting something, something really important, as if something was missing and their absence was creating an immense empty space but not matter how much he tries to fill it up or even remember what is missing he just can't remember, is like if his body remember it and show it by the inmense feeling of emptiness and even the guilt for forgeting, but no matter how much he tries his mind just can't remember, even when he knows it was something important his mind can't understand what it was

[sturniolos-blog]

Adopted - Sturniolo little sister fic

so i am not taking credit for this whatsoever, @sturniololoco is to take credit for this and i love her work so i hope this is okay. (lmk if it’s not) But i thought of this request and wanted to act on it myself, i don’t believe this is already a fic.

this fic is for anyone who is not white or is of a different race, for example i am hispanic and mixed but deal with lots a racism and get called the n word, so this is a fic about being the sturniolos little sister but dealing with racism.

warning: swearing, complete racism, use of the n word but censored out, mentions of fighting and blood

im only writing this to give examples of real life, no harm is meant to be done ‼️

the reader will take place as a teenager, younger mostly maybe early teens.

enjoy !

—————————

Being mixed was hard, especially going to a practically all white school with maybe a few kids of a different race there.

I knew i would eventually have to feel with racism, especially since my older brothers are white and im adopted, but i didn’t know it would be this bad.

I snapped out of my thoughts as i was going to walk towards my group of friends but some girl stops me, monica, no one likes her, she’s literally the talk of the school, we used to be best friends but she was really fake, and she talks to me sometimes, we aren’t tight but we definitely don’t hate each other,

“Hey, it’s your month.” She smirked at me.

I scoffed, “What?” My face turning to a confused one as i looked at her, people walking through the hallways trying to get to their next class.

“Black history month,” She laughed.

“The fuck did you just say to me?” I got in her face as the hallways were clearing.

“Get to class guys!” A teacher yelled before walking in her class room.

Monica began to walk away, i grabbed her arm though, “Finish what you were saying, say it again and see what happens.”

“It’s your month, you fucking weirdo, you’re family is not even your color you’re not even supposed to be with them, no wonder they don’t show you in videos they’re probably too embarrassed to have someone who is dark as fu-”

I cut her off with a shove, her back that had her backpack on it was slammed into the locker.

“Say it again!” I dared her, dropping my bag on the ground.

“You’re a fucking n***** and a sp*c.” She said in my face, i lost it.

I punched her in the face and shoved her again, she went to grab my hair but i grabbed her hand and pushed it back against the locker, kicking her knee before punching her in the face, her nose starting to bleed, she smacked me in the head but literally did nothing.

I grabbed her by her nasty old sweatshirt and swung her to hit the other set of lockers on the opposite wall, she let out a grunt,

“Ow!” She yelled loudly. She was on the ground with tears, not that she was crying but probably involuntary tears from the pain.

“Don’t try me.” I scoffed, grabbing my bag and starting to walk to my class, making it in to spanish.

“Why are you late?” My spanish teacher, Ms.Gonzalez asked.

“I got the schedules mixed up, sorry, it won’t happen again.” I apologized.

“That’s fine.” She said, Ms. Gonzalez was a nice teacher, let everything slide, sort of dumb too but that’s okay.

I went and sat at my desk, shit.

I totally forgot Monica is in this class.

Where is she?

I thought to myself before pulling out my spanish stuff.

“Hey, you okay?” My friend Aliyah leaned over and asked me,

“Yep.” I smiled.

———————————————————

About 15 minutes go by and the phone rings, Ms.Gonzalez answers, picking up the phone,

“Hello?” She asks, getting some sort of answer before she looked around the room, her eyes stopped on me, “Yep, i have her.” She smiled.

I tried to focus on my spanish work, but-

“Y/n? they need you down in the office, bring your stuff.” She said.

I sighed and nodded, packing my stuff up, Aliyah looks at me confused,

“Don’t worry about it.” I whispered before leaving the classroom.

I got down to the office and i saw Matt, Chris, and Nick all sitting there. God, that’s embarrassing.

I opened the office doors and smiled at them, but soon dropped my smile as they all gave me death glares, even Matt, which was crazy because he was supposed to be the nice chill brother.

Matt’s knee was bouncing up and down and he was biting his nails, slouched slightly. Nick was on his phone, biting his lip and Chris was sat with his head back, up at the ceiling.

I see my principle walk out from his office, chris sitting up, nick putting his phone down and matt not slouching anymore.

“May i speak with one of you?” He points at my brothers, mom and dad must be at work.

Matt sits up, “You can talk to me.” He smiles, standing up.

My principle nods, “Great, right this way.”

My principle turns to me first, “Go see Ms.Lee, she wants to talk to you.” He says, talking about the vice principle. My principle was a very nice guy, but i wasn’t the best student ever so you’d find me in the office sometimes, but i usually talked to Ms.Lee, she was a nice lady, i usually filled her in on drama.

Matt and My principle walk into my principles office and he shuts the door.

I see Ms.Lee come out of her office and point at me, a disappointed look on her face, she makes the ‘come here’ motion with her finger.

I give one last glance to chris and nick before walking to her office and sitting down, she shuts the door and walks back behind her desk, sitting down and sighing.

“Whats up, Ms.L?” I laugh.

She gives me that look and i immediately stopped.

“Sorry,” I coughed.

“What were you thinking? Monica already told me the whole story so don’t even think about lying, i mean come on you argue with everyone i get that but hands on fighting? That’s absolutely crazy coming from you, y/n” She said, shaking her head.

“She called me the N word, called me a spic, told me it was my month, said i don’t even belong in my family!” I defended myself.

My vice principle went to talk but i cut her off, “I obviously know fighting is bad and i would usually never hit first.” I clarified, Ms.Lee rolled her eyes.

“-But that really hurt, bad. Plus, actions speak louder than words so,” I shrugged, leaning back in my seat.

“She told us you went crazy on her for nothing.” Ms.Lee said quietly.

“On my life, what i told you is what happened. She was being mad racist towards me.” I said.

Ms.Lee nodded, “You’re suspended for a week, i’m sorry but you drew blood.” Ms.Lee shook her head.

“Okay, does she get anything?” I asked, my knee bouncing up and down.

Ms.Lee hesitated, “We-” she sighed and looked down, “The most we can give her is an in school suspension, maybe two days.”

My mouth dropped, “Ms.L, you’re kidding.” I scoffed. “You understand how unfair this is, right?”

“Yes, but we can’t do much, we don’t have audio from the camera, all we see is you talking and then you shoving her and punching her in the face,” Ms.Lee said softly.

“But- i- i only-” I teared up and shook my head, “This is bullshit.” I whispered.

Ms.L nodded, “I know, honey. I’m sorry.” She said, a knock then came on her door, it opened and it was my principle,

“Y/n, it’s time to go home now. We will see you next week.” He said.

I nodded, “Thanks.” I whispered, walking out.

Matt was standing up, his hands in his pockets, Nick and chris got up when they saw me,

“Ready, kid?” Chris put his hand on my back.

“Chris.” Matt scolded him as we walked out of the office.

We made it to the car and got in.

“On a scale of 1-10, how mad are you guys right now?” I cautiously asked.

Matt scoffed, Nick gave me a sad smile before looking out the window, and chris started to speak.

“Well, i’m actually not that- ow!” He got cut off by Matt hitting him in the arm as we pulled out of the schools parking lot.

I sighed and looked out the window, my fingers tapping on it slightly,

“Where’s mom and dad?” I asked.

“At work.” Matt said. His monotone voice giving me the chills.

“Okay, but do you even know what really happened because-”

“Y/n, shut up! You beat up a girl who just asked you for the homework answers, the fuck is wrong with you?!” Matt yelled harshly, he never yelled at me. Ever.

Tears welled up in my eyes, “Matt!” Nick yelled at him. “Don’t talk to her like that!”

“Calm down bro.” Chris patted Matt’s shoulder.

“That’s not what happened.” I said, my voice cracking.

“Then what happened, huh? Tell us, because your principle gave a very good explanation to us.” Matt said, making a right turn onto our street.

“She-” i took in a breath, i looked at the rearview mirror and see matt with his jaw clenched.

“She called me the n word, a spic, told me it was my month, and that i don’t belong in our family because im dark. She also said thats why you don’t show me in videos.” I said, playing with my hands.

Matt stopped the car as we pulled into our driveway.

“She what?” He turned around after turning the car off.

—————————

We got inside and i dropped my bag on the floor.

“Y/n, i’m sorry i had no idea-” Matt started.

“It’s okay,” I said as i took a seat at our island.

“Mom and dad are gonna be so mad.” I whimpered.

Nick put his hand on my shoulder, “We will talk to them. Promise.” He held out his pinky and i interlocked it, smiling at him.

“Great job defending yourself, y/n, not the best way you coulda gone but we are proud.” Chris said, Matt then gave nick and chris a look to give us a moment, so chris nodded kissing my forehead before him and nick walked to their rooms.

Matt sat next to me, “I’m sorry i freaked out. I love you, you know that right?” I nodded at his words.

“I’m sorry i disappointed you guys, it was so bad, matt, it hurt so much-” I let out a sob before he pulled me in for a hug, kissing my cheek and letting me cry in his chest, i heard him sniffle in my ear.

“You didn’t disappoint us, okay? We love you, so so much, nothing will change that. We don’t put you in our videos because you were to young, but your older now so you can be in as many as you want,” Matt pulled away from the hug and took my face in his hands.

“Okay? we love you, i love you. I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve any of that, you are a beautiful young girl, okay?” Matt whispered, i nodded and he kissed my head. Hugging me again.

Maybe it was okay to be adopted.

—————————

I wrote this in like an hour, i hope this was okay. And i hope you guys like it, love you!

Also, should i start a tag list?

[eddiemvnsonsbabymama]

Pussy Poppin

Pairing: Rick Grimes X Fem! Reader

Summary: Being in the apocalypse meant that you had no time for your husband, Rick Grimes, since he was too busy being a leader and you were too busy being his..”vice leader.” That meant that both of you were extremely busy during the day and didn’t have time for each other. However after you both have a free night, you both decide to spend that night in bliss. Or (in simpler terms) you and Rick fuck all night

THIS BLOG INCLUDES: praising, pure porn, doggy style, switching positions midway, dom!rick grimes, hickeys, p in v, eating out, ass gripping, pet names, absolutely filthy grimey disgusting smut, small angst, unprotected sex (wrap your dick so you won’t have a kid ☝️), cream pie

BEFORE READING: aaaaa so sorry for the 4 month long hiatus. went through some bad shit and to be fair, i forgot my account existed so it’s just meh y’know. also it’s been awhile since i’ve written smut but this is dedicated to my dear friend kiyah :)

You were totally and utterly exhausted. It had been a day after Alexandria was ran over by walkers, tearing apart every person they saw, but one brave soul had stepped in to clear them off: your husband, Rick Grimes. He was an incredible leader. You both hadn’t met before the apocalypse, but as the months went on, you became his right hand woman..then his wife. It happened in a span of a year after his first wife had died while giving birth to his newborn daughter and it sucked seeing your best friend in such a bad situation, even though everyone had counted on him. Hell, he killed his best friend so your group would sleep comfortably at night and wouldn’t have to worry about some psychopath going rampant after trying to kill Rick. That’s all that mattered in all honesty.

But nowadays, Rick didn’t have to worry about any psychopaths or cannibals ever since your group had arrived in Alexandria. Members of the group got their individual houses and you shared a house with Rick and his son, Carl. But work would only continue for you both within Alexandria and there was no time to relax or properly see each other. It was torturous, especially for you since you hadn’t loved anyone else as much as you loved Rick and when you didn’t see him as much in the day..well, it hurt. You would even wake up to an empty spot next to you on your shared bed, and you wondered if you can even call it a shared bed anyway since no one was inhabiting it.

You hummed softly as you tugged on an oversized shirt — Rick’s shirt since it was something that he’d probably wear — that stopped at your thighs and you sighed as you slipped on a pair of panties. You had recently showered so your damp hair was tied up to the nape of your neck and you walked from your room to down the hallway where Carl’s room was. You gently knocked, waiting for a response and you slowly opened the door to reveal the dark haired brunet laying on his bed with a comic on his lap. You peered only your head in with a soft smile and you waved. “Lights out in 15 minutes.” You playfully reminded, causing him to break out into a soft smile and he placed the comic book away.

“You think my dad is gonna come home tonight? I mean, he has to, right?” He asked you as you were about to walk back to your bedroom, but you stopped when you heard his question and your heart had dropped at his sentence. The same thing that you had told yourself countless times when you were alone those nights and you could merely shrug while offering a meek smile. “I hope so, sweetie. I really hope.” You reassured, watching as he was satisfied with your answer and you closed his bedroom door before you walked to your own bedroom. You were exhausted from how much work you had done in the day and you sighed as you turned off the lights within minutes within the shared bedroom before you crawled into the empty.

A few minutes later, you heard a click from Carl’s bedroom which put you at ease and you sighed as you closed your eyes before falling asleep. At this point, you had gotten used to the feeling of an empty bed, but it still didn’t stop the pang of hurt within your heart. Where even was your husband? Did he just..leave? Not like there’s anywhere to go, but it just sucked in general. As if your thoughts had been answered, a ghostly presence had over-loomed your arm and the sudden feeling of warm skin had made contact with yours. The familiar sensation had caused you to stir and you blinked as you tried to make out what had happened.

Instinctively, you called out,”Rick?” The bed had moved down, an inhabitant had taken up the empty space and you gasped softly as familiar, calloused hands had been placed over your cheeks. It was him. He was finally back. No words could express how happy you were to finally feel him since you had missed his touch so much and your lips had twisted into a smile as they pressed against his. He pulled away after awhile, laying his head into the crook of your neck and you felt the small stubble that took the entirety of his chin. “I’m sorry.” He rasped, his lips brushing against the hot flesh of your neck and you gently reached up to cup his cheeks, forcing him to look at you. There was a moment of silence, both of your breathing were mixed and you whispered,”You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

A thankful smile came across his face, causing him to lean forward and kiss you again. The first kiss was short yet sweet, but he pulled back to catch some air before he leaned in and kiss you again, except that he was more lustful with his kissing. You didn’t mind though because he was in your arms now and his hand reached towards your shirt before he pulled away, tugging on the hem. He looked up at you in the dark. “This my shirt?” Rick asked you, waiting for an answer and you couldn’t help, but sheepishly smile at his question. “Maybe.” You replied, causing him to chuckle softly and you immediately discarded your shirt, your nipples hardening from the cool air. You felt his lips kiss in between your breasts before they began to make a line down your stomach. Instinctively, your back arched from the lustful contact and you felt his teeth against your warm skin.

Your panties were pulled down past your knees, cold air hitting against your warm skin and you giggled softly when he placed your legs on either side of his head. “Is this your way of an apology?” You whispered, desperately trying not to moan from his kissing on either side of your inner thighs and the man stopped for a moment or two. “I guess so.” He answered, a small smile coming onto his face and you smiled too before you felt pleasure take over your body when his lips had wrapped around your clit. You almost gasped, but you quickly cover your mouth with your hand and your free hand grabbed ahold of his gray locks, causing a groan from him as you felt his tongue move further down.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you moaned softly, one of his toned arms wrapped around your thigh and his other hand had pressed against your pelvis to prevent you from squirming. His nose was pressed against your clit as he firmly moved his tongue up and down your folds before finally paying attention to your throbbing pussy. You tried hard to be quiet, but with the kitten licks he was doing and the feeling of his stubble against your thighs almost made you burst. “Fuck.” You cried out softly, hoping the lewd noises wouldn’t wake up the people within the house and you jolted your hips when you felt the pad of his thumb play with your clit. You moaned at the new sensation, his hand continuing its firm placement down on your pelvis and felt your orgasm beginning to come. “Rick, Rick, fuck — I’m close.” You said, your eyes were squeezed shut and your orgasm began to approach faster when the flick of his tongue began to gain speed with more rhythm.

Wet sounds emitted from his mouth as he continued to eat you out, causing a hazy sensation to take over your body as your back arched and you tilted your head back into the pillows. His tongue continued to speed up and your orgasm was steadily approaching, but he suddenly pulled away which made the warm feeling disappear and he grabbed your hips forward. “Get on your hands and knees.” He said, sounding out of breath and the sound of a belt unbuckling made you even more excited as you positioned yourself on your knees, your hands grabbing onto the panel end of the bed.

The mattress sunk from behind you, causing your stomach to burst with butterflies and you yelped when he had a firm grip on your hips, your ass near his pelvis as you awaited for the familiar penetration. His calloused hands moved upward, his fingers gripping the flesh of your ass and you anxiously waited for him. You gasped when he slammed hard into you, catching you by surprise that you almost fell forward if his grip hadn’t tightened and you sighed as he began roughly thrusting into you, the flesh of your ass hit against his pelvis. Soft groans emitted from him as you moaned softly, trying your best to be quiet for a second time at that point.

“You’re doing so good, honey.” He praised with his gruff voice, digging his fingers deeper into your flesh and you moaned at his praise alone. Hearing those words from him made your heart throb and you continued to moan when his thrusting picked up pace, the headband starting to creak against the wall. “That’s it. Just relax.” He said, leaning over you to kiss your spine which made you shudder and all you could do was meekly nod. Your head was dizzy and hazy from earlier events, but you were suddenly free from that feeling when he began pounding harder into you.

The headboard banged against the wall, your moans and his gruff groans, and the sound of skin slapping filled the room as he relentlessly pounded into you with no remorse. You had gripped the bedsheets so hard that your knuckles were turning white and your body had bounced with every rough thrust he did, pleasure consuming your body. “Oh, fuck. Fuck.” You whined, squeezing your eyes shut and your moans began to grow louder as his nails dug harder into your skin. “Rick, I’m close. I’m close.” You reminded him, breathing heavily and you gasped when he turned you around, laying you on your back before placing your leg onto his shoulder.

He continued with his hard thrusts, his groans were louder than before and through the darkness, you could see the tip of his cock in your lower stomach. He was deep into you, leaning forward to groan into your ear and it felt like hours as he continued fucking you; having to stop twice to hold back his orgasm and he still continued as your chest began to rapidly rise and fall. “Rick, Rick, please.” You pleaded, your head dizzy from how good he felt in you and sweat began to form at both of your foreheads. He looked down at you, seeing at how fucked out you looked which drove him insane and his thrusts grew faster.

The speed made your orgasm wash over, your pussy clenching around his cock as you arched your back and your moans came spluttering as he continued to roughly fucking you through your orgasm. “That’s it, honey. You’re doing so well for me.” He breathily praised, his hips still thrusting into you before he came with a loud groan, cum spilt into your stomach and he felt his arms slightly grow weak as you both breathed heavily. He slowly pulled out, his cock still emitting strings of cum from your pussy and he groaned as he placed the pad of his thumb on the entrance of your pussy. “We’re not done yet.”

You were so fucked out of your mind that you didn’t even catch onto his sentence and you tilted your head to the side in confusion. You might’ve thought that you made up what he said. “Wha—What?” You asked, your mouth going dry and you watched as his silhouette towered over you. “I said. We aren’t done yet.” And then you sighed in exhaustion. This was going to be a long night.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

[cozage]

Made for Two

A/N: Should there be a part three? Let me know. But also kjdsfshdfh;elihfsd;hfdfdfrukhjdslfh I loved writing this. I almost cried a few times at how disgustingly sweet it is. 

Characters: gn reader x Sanji

Cw: some angst and sadness, reader going through a breakup :(

Total word count: 3.3k Brief Summary: You thought Zoro was the only person for you, but after a bad breakup, a certain cook attempts to cheer you up.

Part One &lt; | > Part Four | Masterlist

Recipe for Two

Your fingers outstretched, seeking the warmth of another body on this chilly morning. You must’ve arrived near a winter island overnight, and the heating system hadn’t kicked on yet. Your hands came back empty, and you resisted the urge to cry. 

You remembered yesterday, Sanji’s kindness and his delectable food he had served up just for you. You remembered how he climbed into bed the night before and you curled into him, falling asleep easily for the first time in days. 

But he was gone now, and his warmth was too. You opened your eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them, trying to shake the disappointment of being alone again. 

You got up and changed into a new, warmer outfit for a new, colder day. It wasn’t until you stood at your door that you realized you couldn’t leave. Leaving meant facing Zoro. And you weren’t ready to see his mossy hair or his tanned skin yet. But leaving also meant seeing Sanji. Your hand rested on the door handle, weighing your options of stepping into the light or hiding in the darkened room. 

A double knock came from the other side of the door, making the decision for you. You swung the door open, meeting the blue eyes of your favorite cook. He looked surprised that you answered so quickly, but a smile quickly spread across his face when he saw you. 

“Morning,” he said, holding up a silver platter. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, but I brought breakfast.”

You smiled at him and stepped aside to let him into your room, but he stayed where he was outside your door. 

“I thought we could eat out on the deck today,” he offered, glancing outside. Your heart pounded in your chest at the thought.

He must’ve seen the panic in your eyes, because you saw his face fall slightly as he watched you waiver. 

“I suppose that would be okay,” you say hesitantly. The last thing you wanted to do was be out in the open for a long period of time, but Sanji made you feel safe. All you had to do was focus on him, and you’d be okay. 

The sun was still low in the sky when you walked onto the deck, and a piece of you breathed a sigh of relief. Zoro would still be sleeping for at least a little while longer. It would be unlikely that you would run into him if you could finish breakfast fast enough. 

Sanji directed you over to a table on the grass that was under the shade of the tree. Freshly squeezed orange juice sat in two glasses, and he pulled the chair out for you to take a seat. He placed the silver tray in front of you, removing its lid, and sat across from you. His own plate had food on it this morning, and you smiled at the change from last night. 

“You set the table for two today,” you say, looking at his plate. 

“You shouldn’t have to eat alone,” he returned your smile and raised his glass. 

You mirrored him, clinking your all’s drinks together, and took a sip before digging into the breakfast he had prepared for you.

“Ah,” Sanji said softly, looking around. “I forgot something in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” He got up quickly and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving you alone. 

You could hear footsteps on the deck above you, and your heart quickened as you heard them descend down the steps. Your eyes stay fixated on the food in front of you, scared at who you might find if you look up. 

“Y/N!” Nami’s voice pierced the air, and you felt your muscles relax at her voice. 

You looked up just in time to see the tangerine haired girl drop into the seat across from you. She casually grabbed a piece of bacon off of Sanji’s plate and began snacking on it. “How are you doing?”

“I’m…” You stop for a moment, trying to think about how to best answer that question. “I’m okay, I think.”

The navigator’s eyes light up at your answer. A smile flickers across her face, and she takes a drink of the orange juice sitting in front of her. 

“Really?” Her eyes slide over to the entrance of the kitchen, but she doesn’t say anything further. 

You laugh slightly and roll your eyes at her implication. “It’s not like that, Nami.”

“Oh, it’s not?” She lets out a loud and piercing laugh. “I heard he didn’t go back to the boys cabin last night. You’ve been around Sanji almost as long as I have, and you really think its-”

You hear a door swing open behind you, and she pauses. 

“It’s not!” You cry out, taking the opportunity to defend yourself. You turn around to find the cook, trying to get someone else on your side. “Sanji, will you please tell Nami that nothing happened last-”

You find moss hair instead of blonde, and you’re stunned into silence. You lock eyes with the swordsman for a few seconds, before he cuts his eyes to the table and food in front of you. 

“Unbelievable,” he muttered under his breath, turning away from you and Nami. You can feel your cheeks pink at the implication of his words. He slinks away, climbing up into the crow's nest.

“Good morning to you too,” Nami huffs at him under her breath, leaning back in the chair. “He’s been like that since…” she trails off, realizing her error.

You stare at your eggs, having suddenly lost your appetite. You hear a door swing open and the familiar click of Sanji’s shoes across the wood of the Sunny, but you can’t bring yourself to look at him. 

Sanji’s sweet voice comes from behind you as he approaches. “I was thinking we could make macarons today, like we talked about?”

You hear his words, but you don’t respond. You can’t bring yourself to break your gaze away from the eggs on your plate. You hear the hatch slam shut from the crow’s nest above and you flinch at the sharp sound. A moment later, blaring music filled the air. 

“Stupid marimo,” the cook hisses. You can see him and Nami exchange glances with each other. “Do you want-”

“I’m fine,” you snap, blinking away the tears that were misting your eyes. You grab some toast from your plate and shove it into your mouth, painfully aware of Sanji and Nami’s eyes on you while you do it. 

The three of you sat in silence with only Zoro’s music to fill the air. Nami picked at her plate while Sanji lit another cigarette, and you did your best to eat despite the overwhelming urge to throw it up. 

“You don’t have to finish it,” Sanji said, watching you struggle. 

You didn’t respond. You just kept eating. You were thankful for Sanji’s grace, but you knew how much he hated wasting food. Thankfully Luffy saved you. He zoomed by, saw the food, and made a quick u-turn back to the table. 

“Sanjiiiiii,” he whined, looking at the spread laid before you and Nami. 

“You can have it,” you said, pushing the plate away from you and standing to your feet. Luffy didn’t seem to notice your mood as you walked away from the table, and he dug into the food you had abandoned with blissful glee. 

Sanji stepped forward and reached for your arm. “Do you want-“

“I’m not feeling well actually,” you said, dodging his advance to make a beeline for your room. “I’m just gonna go back to bed.” 

You stopped for a moment at the door, and turned around one last time. “Thank you for the meal, Sanji. It really was amazing.”

He smiled at you and nodded. “I’ll call you for lunch.”

You shook your head. “A knock will be fine.” And with that, you left the deck of the Sunny and returned to your darkened room. 

At lunchtime, a double knock came at your door once, and then again. Your eyes flicked over to the door, illuminated by the soft glow of the new fairy lights strewn around your room. But you stayed in your bed, safe under the covers. One more double knock came, but after a moment, you heard the soft click of Sanji's shoes receding away from your room. 

He knocked at tea time, and again at dinner, but you never got out of bed to answer him. Every time you heard him knock, a piece of you begged to get up and meet him halfway. But you could never get your body to move the way your mind wanted you to.

You didn’t cry. Not as much as you thought you would. You had a bit of a meltdown after breakfast, but it seemed like you had run out of tears since then. Now you were stuck in a state of immobility. Incapable of moving, incapable of caring. 

A few hours after dinner, a double knock came again. It came again, and then a third and fourth time. 

“Are you hungry?” a soft voice asked through the door after the fourth knock.

“No.”

He waited a moment before speaking again. “Do you want…company?”

You hesitated. You did want Sanji to stay with you. But you also didn’t. The whole thing was very confusing and entirely too much for you to process right now. 

“Y/N?” The cook called from the other side of the door. 

“No.” 

The reservoir of tears must’ve refilled at some point, because they spilled out onto your pillow as you heard his footsteps retreat from your room.

You tossed and turned for hours, the bed feeling too big to be alone in. You finally gave up on trying to sleep and got up to find something to eat. You wrapped yourself in a blanket and tiptoed out of your room onto the deck. It was still freezing outside, the winter climate lingering.

You were surprised to see the kitchen light on, and you peeked inside the window to see who was up at this late hour. 

Sanji’s back was to you, leaning onto the counter. He was reading the News Coo, an unlit cigarette held in his hand. 

Your hand raised to the door. Your knuckles rapped against the door twice, and you saw him tense at the sound. When he turned, he found your figure peering through the porthole and he smiled at you. 

Your heart soared as he rose from the chair and walked to the door, unbolting the lock he had in place during the night. He opened the door and held it for you as you walked in.

You walked towards the fridge, looking for something to snack on to ease your hunger. You hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which was your own stupid fault, but maybe you could find something to hold you over until tomorrow. 

“What are you doing?” Sanji asked. You could hear the snap of his lighter, and the familiar smell of fresh cigarette smoke filled the air. 

“I’m just going to grab a small snack, if that's okay.”

“No, it’s not okay,” he said sharply. You froze at his words, trying to understand. Was he really going to punish you so harshly for not eating any of his cooking today?

“Sit,” he said, walking over to the stove. “I’ll make you something.”

“You don’t have to-”

“I know.” He sighed, pulling out some pots and pans. “But I want to. For you.”

You stood in the middle of the kitchen, dumbfounded at his response. He was being so kind to you, after you had avoided him all day and hadn’t even eaten the food he had worked so hard to make for you. He set the pots and pans down on the prep counter and turned, pausing to look at you. 

You stood there staring at each other for a few moments before he smiled at you. You searched for it, but there was no hostility behind his eyes. Only kindness.

“I need to get to the fridge,” he whispered, still smiling down at you. You blinked, suddenly aware of your position in the room. You shuffled quickly to the side, allowing him access to the refrigerator. 

“Sit down, my love. Please.” Sanji hadn’t called you that pet name since you and Zoro broke up, and it took you by surprise. You couldn’t deny that it sounded nice rolling off his lips. 

You did as instructed, and you silently sat and watched him cook. Sanji worked silently as well, the only sound that filled the air was boiling water and the chopping of ingredients. 

He ladled out two bowls of soup, placing one in front of you and the other in front of himself. 

“Why soup?” 

He smiled and took a drag from his cigarette, deep in thought. You brought a spoon to your lips, blowing gently on it while waiting for an answer.

“My mom used to make it for me,” he finally said. He looked down at his bowl as if he were trying to recall an old memory. “Whenever I wasn’t feeling well.”

It was the first time you had heard him mention anything from his childhood. Sanji talked a lot about the Baratie and Zeff when people asked, but he hadn’t mentioned his life before that much. And he certainly never mentioned his mother. 

“Did she teach you how to cook?” you asked, trying to tread lightly. 

Sanji chuckled softly to himself, as if he were thinking about a joke only he would understand. 

“No, that was Zeff. But she always supported my dream to be a chef. She ate everything I made.” You could hear his voice growing thick, as if he might start crying. “She was amazing.”

She was amazing. You tried to ignore the use of past tense in Sanji’s words, but it was obvious that it was painful for him to think about her. You allow the spoon to pass through your lips and take a taste. Flavor fills your mouth, equally bold as it is comforting. 

“I can see why she made it. It’s delightful.” You grab another spoonful and bring it to your lips, hoping this one will cool faster than the last. 

Sanji smiled, finally looking up from his bowl at you. His mood lightened and his enthusiasm returned to him. 

“Yeah!” He agreed. “It really is delicious, isn’t it? I love to make it, but it never turns out right when you try to make a big pot to share with everyone. It's a smaller, more intimate meal. It’s really just made for two.”

“You and your mom?”

He nods. “And now for me and you.”

You return his smile with one of your own, and you eat the rest of your meal in silence. You can’t help but thank the universe for working out to place this eager blonde cook on the same ship as you on this vast ocean. You didn’t understand how someone like Sanji could exist, but you were thankful for him nonetheless. 

When you finished your bowl, he took it from you and placed it in the sink. He ran water to start the dishes, and began cleaning up the rest of the kitchen. 

“Are you still hungry?” He asked, looking at you.

“No, no,” you say quickly, not wanting him to burden himself further. “That was perfect actually. Your mom knows what she’s doing.”

He smiled at you, but you catch a glimpse of sadness in his eyes as he turns away, and you silently curse yourself for bringing up his mother again. 

“Can I help with anything?” you ask, trying to recover from your slip up. 

“I’ve got it, thank you though. You should get to bed.”

You bite your lip and watch him stack up the dishes in the sink before he turns back to begin wiping down the counters. You really don’t want to go back to your room. And you’ve been alone all day, you’d rather not return to it yet. 

You walk over to the sink, and begin to scrub at the bowls with the sponge.

“You don’t have to-”

“I know,” you say. “But I want to. For you.”

You can see his cheeks redden at your comment, but he says nothing. The two of you silently clean up together, enjoying each other's company while doing your own tasks. 

When you both finish, you walk out onto the deck together. Sanji turns off the kitchen light and locks the door to discourage your captain from sneaking in for a midnight snack, and the two of you are plunged into the inky darkness of the night. Only a few soft lights shine on the deck now, and you can see thousands of stars in the sky above you. 

You gasp in surprise, and softly touch Sanji’s arm to get his attention. 

“It’s beautiful!” you whisper, excitement in your voice. 

“Indeed,” Sanji says, watching you. “Should I turn out the lights so we can see better?”

You nod, and the two of you walk around to extinguish the lights on the deck. You return to the grassy area and lay down next to each other, your eyes to the sky. The cold was already nipping at your nose, but you ignored it.

“Do you think we’ll see a shooting star?” you ask, looking over at the cook. 

He chuckles. “Maybe if you keep your eyes on the sky.”

Your gaze returns to the stars, looking for any sign of movement. After a few minutes of nothing, Sanji sighs in defeat. 

“We should get to bed,” he says sadly. “It’s too cold out here for us to stay much longer.”

“A few more minutes!” you beg in a hushed tone. You scoot closer to him and lay your head on his shoulder, desperate for warmth.

“Alright, alright.” He wraps his arm around you to get comfortable, and you snuggle further into him. Your eyes are still on the sky, but you can feel your cheeks warm from being so close to him again. 

You sit in silence for a few more minutes, waiting for any sign of movement in the sky. Your fingers and toes feel numb, and you can see your breath, but you’re determined to find one shooting star before you have to go inside. 

“There!” you cry out, and you watch a star streak across the sky.

“Make a wish,” Sanji mutters, and you can hear his teeth chattering through his words. 

You wished for warmer weather, for a night where the cold didn’t force you two inside away from each other and the beauty of the sky above you. 

But it didn’t come, and the two of you got up and turned on all of the lights that you had extinguished and quietly tiptoed back into the cabin area. 

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Sanji said, his teeth still chattering. He started to walk towards the boys room. 

“Sanji?” you called, and you saw him pause and turn back to you. 

“Yes?”

“Can I request company? Or is it too late?” You asked. You were thankful for the darkness and the cold. It hid the blush that rushed to your cheeks.

“It’s never too late for that, my love. Let me change and I’ll be over.”

You nod and return to your room, changing into warm pajamas to stay comfortable through the night. Two knocks came at your door, and you opened the door quietly to let him in. 

You crawled into bed, and he followed you. He pulled you into him without remorse, and his freezing fingers sent shivers down your back. 

“Are you as cold as I am?” he whispered to you softly. 

“Freezing.” Your cold feet rubbed against his legs to prove your point, and he stifled a laugh and he pulled his legs away from your assault. 

“Rude!” He whispered back to you, but he pulled you close to him and held you tight. He returned his legs back to their place, intertwined with yours. “Sweet dreams, my love.”

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x45 - Clash of the Ultimate Levels! WarGreymon vs. MetalGarurumon / The Ultimate Clash

Previously on Digimon Adventure: In a fit of insecurity, Yamato stormed off to go talk to manosphere bros who filled his brain with the most toxic rhetoric you could imagine. Meanwhile, Pinocchimon stamped his foot and started a shit-slinging contest because Takeru wouldn't play with him and ended up getting shit on his face.

Now, the Ultimate Clash of Ultimate Levels begins... Ultimately!

Hoping the kids at home forgot where we left off, we open in a very different position for MetalGarurumon. When last we saw them, Yamato was with the kids while MetalGarurumon was quite a ways away, challenging Agumon to fight.

Apparently what he meant by "I won't miss the next shot" was that there wasn't gonna be a next shot, 'cause he was gonna turn and walk over to Yamato's side as soon as the camera was off him.

Takeru: Onii-chan.... Jou: Q-Quit joking around, Yamato! We're nakama, aren't we!? Yamato: Nakama? Jou: That's right, nakama! The nakama of Chosen Children! Yamato: Hmph. Then here's a question. Who was it that chose us? Jou: It was.... Yamato: If you can't answer that, then how can you call us nakama? Jou: (sheepish) Okay, sure, but....

Jou tries so hard to Senpai this away but Yamato, armed with new Debate Bro artillery, DESTROYS SENPAI in the arena of logic.

In seriousness, Yamato does raise a good point here. The nakama in question are a bunch of children forced together, drafted to fight a war by a mysterious someone that to date has not revealed themselves.

Nakama, the tight-knit bond of a group of people pursuing a mutual activity or goal, is their principle bond with one another. They weren't friends before this. Some individual relationships existed between them; mainly the two sets of siblings and the soccer club kids. But their principle relationship is that of being survivors and siblings-in-arms in this conflict that none of them volunteered for.

You can see the subtitles struggling with the hard-to-translate nature of nakama here. "We're Chosen Children so that makes us friends" doesn't really compute as a line of logic; What he's saying is that being Chosen Children is the mutual activity that our nakama is formed around.

Probably should have gone with "team" for nakama's translation here rather than "friends". This dialogue would have been way easier to translate that way. "Team" doesn't apply to all forms of nakama; The martial arts nakama of Dragon Ball are only occasionally a team. But for shonen protag crews, it's often a good choice.

So Yamato here makes a painfully solid argument: If the foundation of their nakama is shaky than what really are they to one another? "We have to get along because we're Chosen Children" explain to me what that means. Jou can't, because their superiors have been withholding information every step along the way. They've been handled like grunts, given intel purely on a need-to-know basis.

The dub can't resist giving Tai the first word in this conversation he's not yet a part of.

Tai: Calm down, Matt! Don't get so bent out of shape! The last thing we need right now is a hothead with attitude! You've got more important things to think about! T.K.: Everyone's upset. Joe: Look, all I know is that this stupid bickering is giving me a gigantic headache! Matt: Chill out. Joe: Matt, have you forgotten that we have been chosen to be the DigiDestined? Matt: Hmph! And would you mind telling me who exactly chose us for this dumb job anyway!? Joe: I... Uh.... Matt: Come on! I want some answers and you can't seem to give 'em to me! Joe: You have a point there....

As with the end of the previous episode, the vibe is totally changed. In the original, the other kids are shocked and stunned that Yamato is turning on them, and were struggling to even form sentences, but in the dub they fully comprehended what was happening and were outraged by it.

We see that here too. Tai's extra line to kick us off is a full-scale browbeating of Matt for his audacity, with Takeru's stunned "Onii-chan...." changed to back up Tai.

The problem of nakama rears its head here too; They don't even try to make "We're the nakama of Chosen Children" work. They leave any possible interpretation of nakama out completely.

But the dub's version also struggles with the original decision to change Chosen Children to DigiDestined. Destiny doesn't necessarily imply an active individual making choices on their behalf; It can, but it can just as easily be something mystical and unknowable.

Matt would sound goofy trying to say "Yeah, and WHO DESTINED US HUH!?!?"

So Joe's forced to say "We were chosen to be DigiDestined" to allow Matt to pivot to Yamato's armor-piercing "Who chose us?" question. But with the change in vibe, he just sounds whiny. It lacks the power of the original, especially when he follows up and yells at Joe about wanting answers to something that... Like. Didn't have anything to do with his beef until this exact moment.

With Jou soundly defeated, it's Taichi's turn to step in.

Taichi: Jou. There's no point trying to resolve this. Yamato is this kind of guy. Yamato: "This kind of guy"...? You don't know anything about me! Taichi: I do know you! You're just throwing a tantrum because things aren't going the way you want them to. Yamato: (sarcastic) Well, aren't you incredible? Even I don't really understand the kind of person I am, but you know me perfectly!

Of course, Taichi's involvement only serves to escalate matters because Taichi isn't really the "talking things down" kind of guy. His brand of bold recklessness isn't well-suited to de-escalating a tense situation.

Sora steps in to try and be the peacemaker as usual.

Sora: That's enough of that, you two. Taichi: You don't have to tell me that! Yamato's the one picking a fight with me!

Taichi reacts defensively to Sora's scolding, childishly throwing down the "He started it!" line. (In his defense, he is a child. They all are.) He's not wrong but he was escalating it, which is why Sora angled that remark at the both of them.

In the dub:

Tai: Don't waste your time, Joe. Matt's just being a big, spoiled brat! Matt: You're the brat! Why don't you go mind your own business!? Tai: The problem with you is pretty easy to figure out! You're upset because you want to be the boss! Matt: Yeah, like I want to be the boss of THIS sorry group. If any of you brainiacs want to take charge, be my guest. I say we should just take care of ourselves! Sora: Stop fighting, you two! We've got to stick together! Tai: Don't look at me! Matt's the one who started it! He's got a bug up his nose!

The bug goes up his butt but I guess they couldn't get that past the censors.

Matt's still off-script, now advocating directly for dissolving the team entirely and having everyone go their separate ways. This is rooted in the individualist rhetoric that Jureimon fed Yamato; It's what the "Okay but are we even really a nakama?" bit was about.

It's not so far off from the opinions he claimed to have when he was talking to Takeru back at the breaking of the fellowship in the PicoDevimon arc, though his actions towards Jou betrayed his professed opinions then. As Yamato said, he doesn't even understand himself.

"Why don't you go mind your own business?" Matt. My dude. I know new episode who dis but this argument is about you wanting to fight Tai. This is, without question, Tai's business. What is this line?

The argument also (sigh) makes this about who gets to be Team Leader again. A topic that has nothing to do with anything Taichi and Yamato have ever locked horns about.

In any case, something about Yamato attacking him is making Taichi feel attacked so he tries to storm off.

Taichi: I don't have to listen to this! (storms off) Agumon: You've grown up, Taichi!

I'm not 100% sure what Agumon means by that but I think he's complimenting Taichi for "being the bigger person" so to speak and walking away from this. Unfortunately, MetalGarurumon isn't going to let Taichi opt out.

MetalGarurumon: That's not happening!

MetalGarurumon leaps over Taichi and Agumon's heads, landing on the opposite side to block their exit.

Taichi: This is going too far, Yamato! Yamato: Fight me! Taichi: I told you no! Don't you understand that!? MetalGarurumon: (angry) YOU'RE THE ONES WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! Taichi: (startled) A-Are you serious!? Agumon: (steps in front of Taichi) Taichi, stay back!

When MetalGarurumon snaps, he doesn't just yell at Taichi; He directs that at omae-tachi, using the plural suffix -tachi to direct that statement at everyone.

In the dub, Agumon doesn't give Tai credit for his maturity because he's stuck on Tai's misused phrase.

Tai: Hmph! I don't have to listen to this! Agumon: Bug up the nose? That's a bad thing? (Tai and Agumon exit) MetalGarurumon: One moment! (MetalGarurumon jumps in front of them) Tai: WAUGH!!! Don't push me too far! Matt: Oh, I'm scaaaaaared. Tai: You had better be scared! I'm getting really mad! MetalGarurumon: Excuuuuuse me, but what are you gonna do about it?

Taichi here reiterates his refusal to fight Yamato, while Tai starts pushing back and threatening to throw down as an intimidation tactic. But you can't intimidate someone who's already made up his mind to fight you. Tai's threatening Matt with a good time.

The dub here inserts the cut shot of Pinocchimon back up on his tree perch that they carved out of the ending of last episode.

Puppetmon: So! Those little twerps are about to self-destruct! I'll just sit back and enjoy the show!

This is their segue for breaking up the conversation and cutting to commercial. When we come back to commercial, we rejoin MetalGarurumon in the shot from the last line he delivered.

MetalGarurumon: STAY RIGHT THERE!!! Tai: Get real, dude! Agumon: (steps in front of Tai) Watch it! Stand back!

From here, MetalGarurumon lunges at Taichi and Agumon. This is enough to finally push Agumon into Warp-Evolving to WarGreymon. Show Me Your Brave Heart does not play over this evolution sequence; There is nothing to get amped up about in this.

WarGreymon deflects MetalGarurumon's pounce.

WarGreymon: Stop it! There's no reason to fight! MetalGarurumon: You may not have one, but I do!

MetalGarurumon tackles WarGreymon, shoving him back. WarGreymon takes to the sky above, with MetalGarurumon following him up. There, in the sky, the fight begins.

WarGreymon opens with a sweeping kick, though the metallic sound his attack makes on impact leaves it ambiguous as to whether he did any damage. MetalGarurumon retaliates by biting him in the elbow, sinking his fangs into WarGreymon's exposed flesh and prompting him to roar in pain.

In the dub:

WarGreymon: There is no need for us to fight. MetalGarurumon: I must.

This time it's the dub's turn to have MetalGarurumon resigned and matter-of-fact while the original is aggressive and pushy. A funny reversal from the start of their conflict last episode.

Yamato watches the fighting above them. Suddenly, Taichi marches up to him.

Yamato: Finally ready to fight me?

Taichi answers Yamato's question with a punch to the face.

Taichi: Do you understand why I hit you? Yamato: Yeah! It's because you want to fight me too. Taichi: YOU STUPID BASTARD!!!

Today in Japanese vulgarities: bakayarou. As I've mentioned before, Japanese language tends to attack people's actions or words rather than the person themselves. Even using a second-person pronoun can be considered rude in a variety of contexts.

Which brings us to bakayarou. Baka, of course, is the classic "stupid" insult seen all over anime. Adding the yarou modifier to a word is a vulgar way of saying, in a language that looks down on directly targeting words at individuals, "YOU are the thing I am describing." Often times, it gets translated as "bastard".

Like all language, there's a lot of flexibility in how it's used. But there is little ambiguity in screaming bakayarou at someone in the middle of a fistfight.

Taichi punctuates his outburst with a right hook. Yamato recoils from the hit.

Yamato: Sorry for being such an idiot, then!

Yamato punches Taichi, sending him stumbling back towards a tree. He follows up with a left punch, hitting Taichi dead in the face. Taichi recovers quickly, darting to the side to avoid Yamato's third punch and then nailing Yamato with one of his own.

(I'm sorry, Yamato, but I don't actually think you're going to outfight Reckless Bold Action Guy.)

Up in the air, MetalGarurumon swoops around WarGreymon, tackling him from the back and pushing him back down towards the forest.

In the dub:

Matt: What's the matter, you chicken!?

In a hilarious fit of censorship, they cut the impact from Tai's punch and the entire "Do you know why I hit you" to "BAKAYAROU!!!" exchange. They replace it with a shot from later in the episode of Takeru calling out to them.

T.K.: MAAAAAAATT!!! I'm gonna tell Mom that you were fighting! Matt: Sorry, T.K., but I have to do this!

Matt uses his lip flaps from "Sorry for being such an idiot!", then comes back in and swings at Tai for what is, in this version, the second punch. And the last for this part of the scene; We see Tai stumbling back from it, and then Yamato's follow-up swings are also cut. We go straight from there to MetalGarurumon bringing down WarGreymon.

Taichi and Yamato fight offscreen, with the sounds of punching in the background as the others yell at them.

Jou: Both of you, stop it now! Koushiro: Please stop this! Sora: Taichi! Calm down! Taichi: You don't understand what this is about! This punch isn't coming from me. This is FROM PICCOLOMON!!! (Taichi punches Yamato) Taichi: THIS ONE IS CHUUMON'S!!! (Taichi scores a second punch) Taichi: AND THIS IS WHAMON'S!!!

With a third and final punch (Wizarmon doesn't get one, I guess) Taichi knocks Yamato flat on his back. While Yamato tries to get b ack to his feet, Taichi kneels down and grabs him by his shirt.

Taichi: Yamato! Do you really think the Digimon who died for us... (voice breaks) ...would want us having this pointless fight!?

This is a strong moment for Taichi because it connects back to what he was trying (and failing) to say to Mimi and the others back at the graves. Taichi's words were thoughtless, he's bad at empathizing with other people's feelings, but they weren't malicious.

Taichi is grieving. He is as traumatized by all this as the others. But his trauma response is different. Grief has made him vengeful. All that stuff about "We need to take the fight to them and avenge our fallen!" is his way of processing the pain in his heart.

Taichi doesn't want to mourn; He wants violent, decisive closure.

Closeups on Taichi and Yamato's faces show that they're both crying. Taichi's eyes are misting, preparing to water, while Yamato has tears fully streaming down his face. Like Mimi, they're trying to process their own uncertainty, trauma, and grief, in their own ways.

Taichi: Do you understand now? Yamato: NO, I DON'T!!!

Yamato sucker punches Taichi suddenly, forcing him off.

Yamato: I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT AT ALL!!!

Losing himself to his feelings, Yamato starts pummeling Taichi, screaming "Kuso!", the Japanese curse word for "Shit!", over and over with each hit.

In the dub:

Joe: Both of you stop it right now! Izzy: It's ridiculous! Sora: You two are just making things worse! Tai: He's gotta be taught a lesson, and fast! Here, take this!

They pick Chuumon's punch to be the one and only punch he throws, then cut to the shot of Yamato falling on the grass; Skipping over the entire emotional breakdown of their dead friends - Though Tai still brings them up.

Tai: (grabbing Matt's shirt) I'm only doing this to honor the memory of all the great Digimon that have helped us. T_T They trusted us and believed in our commitment! Matt: T_T Tai: We can't let them down!

Matt punching himself free of Tai is then cut, and Matt simply stands up without much fuss.

Matt: (voice breaking) What if we made a mistake!? Ragh!

Too full of emotion to put much force behind that grunt, Matt swings his next punch and we skip the part where he punches his feelings out against Tai's flesh.

While Yamato is indulging in unhealthy coping mechanisms, the Digimon continue fighting above.

Palmon: What do we do? Piyomon: We have to stop them....

MetalGarurumon fires a volley of missiles from both shoulder launchers. WarGreymon is able to dodge one set, but his evasion path takes him directly into the others. MetalGarurumon scores a direct hit on his armored chest.

Tentomon: We aren't strong enough to do anything against their Ultimate forms. Tailmon: Let them tire themselves out. Gomamon: HEY!!! Don't you care about what happens to our nakama? Tailmon: Would we be able to stop them if I did? Gomamon: Well.... Tailmon: Then we have no choice but to sit back and watch. Gomamon: Damn it! You're just a newcomer so-- Tentomon: Stop that! We don't need you to start fighting too!

Hit her with your Marching Fishes, Gomamon. She's probably hungry.

In the dub:

Palmon: This is awful! Biyomon: We have to stop them! (WarGreymon hit by missiles) Tentomon: Unfortunately, they're Mega Digimon and there's nothing any of us can do about it! Gatomon: Best thing is for them to duke it out. Gomamon: I just hate fighting, and we can't let our friends destroy themselves. Gatomon: It's a dog eat dog world, isn't it? Gomamon: (confused) They're not dogs.... Gatomon: The deal is this. You just sit and watch them take care of business. Gomamon: Oh, yeah!? I don't have to like it! Tentomon: Gomamon, get a grip! The last thing we need is any more fighting around here!

Tailmon accepts the futility of intervention because they're too powerful; There's nothing the rest of us can do to stop this. Gatomon cynically tries to normalize their behavior, waxing poetic about life being cruel. That's the kind of sentiment I'd expect from her before meeting Kari.

No longer on the tree top we saw him at last episode, Pinocchimon watches the action from a lower branch.

Pinocchimon: Ehehehehe! Hahahahaha! What children, fighting over nothing!

WarGreymon lands a Brave Tornado into MetalGarurumon's face. Pinocchimon hops up and down on the branch with excitement.

Pinocchimon: Again! Again! Do it again! Keep it up until you both die!

Yamato tackles Taichi to the ground. Taichi's able to roll Yamato over, seizing control of the fight and scoring two solid face punches. Yamato grabs Taichi by his shirt suddenly and rolls backwards, flipping and throwing Taichi to escape the pin.

Takeru: STOP IT, ONII-CHAN!!! Fighting like this is bad!

Yamato answers Takeru by replaying footage of his tree punch from earlier. Finally, Mimi breaks.

Takeru: Onii-chan.... Mimi: (crying) NO MORE!!! Sora: Mimi-chan....

Mimi turns and runs away from Taichi and Yamato, making it a short distance before she crouches down beside a tree.

Mimi: (crying) Fighting and fighting... What do we get out of it!? I can't take it anymore! Sora: (approaching slowly) Mimi-chan...

This time it's Yamato's turn to be thrown off a cliff for making my kid cry.

Technically, it's Yamato and Taichi fighting that's doing this, but let's be real; Yamato is unambiguously the aggressor here, and Taichi tried repeatedly to refuse this fight. Taichi could have stood to be more tactful, but there was no talking Yamato down from this.

In the dub, Puppetmon takes credit for Cherrymon's work. What a dick!

Puppetmon: Hahahahahaha! Hehehe... Aww, I'm a genius! They're all gonna hate each other! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

WarGreymon calls Brave Tornado as Terra Force again despite that being a different attack.

Puppetmon: EEEEE!!! Go get him! Oh boy, I love a good fight!

They keep Yamato tackling Taichi to the ground and Taichi reversing the pin on him, then cut away to Mimi's departure. Even T.K.'s line gets cut; I guess because they already moved to to earlier in the episode?

But they cut it sloppily so you can catch T.K.'s mouth closing from delivering the line he no longer has before Mimi turns and runs away. Mimi, meanwhile, starts talking before turning despite not having lip flaps, so the result makes it look briefly like her voice is coming out of T.K.'s mouth.

Mimi: Ugh! I've had it! Sora: Mimi! (Mimi runs and crouches by the tree) Mimi: (crying) I'm gonna sit here and stare at the flowers until everybody starts getting along! Sora: (approaching slowly, sarcastic) Oh, like that's going to help.

They (heavy sigh) make this moment into a laugh line about how ridiculous and overdramatic Mimi is, then have Sora go ridicule her for it. Thanks, I hate it.

While Pinocchimon watches the spectacle up in the sky, Hikari sneaks off to go talk to strangers.

Hikari: Are you guys our enemies? Or allies?

Koushiro - who, I guess, is just bored with the two separate horrible fights taking place - walks over to see what's up with Hikari. He chats with Tailmon.

Koushiro: Who is Hikari-san talking to? Tailmon: I don't know. Hikari: Okay, so you're not an enemy.

Suddenly, a bright rainbow light shines down - The light is faint, filtering through the trees, but it's not unlike the aurora that delivered the children's Digivices on that fateful day in camp. Hikari's body glows brightly, and she momentarily curls into herself as if in pain.

Tailmon: HIKARI!!!

Tailmon and Koushiro hurry to her side, but Hikari continues. She takes off her Crest of Light and holds it up to the rainbow glow.

In the dub, Kari confronts the light a little more aggressively.

Kari: I'm not afraid! Well, maybe a little. (gazes at it in awe) Ahhh... My name's Kari! Please tell me who you are. Do you want to be friends with us? Gatomon: What in the Digi-World is she doing? Izzy: She appears to be conversing with herself. Gatomon: (dismissive singsong) She's losing it~! Kari: You seem to be nice enough! (Kari begins glowing and curls into herself) Gatomon: KARI!!!

Izzy and Gatomon trade roles here, and Gatomon dismissively badmouths Kari which is certainly a choice. >.> Whoever wrote the dub script for this episode decided to make Gatomon surprisingly catty. Uh. You know, in the bad way.

Once Hikari presents her Crest, the glowing gets brighter. It expands, consuming Koushiro and Tailmon before continuing outward.

Tentomon: KOUSHIRO-HAN!!! Taichi: W-What the--

The light takes Tentomon. It takes Taichi and Yamato. It takes Sora, Mimi, Jou, and Takeru. It gives Pinocchimon a tumble because he is not invited. It revokes WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon's evolutions, reverting them to Koromon and Tsunomon before taking them too.

Everyone finds themselves in a great white void, while something begins to speak through Hikari's mouth. It uses Hikari's voice and if you're paying attention to the group shot you can see her lips move but it's super subtle.

Taichi: This is...? Yamato: What sort of place even is this? Not Hikari: Wherever there is light, there will also be darkness. Darkness and light are like the two sides of the same coin. However, if the power of darkness grows larger....

A great blackness suddenly grows and takes over their void. Not Hikari is, of course, talking about your typical "balance of yin and yang" sort of deal. The problem is not that darkness exists but that it has grown to overshadow the light.

In the dub:

Tentomon: IZZY!!! Tai: What's happening!? (Everyone gets taken by the light into the void except Puppetmon) Tai: Where are we!? Matt: No idea.... Not Hikari: In this world, there is a balance of darkness and light. The light represents all that's good in the world and the darkness is the evil. When the darkness becomes larger than the light, it upsets the balance.

Not Hikari here specifies that light means good and dark means evil. A specification that wasn't stated outright in the original... but looking at the behaviors of most Vaccine and Virus type Digimon we've met, it's pretty implied. The powers of darkness have been unambiguously super-evil child-murderers, and not in the morally complex Undertale way.

There is certainly a space for NOT ALL DEVIMONS as a narrative point, but that is not an argument that this show has presented.

The black void overtakes the white, and the kids are left in darkness.

Mimi: It's turned to night! Jou: What is this place!? Did we get pulled into another dimension!?

Valid concern. That has happened to them before.

Sora: Wait! I see something! Taichi: This is... Hikarigaoka!

Floating in the sky above the city, they see Greymon and Parrotmon drifting up into a portal back to the Digital World and making me eat crow from when I said Hikari's Greymon died. I have been remembering this wrong.

You win this round, dub team who hadn't even seen the OVA when they had to adapt the episodes describing it.

Koushiro: That's the bird from four years ago!

He types away at his laptop, pulling up the Digimon Analyzer to finally get a read on that creature that started this all.

Parrotmon is a Perfect-stage Vaccine-type Giant Bird Digimon. Part of the reason that their identity was such a mystery is because they were created for the OVA; Not appearing in the V-Pet, video games, or even TCG until 2000.

At the time of this episode's airing, Parrotmon had never been seen again in any other Digimon media, and wouldn't be until the release of the D-Terminal to tie in with Adventure 02.

Narrator: Parrotmon. A mysterious Digimon who appeared in front of Taichi's group long ago in Hikarigaoka. Their special attack is Sonic Destroyer. Koushiro: They were Perfect-stage....

In the dub, Tai swipes Mimi's line and he and Joe quip about the darkness overtaking the light.

Tai: Whoa! The balance seems to be really out of whack! Joe: So? Somebody find a switch and put the lights back on. Sora: There's something over there! (Hikarigaoka comes into view) Tai: I know this sounds incredible, but could we be home again? (Closeup on Greymon and Parrotmon disappearing into the sky portal) Izzy: I've seen that Digimon before! (type) Izzy: (rundown) Why, of course. That's Parrotmon. He was the mysterious Digimon that appeared in Highton View Terrace approximately four years ago. Now he's completely Digivolved.

Izzy remains terrible at exposition. "Now he's completely Digivolved," he says, as if the Parrotmon up there has achieved a higher form than when they fought Greymon.

Also, "completely Digivolved" raises an eyebrow. Uh. What? Either Izzy is using "completely Digivolved" to refer to Ultimate level even though he knows better now, or he's saying that Parrotmon has become a Mega Digimon.

There are two ways to take this line and they're both wrong, on top of Izzy being wrong for asserting that Parrotmon "being fully Digivolved" is a recent occurrence.

Not Hikari steps forward to offer further explanation.

Not Hikari: Four years ago in your world, a Digitama passed through a tear in reality by mistake. Taichi: What are you talking about, Hikari? Tailmon: That's not Hikari talking to us. Koushiro: Someone is using Hikari's body to speak to us. Not Hikari: My wish is to restore balance to the Digimon World. Sora: Are you the God of the Digimon World? Not Hikari: No, I am not. Just like the Digimon, I am made up of internet data. Unlike the Digimon, we are unable to take a physical form. In other words, I don't have a physical body. That is why I'm borrowing this person's body to speak with you. Taichi: Why Hikari? Not Hikari: She was the only one who could hear me.

There's an interesting switch that happens in Not Hikari's language here. Well, for one, it's interesting that Not Hikari uses the standard gender-neutral first-person pronoun watashi instead of the more girly atashi that Hikari uses.

But, more interesting than that, is the way Not Hikari switches between the singular watashi and the plural watashi-tachi. For most of this explanation, they use watashi. However, when they say "We are unable to take physical form", that's a watashi-tachi.

Implying that whatever the sparkle sparkle entity possessing Hikari is, they are of a kind; There are others like them.

In the dub:

Not Kari: He passed through the dimensional divide. Some time ago, a Digiegg fell through a hole from our world to yours. Tai: Kari, what are you talking about? Gatomon: I think Kari's had too much catnip! Izzy: My theory is that someone else is using Kari's body to speak for them. Not Kari: My wish is that there be peace and happiness for everyone. Sora: I don't understand. Are you some kind of super being or something? Not Kari: No, nothing like that. I am similar to the Digimon. I was produced by data bytes taken from the internet. But there's a difference: Unlike the Digimon, we're unable to take a shape in the form of a physical body. In order for me to communicate with you, I had to temporarily borrow Kari. Tai: Couldn't you have taken Joe instead!? Joe: Hey! Not Kari: I had to take Kari. She's the only one that I'm able to communicate with.

The word Kami crossed the dub team's desk and the best they could come up with to avoid saying God was "some kind of super being". XD

Gatomon is still being shitty and dismissive towards Kari and I hate it.

Tai abruptly slaps Joe in the face for lulz because he's one of the two designated punching bags.

On the plus side, they nailed that interesting pluralization implying that there are more of whatever this being is.

(Officially, this is Homeostasis, but the lore around Homeostasis is vague and confusing, and Homeostasis is never named within the show itself. At least not this series; other entries in the Adventure franchise do identify Homeostasis by name.)

Not Hikari continues to explain things.

Not Hikari: Truthfully, I've been wanting to talk to you ever since you arrived on File Island.

Too fucking bad we accidentally left behind the only kid who could hear them.

That makes two separate attempts to prevent the Lord of the Flies experience from happening to them and give them a more traditional Isekai experience, ruined by present circumstances of their arrival.

Imagine spending like a thousand years preparing for the arrival of the chosen one and then going to take a shit and when you come back the Chosen One is not only here but has gone Feral BOTW Link for lack of guidance.

The children suddenly levitate into the air. Not Hikari levitates slowly over Hikarigaoka with the other kids in tow, as bright spotlights shine down on each of their younger counterparts frozen in time.

Taichi: Ah! That's Hikari and me from four years ago! Jou: Ah! The one on the phone is me! Mimi: That's me! Sora: And there's me! Takeru: There's me with Onii-chan! Koushiro: I'm there too. But these lights.... Not Hikari: They're scanning everyone's data. Yamato: But what for? Not Hikari: Allow me to explain everything from the beginning.

Greymon and Parrotmon disappear into the sky portal. Not Hikari follows them in, with the children levitating up after.

In the dub:

Not Kari: To be honest, I wanted to contact you when you arrived at File Island, but it was completely impossible under the circumstances. (Not Kari levitates everyone over Highton View Terrace) Tai: Wow, it's a blast from the past! That's us four years ago! Joe: Hey, that's me! How typical; I'm on the telephone. Mimi: I was so cute! Sora: Hard to believe we were that little! T.K.: There's my brother and me! Izzy: That's definitely me, but what's with the light? Not Kari: Its purpose is to process all of your vital information. Matt: That's kind of freaky; Why's it doing that? Not Kari: Just follow me; I'll explain it to you.

Solid dub writing. They do a good job spicing up the bit where everyone says "That's me!" over and over. I also appreciate Matt pointing out that Not Kari quietly stealing their metadata while they're watching the fight is fucking skeevy.

Digimon Adventure was ahead of its time. If this was made today, Homeostasis would definitely be selling that shit to advertisers.

Speaking of which, both versions put a commercial break here. Talk about your commercial break cliffhangers! "Yes, I will finally, after 44 episodes, explain crucial details of the plot to you... RIGHT AFTER THESE MESSAGES!!!" Well played, Homeostasis. Well played.

Once Homeostasis has finished pocketing that lucrative McDonalds ad revenue, we find ourselves in a strange yet familiar locale.

Sora: Where... are we? Koushiro: Does this place look familiar to you?

The kids start to look around, but then Takeru spots something.

Takeru: What's that over there?

Shortly followed by the others, Takeru runs over to a glass case containing eight Digitama.

Takeru: They're Digitama! Group: (awestruck) Ahhhh! Koromon: The Digivices and Crests are here too!

Sure enough, each Digitama has a Digivice and a Crest mysteriously plugged into it.

In the dub:

Sora: Where are we now, whoever you are? Izzy: Rather bizarre place, indeed. (The kids look around) T.K.: Check this out! (Everyone goes to the Digiegg case) T.K.: They look like Digieggs! Group: (awestruck) Ahhhh! Koromon: Look! Crests and Digivices! Matt: (annoyed) Okay, this is getting weird! Joe: Oh, and floating in the sky is normal?

Koushiro immediately cottons on to the fact that they've been here before (which they have!). Izzy misses that entirely and just thinks the place is weird.

Matt and Joe get extra lines where, in a rare upset, Joe gets to dunk on someone else for a change.

Suddenly, phantoms of humanoids in cloaks pass by. Jou is the first to see them. He panics, raising his arms with alarm and accidentally shoving Mimi into the glass, eliciting a surprised shriek.

Jou: WAAAAAAUGH!!! Mimi: AGGGGH!!! Jou: W-WE'RE SORRY FOR INTRUDING!!!

The cloaked figures pass by, ignoring them entirely

Gomamon: Hey, what the hell!? You could at least address us! Not Hikari: These people are a video recording. These are images of the past that are being projected into your minds.

Gomamon gets offended that we're not being yelled at for trespassing. XD

In the dub, Mimi doesn't react. She silently accepts being scooted aside by Joe's panic.

Joe: WAAAAAAUGH!!! Okay, it's official; This is definitely giving me the creeps. (The cloaked figures ignore them) Gomamon: What's the matter, fellas? Can't you say hello? Not Kari: These men are just computer images. They are figments from the past who have been digitally transmitted to your present.

Once Not Kari's set the stage for what we're seeing, Koushiro suddenly notices a significant clue as to where we are.

Koushiro: Ah! This is the stone slate that was beneath Vamdemon's castle. Piyomon: The Gate is here too! It's the same room!

The kids hurry over to gaze up at the Gate; Sure enough, it's the very same one they passed through to return to the human world.

Which, of course, explains why Gennai was not only familiar with the Gate but had the keycards to open it in his possession, rather than in Vamdemon's. At some point, like an otaku running away to live in Japan, Vamdemon decided to go straight to the source of his fandom and moved in.

Jou: But what are those people doing? Not Hikari: They're preparing for the time when our world will be overrun by darkness. First, we created the Crests and Digivices out of the data we scanned from you. Sora: "Created"? Taichi: Then that means... You guys are the ones who chose us? Not Hikari: That's right.

Finally getting some real answers, and none of Gennai's runarounds.

In the dub:

Izzy: I don't believe it! This is from Myotismon's castle! Biyomon: Here's Myotismon's secret passage! Joe: Let me guess, those are the elves that make the shoes at night? Not Kari: They're monitoring the positive and negative forces to preserve harmony in the world. We took the information that we scanned from all of you, then we created your Digivices and Crests. Sora: You did that? Tai: That must mean that you're the ones who chose us. Is that true? Not Kari: Yes, it is.

The dub's explanation for what the hooded figures are doing doesn't quite capture the urgency of their work.

In the original, Not Hikari indicates that they knew the balance was destabilizing, and they were doing all of this for the purpose of countering it. They saw things getting bad, and bringing in the humans' data and going through this whole rigamarole was their best idea for how to fix it.

The dub has the cloaked figures simply monitoring harmony as a day-to-day, and also they're making the Crests and Digivices too. Just in case things do get bad, I guess.

Taichi has some follow-up questions regarding their selection.

Taichi: But why were we chosen? Not Hikari: You and Hikari-san made the Digitama that passed into the real world evolve into Greymon. Taichi: That was katteni shinka. Not Hikari: There is no such thing as katteni shinka.

Okay, this is a hard one to translate to English.

If you caught my post about Dragon Ball's Ultra Instinct I mentioned the word migatte as part of the technique's Japanese name. Katte is a root word of migatte, and katteni is similar in meaning. Katteni is autonomous; doing something of one's own accord, without permission or influence from others.

Taichi is saying that Koromon evolving to Agumon and then to Greymon happened arbitrarily; The Digimon evolved all by himself, while Taichi and Hikari were merely passive bystanders. Nothing that happened between them influenced Koromon's evolution in any way.

Homeostasis retorts that. No. That's stupid. Katteni shinka is not a thing. What Taichi is saying is not how evolution works. At all. Either for Digimon or otherwise.

Not Hikari: That evolution did not happen by chance. It was because of your presence that he evolved into Greymon. (Flashback to Greymon v. Parrotmon) Taichi: But... We didn't do anything! We didn't even have a Digivice! Not Hikari: If you think the Digivice is merely a tool for evolution, you are mistaken. (Back to present) Not Hikari: The Digivice matches your personal qualities to your Digimon and enables them to evolve properly.

The dub is going to have a hard time with this section, since katteni shinka is difficult to translate and they have limited space to explain it in.

Tai: Then tell me this: What makes us so special? Not Kari: You made it possible for Greymon to survive and Digivolve, and it couldn't have been accomplished without help from you and Kari. Tai: But he Digivolved without me.... Not Kari: A Digimon can't Digivolve without you. It doesn't work that way.

That is a hard miss. Digimon absolutely can evolve without a person. If they couldn't, the Digital World would be nothing but Babies for miles around.

What they can't do is evolve arbitrarily, without influence from environmental factors. The point of this line isn't that humans are necessary to make evolution possible. It's that Homeostasis witnessed the effect that Taichi and Hikari's influence had on the wayward Digitama and had a Holy Shit Light Bulb moment.

They caused Botamon to evolve into Koromon, Agumon, and then Greymon. But not because evolution wouldn't be possible without them.

Not Kari: The very fact that you were both there made him Digivolve to protect you. Tai: But how? We were just goofy little kids and we didn't even have a Digivice. Not Kari: A Digivice is just a tool that was designed to help in the Digivolving process. It assists you by making you aware of your powers, but it's the special qualities in each of you that really makes it work.

This part is rock-solid. No notes. It's just the other part that had a high bar to clear that they messed up on.

Next, Homeostasis goes on to talk about the Crests.

Not Hikari: The same is true of your Crests. Is everyone aware of what their Crests represent? Taichi: Mine's Courage. Sora: Mine is Love. Mimi: Purity! Koushiro: Knowledge. Jou: Sincerity. Takeru: Mine is the Crest of Hope. Yamato: (quiet, distant) Mine is.... Jou: Friendship, wasn't it?

Jou gives Yamato a friendly pat on the shoulder, but that only makes Yamato withdraw into himself.

Not Hikari: Those are the strongest qualities that each of you had four years ago. But what happens if you lose those qualities? You may end up misusing your Digimon. And if you use those special qualities of yours for the wrong reasons.... Taichi: (gasp) Could it be.... (Flashback to SkullGreymon's evolution) Taichi: Back then, I jumped in front of the enemy so that I could force Greymon to Super-Evolve. But he became SkullGreymon instead. (Flashback ends) Taichi: (with certainty) That was the wrong kind of Courage. Not Hikari: That's right. You've finally realized.

Wait, he only figured out what he did wrong just now?

Well, no, that makes sense, actually. He knew he'd fucked up back then, but they didn't learn the meanings of their Crests until much later. He hasn't had a reason to stop and think about how the virtue of Courage applies to the SkullGreymon incident.

Sometimes you have all the information you need to put the pieces together but it's already behind you and there's more important stuff to think about.

In the dub:

Not Kari: The same thing with the Crests. Can you tell me what your personal Crests really represent? Tai: Well, mine's Courage. Sora: And this one means Love. Mimi: Sincerity! Izzy: Mine's Knowledge! Joe: Reliability. T.K.: I know what this Crest means; It's Hope! Matt: (quiet, distant) Well, mine is.... Joe: Wasn't it called Friendship? (pat) Not Kari: All of that's true, but there's more to it than that. Every one of you has strengths and weaknesses. We took each of your strongest qualities that you possessed four years ago, then we made a Crest for that. Tentomon: Oh! I get it! Not Kari: If that trait is lost, then Digimon might become corrupted. Tai: Ah! That happened! (Flashback to SkullGreymon's evolution) Tai: When I tried to make Agumon Digivolve by throwing myself in front of his enemy! But then something weird happened; He Digivolved into SkullGreymon! (Flashback ends) Tai: (with certainty) And now I realize that was pretty foolish. Not Kari: But the important thing is that you learned from it.

Yep, that's another miss.

Dub Homeostasis claims that SkullGreymon happened because Tai lost his Courage. That's. Not. What happened there. Tai losing his Courage is what happened at Datamon's pyramid. Completely different event, and one that did not result in SkullGreymon.

SkullGreymon was the result of Taichi's Courage becoming corrupt.

Meanwhile, Tai's big revelation here is that jumping in front of the enemy was a stupid thing to do. That's. No. That's not his revelation; He already realized it was stupid way back when. It's the connection between that event and the virtue of Courage being corrupted that Taichi suddenly made here.

Jou steps forward to assess what they've learned.

Jou: So all of this work was to amplify the qualities we already had in the first place.

Yamato, still haunted by his inability to connect with his Crest virtue, wanders away to look at his Digitama, Crest, and Digivice in the case.

Tsunomon: Yamato...?

Not Hikari joins him, followed soon by the others.

Koushiro: I understand why Taichi-san and Hikari-san were chosen, but the rest of us didn't make a Digimon evolve. Not Hikari: After examining everyone's data, we determined that you shared commonalities with Taichi-san and Hikari-san. The meaning behind it is still a mystery to us.

I take it back; Even Homeostasis seems to struggle with comprehending the plot. This answer is basically a shrug. "What made us choose the rest of you? There was something about your data. I don't know what."

In the dub:

Joe: All this time, we've been wracking our brains trying to figure out stuff about ourselves that we already knew! Ha! That's a fine how-do-ya-do. (Matt walks away) Joe: Huh? (Matt stares at the glass case.) Tsunomon: Who knew? (Everyone joins him.) Izzy: Prodigious! I see why you chose Tai and Kari, but the rest of us never made contact with the Digiegg so why us? Not Kari: When we examined all of your data, we came to the conclusion that you had something in common with Tai and Kari. But we're not quite sure what it means. All we know is that you've proven yourselves to be very capable.

Joe managed to mangle his line so hard that I have no idea what he's even saying.

But the exposition is pretty much 1:1.

Takeru steps forward to examine the Digitama in the case.

Takeru: What are these Digitama? Not Hikari: You can't tell? Patamon: Is it us? Not Hikari: Yes. Palmon: Which one is me? Tsunomon: We can tell by looking at the marks on the Crests! (Piyomon and Gomamon find theirs) Piyomon: That one? Gomamon: This one's mine!

Piyomon's Digitama is covered in hearts because of course it is.

In the dub:

T.K.: Who do these belong to? Not Kari: Isn't it obvious? Patamon: I have a feeling it's us! Not Kari: Yes. Palmon: Wow, which one's me? Tsunomon: I think the answer's in the Crests! (Biyomon and Gomamon find theirs) Biyomon: Look! This is me! Gomamon: And that's mine!

Very faithful translation; Near word for word.

Unfortunately, things did not go well for the Chosen Children project.

Not Hikari: However, the Dark Masters learned about our plan and they came here to find us.

The doors open and Metal Empire forces spill into the room. Despite having been told that these are phantoms of past events and are not really happening, the kids still panic and scatter. Takeru trips and falls, prompting Patamon to let off an Air Shot at the Metal Empire soldiers to try and cover him.

Not Hikari: These are also video recordings.

The way Homeostasis has to say that again in their completely neutral matter-of-fact voice 'cause children be slow is sending me. XD Maybe you should have drafted some adults for your war.

The Metal Empire forces open fire on the hooded figures, blowing them up with rockets.

Taichi: Shit! So because they're video recordings, we can't do anything but stand here and watch!?

Taichi's blood is expectedly boiling at all this carnage. Koushiro, on the other hand, already has his laptop out because NEW DIGIMON JUST DROPPED. He starts with the brown one.

Guardromon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Machine Digimon, though the Analyzer makes an error and lists them as Data. This may have to do with the fact that they debuted in the Digimon World video game, where they were in fact Data Vaccine actually what the fuck.

I guess the anime just. Split the difference between Digimon World Vaccine and Metal Empire V-Pet Virus. XD

In any case, Guardromon is one of the two Metal Empire Adult Viruses.

Izzy: That one is Guardromon. Narrator: Guardromon. A Machine type Digimon with iron-clad defenses. Their special attack is Destruction Grenade.

Also it's super easy to miss when they're in motion but can I just say that the Destruction Grenades are hilarious? XD Someone was like "This is my Vaccine Digimon, he shoots little cops that explode," and another person went, "Nah bro that goes into the Virus bin."

The silver Digimon, meanwhile, is Mekanorimon. Like Bakemon and bakemono, this is a play on an existing word: norimono, which means "vehicle". Mecha Norimono.

Mekanorimon is the other Adult-stage Virus-type Digimon from Metal Empire, and this one the Analyzer gets right. If your poorly cared for Hagurumon is well-trained, you get Guardromon; If not, Mekanorimon.

Yamato: Here comes another one! Narrator: Mekanorimon. A powered suit Digimon that can be piloted like a vehicle. It uses its Linear Lens to fire its special attack Twinkle Beam.

Under the assault of explosion cops and Twinkle Beams, the cloaked figures are quickly overwhelmed.

In the dub:

Not Kari: Yes, but I'm afraid I have bad news. The Dark Masters got wind of our plan and have worked very hard to defeat us. (Metal Empire forces enter; Kids scatter and flee) Not Kari: Save your breath; They're computer images! (Metal Empire starts killing everyone) Tai: What!? Just because those guys are computer images, we have to sit back and do nothing!? Izzy: (on the brown one) His name is Guardromon. Izzy: (rundown) He's a Machine Digimon and his armor is constructed of solid iron. Absolutely nothing can penetrate that can of beans! Matt: HERE COMES SOME MORE OF THEM!!! Tentomon: (rundown) This is no space-age vacuum cleaner! Meet Mekanorimon. His Twin Beam will annihilate anything! Which makes housework a breeze.

Homeostasis's second line here is delivered as a scolding, rather than a comically matter-of-fact reassertion of information already provided. So it lacks the funny.

Guardromon's diegetic rundown claims that he's invulnerable... because he's made of iron. I mean, iron's great, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of basic? Especially this soon after the fantasy metal "INVULNERABLE CHROME DIGIZOID" was such a big thing.

The reason this happened is because the word in question, 鉄壁 teppeki, has multiple meanings. It literally translates to "iron wall", as in a literal iron wall used in a military fortification, and it means an impenetrable defense.

So they had word which could be saying Guardromon is made of iron or could be saying Guardromon's defenses are impenetrable, and they hedged their bets and went with both.

Meanwhile, Tentomon is too busy quipping to mention that Mekanorimon is a pilotable vehicle. Which. Is. Kind of. Important. Information. For events that will follow.

Also Mekanorimon's attack is "Twin Beam" despite there only being a single beam because I guess the dub team didn't like the twinkle.

While all this devastation is unfolding, Jou suddenly lets out a shriek.

Jou: AHH!!! IT'S PIEMON!!! Stay back! Stay back! Ahhhh go away! Gomamon: We're okay. Sora: It's just a video recording.

Piemon approaches the case with the Digitama. Letting out a wicked laugh, he shatters the case and collects all of the Crests.

Taichi: He's stealing the Crests! Mimi: Can't we do something!?

Suddenly, one of the cloaked figures charges at him with a sword.

Cloaked Man: PIEMON!!! THOSE AREN'T YOURS TO TAKE!!! Piemon: Gennai.... Takeru: THAT'S GENNAI-SAN!?!?

Gennai slashes at Piemon, but he's too slow. Piemon easily darts around Gennai's swing, then presses a strange black orb into Gennai's back. Gennai grits his teeth and grunts in agony as the ball enters his body.

He takes another swing at Piemon, who backs off. A Mekanorimon comes up behind him; Gennai dodges its Twinkle Beam and leaps up on top. Prying open Mekanorimon's cockpit, he yanks a Bakemon out of it and tosses the useless ghost aside.

Gennai: Out of the way!

Gennai slips inside the Mekanorimon himself, then scoops up all of the Digitama and Digivices.

Piemon: DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THE CRESTS!!!

...apparently he also has the Crests. To be honest, I'm not sure how he would have grabbed those. They were last seen in Piemon's hand, and Piemon thoroughly outfought Gennai.

In the dub:

Joe: AHHHH!!! PIEDMON IS HERE!!! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!! SHOO!!! GO AWAY!!! Gomamon: Relax, he's just an image. Sora: (snarky) Yeah, save your screaming for the real thing. (Piedmon goes for the Crests) Tai: He's going to steal the Crests! Mimi: Oh no! (Piedmon takes the Crests) Cloaked Man: Piedmon! Hands off those Crests! Piedmon: Gennai! T.K.: That man's Gennai!? (Gennai attacks, gets black balled, then hijacks Mekanorimon and escapes with the loot) Piedmon: Follow him! Don't let Gennai out of your sight!

Sora dunks on Joe but to be fair, they've been told twice now. This was legitimately an embarrassing moment for him, even if Original Sora was too kind to say anything.

Gennai takes to the skies with the Digitama, Digivices, and I guess the Crests somehow. The other Mekanorimon and Guardromon pursue him, trying to shoot him down.

Not Hikari: Let's follow them.

A near-miss causes him to lose a single Digitama and Digivice, which plummet to the continent below.

Tailmon: Ah! That's me! (Tailmon's Digitama falls, and is not recovered) Tailmon: So that's why I grew up alone.

Piyomon flies up behind Tailmon and gives her unexpected headpats.

Piyomon: But we're together now! Tailmon: (smile) You're right.

Awww.... ^_^

In the dub:

Not Kari: Let's follow and see what happened in the past. (Enemy rockets cause Gennai to drop the Digiegg) Gatomon: That's my Digiegg! (Gatomon's Digiegg falls, and is not recovered) Gatomon: So that's why I was brought up all alone... That explains it.... (Surprise headpats) Biyomon: Cheer up! We're together now! Gatomon: (smiles, giggles)

Pretty much 1:1 faithful translation.

From there, Gennai escapes to File Island.

Taichi: it's File Island! Not Hikari: After that, many, many years passed until....

Which... is a 100% barren, frozen hellscape. Must be winter, I guess, 'cause it's sunny and grassy by the time the Partner Digitama hatch.

We see Botamon's egg hatch first.

Koromon: I hatched!

From there, the Babies go outside with their Digivices and bounce them playfully.

Koromon: I remember! We were waiting all that time. For Taichi! Tsunomon: Yamato! Piyomon: Sora! Gomamon: Jou! Palmon: Mimi! Patamon: Takeru! Tentomon: Koushiro-han! Koromon: Day after day, we'd wait patiently for their arrival! Until one day....

The babies bounce the Digivices high into the air, but instead it's the children who come plummeting down.

This is probably not literal, but a metaphorical representation of what they were doing. We cut from that to literal flashbacks of the Partners meeting the children in the woods, way back in episode 1.

In the dub:

Tai: It's File Island! Not Kari: After Gennai rescued the Digieggs and Crests, many years passed by until finally.... (Botamon hatches) Koromon: I was born! (The Babies go outside and bounce their Digivices) Koromon: Oh wow, I remember that! It seemed like I waited forever for Tai! Tsunomon: For Matt! Biyomon: For Sora! Gomamon: For Joe! Palmon: For Mimi! Patamon: For T.K.! Tentomon: For Izzy! Koromon: We didn't think they would ever come! Then suddenly, out of the blue, they arrived with a bang!

Again, 1:1 faithful. Though most of this is just yelling character names.

With that, we're caught up to where the children began their involuntary excursion into the Digital World.

Taichi: So that's what happened. Not Hikari: What is the Dark Masters' ultimate goal? How do we save the world? All we can do now is look after the peace of the Digimon World and try to build a system that can repair the damage before it takes place. Taichi: What do you think we should do from here? Not Hikari: I don't know. But I believe that, by relying on yourselves, you will find the answer.

Helpful. Thanks for the history lesson; Wish you had more practical advice for us.

In several years' human time when we're arguing over how to handle Meicoomon, try to remember how you were like "Uhhhh I have no idea how to solve things YOU GOT THIS RIGHT?"

Homeostasis gives off mad "It's my first day but also everyone else quit so please be patient while I figure out how to job" energy. They know the backstory better because they were there for it but they are as helplessly drowning in uncertain waters as the kids themselves.

The Forces of Darkness are rising. They don't know why the Forces of Darkness are rising. They don't know how to make the Forces of Darkness stop rising. And one day they saw two toddlers get along well with a Digimon and went "UM UM UM UM MAYBE CHILD SOLDIERS!?!?!?"

The reactor is melting down and the only person we have on-site is an intern. Well, that and exactly one survivor from the massacre who unfortunately has an unidentified Milk Dud of Doom turning him into a decrepit pervert or whatever it did to thim.

In the dub:

Not Kari: The question is, what exactly are the Dark Masters planning? We are working day and night trying to find out. For now, all we can do is guess and try to outwit them before something terrible happens. Tai: Whoa! Well, if that's true, what should we do now? Not Kari: It's hard to say, but I believe you'll all find an answer on your own.

The dub omits mention of Homeostasis's long-term goal to "build a system that can repair the damage before it takes place". Though they don't go into detail, they apparently have ideas in place to prevent something like the Dark Masters from happening again... if we can figure out how to make the Dark Masters stop happening in the the meanwhile.

Homeostasis is trying to create a vaccine against future instability, while using the Chosen Children as panic-button antidote against current instability.

(This, of course, ends up being Huckmon in Adventure Tri.)

But this doesn't make it across into the dub, which simply says that Homeostasis doesn't know what the Dark Masters are up to but is trying their best.

Returning to the woods where they started, Hikari wakes up in Taichi's arms.

Taichi: Hikari...? Tailmon: Are you okay, Hikari? HIkari: Onii-chan... Tailmon.... Taichi: You're okay! Tailmon: Thank goodness.... Sora: Are you hurting anywhere? Hikari: No... Is something wrong, all of you? Taichi: I-It's nothing. Hikari, about what just happened... Hikari: What just happened? Taichi: Oh! If you don't remember, then never mind.

Smooth, Taichi. Rolling that 12 Charisma score for all it's worth. XD

The dub places its final commercial break here, at the end of Homeostasis's trip into the past. Solid choice.

Tai: Hey.... Gatomon: Are you gonna be alright? Kari: ...oh, hi there. What's wrong? Tai: You've come back! Gatomon: We missed you! Sora: Did it hurt? Kari: No... What do you mean? Tai: Don't you remember? Well, that's alright. Kari: Remember what, Tai? Tai: Never mind. Don't you worry about it.

I like how casual Kari is here. Like, so far as she understands, she just fell asleep suddenly and then woke up to everyone crowding around her for some reason.

Now, on to unfinished business. Taichi stands up and turns to face Yamato.

Taichi: Yamato. Now we know why we became the Chosen Children. Yamato: Yeah. Taichi: Like I thought, we're the only ones who can straighten out this world's distortions.

Taichi approaches Yamato, holding out his hand for Yamato's.

Taichi: Yamato. Let's join back up together. Yamato: I can't. Takeru: Onii-chan? Taichi: I... I made a mistake. Yamato: No. This was all my fault.

Yamato turns and walks away, but Taichi calls after him.

Taichi: That's not what I meant! I mean the way I've been behaving up to this point.... (Yamato stops walking) Yamato: It's not my place to say this after how I've behaved recently, but I don't think there's ever a right or wrong way to do things. It's simply that you have your path and I have mine. I have no idea what sort of path is waiting for me. I thought that if I fought you, I'd understand what it is. An apology may not be enough for you to forgive me, but... I'm sorry.

Taichi and Yamato both recognize their faults and how they've contributed to their recent drama, and offer verbal concessions.

In the dub:

Tai: Well, Matt? There's no doubt about how we became the DigiDestined. We saw it happen! Matt: We sure did. Tai: So now the entire world is depending on us! And we all have to save it together! (Tai steps forward to shake Matt's hand) Tai: How 'bout it, Matt? Are we still a team? Matt: ... T.K.: What's wrong? Tai: Hey, let's put the past behind us. Matt: I know, but you wouldn't understand. Tai: Sure, I would! I say that you and I should let bygones be bygones! Matt: That's not the problem, Tai. This thing is bigger than either of us. It's not about right or wrong; I have my path and you have yours! And I'm not even sure where this path is going to lead me but I know I have to find it for myself. But I still believe in all of us; I mean, without any of you, where would I be? This is all just so confusing, and I let it get to me. That's why we fought.

Tai offers no concession for his own involvement in this whole mess.

Matt's supporting arguments are on much shakier ground than Yamato's. "This is bigger than us" and "I still believes in all of us" are arguments for staying with the group when he's supposed to be explaining why he has to leave.

Yamato says that they fought because he was convinced he would better understand himself and find his way to self-improvement through the act of fighting Taichi. Which is precisely what his conversation with Jureimon claimed.

Matt says they fought because he was confused about how much he wants to both leave and stay at the same time. It's a confusing response.

Now, with conviction, Yamato turns to face the others once more.

Yamato: But I want to find my own path. No, I have to! That's why I've decided to leave you all and go alone from here. Just me and Tsunomon. Koushiro: Please reconsider. After all, Yamato-san, your Crest... I mean, your best quality is.... Yamato: Friendship. I know. But friendship is such a meaningless word, don't you think? No, maybe I just don't know what true friendship is. Sora: H-Hey, how about this? We can break into two groups and go from there. Yamato: Sorry, but I need to do this alone. Sora: Oh... Well, I'm sure you'll be okay, Yamato. I believe in you. Takeru: Onii-chan, what will I do without you? Yamato: You're able to take care of yourself now. Takeru: But.... Sora: You're with us, Takeru-kun. Yamato has something he needs to figure out by himself. We should let him go. Takeru: (nod) Mm. Yamato: Thank you. Bye.

With that surprisingly curt farewell, Yamato turns and walks away into the woods. Metaphorically still lost in the mayoi no mori but better equipped to some day find his way out.

I love the reversal here from "I don't need you to look after me Onii-chan" to "But who will look after me Onii-chan?" Where Yamato has been haunted since episode 3 by the threat of Takeru growing up, the perspective of his decision allows him to finally appreciate how strong his brother is becoming.

Sora, ever the peacemaker, tries to smooth this over as best she can.

In the dub:

Matt: It's important that you guys can count on me, but I'm going to do this because I have to! Tsunomon will be with me so I'll be alright. Don't worry, it will be a lot better this way. Izzy: Matt, if you approach this logically, I'm sure you'll reconsider your decision. Your Crest, it's theme is to promote.... Matt: Friendship, I know. But I haven't been too much of a friend, in case you haven't noticed! Maybe it's because I don't know the true meaning of the word, or maybe I've just forgotten. Sora: Here's a good idea. Let's break up into two groups instead of one big one. Matt: I'm sorry, but I really need to do this alone! Sora: Oh... Well, I believe in you and I'm not going to stand in your way! T.K.: What am I supposed to do without you, Matt? Matt: You're a big kid now. You can take care of yourself, T.K. Sora: Yeah, don't worry! We'll be here for you. Besides, you know how big brothers are; They need their own space! Everything will be fine. T.K.: (nod) Mm. Matt: We'll see ya. Goodbye, everyone.

Matt comes off a lot more reluctant to do this. Between "I still believe in all of us", "Where would I be without you?" and now "It's important that you can count on me", he is not doing a good job of selling the reason for why he needs to leave. Which is that he, Matt, is convinced that he needs to, and no other reason.

Dub Sora patronizingly downplays this whole thing to T.K. "Big brothers need their space", she says as if we're discussing Tai no longer sleeping in the bunk bed with Kari.

Original Sora plays this straight with Takeru; Yamato has something he needs to go do, and we should support him.

Once Yamato's gone, it's time to get moving again. Except Yamato's departure is giving someone else ideas.

Taichi: Well, we should get moving. Ganbatte! Let's fix those distortions in the Digital World!

To get the nakama marching, Taichi gives everyone the good ol' ganbaru, the Japanese social construct of perseverance through great hardships via hard work and dedication.

But one person isn't interested in ganbaru anymore. Mimi hangs back, following slowly before she stops walking entirely. Realizing she isn't with them, Sora turns back, prompting the rest of the group to halt.

Sora: Mimi-chan? Mimi: I'm sorry, Sora-san. I can't. Sora: You can't? You want to stay here? Mimi: Mhm. Others may get hurt and die. I don't want to see that again.

Mimi's voice is quiet and vulnerable. She knows she's letting the others down with this decision, but she can't do this anymore.

Without missing a beat, Senpai steps up to do his job.

Jou: Then I'll stay too. Koushiro: Jou-san! Jou: It's dangerous for Mimi-chan to be here by herself. I'll do what I can to convince her to return, then we'll meet up with the rest of you. Is that okay? Taichi: Yeah. We're counting on you, Jou. Jou: YES!!!

Jou is so excited that Taichi signed off on his plan, he shouts and runs for where Mimi is.

Gomamon: JOU WAIT FOR ME!!! (chases)

Eager to get the fuck out of this party, are we, Jou? XD

The dub, as usual, can't lean on ganbaru. But they've got something just as good for American cultural values: military lingo, which this arc's been leaning in heavily on.

Tai: We'd better move it, troops. We've got the world to save! So we're down one DigiDestined; That's no problem. We can do it, right? (Mimi hangs back) Sora: Hmm? Mimi? Mimi: I'm sorry, Sora. I'm not going. Sora: Huh? Why not? Come on, what? Mimi: Well, I just don't want to see anybody else fight or hurt themselves. I hope you understand. Joe: Then I'm staying too. Izzy: But why? Joe: It's not safe for Mimi to be here all alone. I'll make sure she's okay and then, hopefully later, we can rejoin you guys. Okay? Tai: Okay. Good luck, Joe. Joe: Thanks. (runs off) Gomamon: Wait for me! (chases)

Despite having far more reasons to be excited about leaving these fuckers behind, Dub Joe does not scream exuberance at the top of his lungs as he quits the party.

To avoid the 'D' word, Mimi's "I don't want to see anyone get hurt or killed again" becomes "I don't want to see anyone fight or hurt themselves". She can't even say she's afraid of them being hurt by others?

As the group further fractures, Patamon shares his concerns.

Patamon: Everyone is separating again. Piyomon: And just when all eight of us were finally together. Tailmon: You guys don't get it, do you? Piyomon: Huh? Tailmon: The roads we take are different, but our destination will be the same. We'll all get there, no matter how thorny our paths may be.

Tailmon's final words lead us out. With one last glance at Jou and Mimi staying behind, the remaining five soldiers in our nakama stride onward.

Man, escaping from her abuser and reuniting with the crew she was meant to be with has done wonders for Tailmon's outlook. Amazing how that works.

This line has so much pathos coming from her. In the woods that Vamdemon found her in, no less.

In the dub:

Patamon: Gee, now we're all gonna be split up again! Biyomon: Just when we were finally all together! Gatomon: You may think we're separated but we're really not. Biyomon: Huh!? Gatomon: The roads might be different but the place we end up in is the same. I mean, think about it. If they truly are the DigiDestined, they're destined to be together once again. At least, that's the way I hope it works out. Narrator: Is Gatomon right? Or is this the end of the DigiDestined!? Tune in to the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Fucking-ass killjoy narrator! XD I like how he asks that question then just says "Tune in" without promising any answers, because the Breaking of the Fellowship is not something that will be resolved any time soon.

Also love how Tailmon drops some hopeful philosophy while Gatomon's just like, "Look, it says 'destiny' right there in the name... that we made up for the dub." But then admits that she, like Tailmon, is just running on hope at this point.

There is no sound reason in either version to believe that Yamato, Mimi, and Jou will come back, but a kitty-cat can hope.

Assessment: Man, I hope you did not come into WarGreymon vs MetalGarurumon hoping for a Versus bout because that is the least important thing that happens in this episode.

The titular fight provides a backdrop for the much more interesting fistfight between Taichi and Yamato, giving them both plentiful opportunities to project what's going on with each of them.

This was a great episode for Taichi. Not just for the characterization he got to express verbally, but also for the choices he made in the end. Remember that when this started, he was yelling in Mimi's face and freaking out about Yamato wandering off because "The eight of us must be together to defeat the Dark Masters!"

By the end of this episode, after having it out with Yamato and talking with Homeostasis, Taichi owns up to his own problem behavior just as Yamato does. Then he stands back and lets three people leave. In fact, when Mimi says she wants out because she can't stand to see anyone else die, he doesn't say a word to her. He accepts her decision without question.

I think it was the SkullGreymon thing that did it, personally. Learning that there's a wrong kind of Courage made Taichi reflect on his behavior and gain a sense of perspective towards how he treats his crew and what he expects from them. That's my interpretation.

Whatever the case, Taichi demonstrates remarkable growth not just for what he said to Yamato but for what he didn't say to any of them.

Yamato, of course, still has a long ways to go. Which he knows, and is the reason that he left.

And this officially kicks off the Jou and Mimi side-quest. Which was the last part of the show that I've been super anticipating.

The dub, expectedly, struggled with this one. They have a hard time with lore-heavy episodes and half of this episode was just Homeostasis explaining the plot. There's a lot of good information there that builds out the backstory of how they got here (and one irritating shrug), but it is a lot of narrative exposition, which is the dub's biggest weak point.

Still, they did better than expected. They had their missteps here and there but there were also multiple expository scenes that came through solid. Like Taichi, the dub showed improvement.

[danisbrainrot]

totally ok if you don't want to, but could you write a fic about misty came home after a long day at work and reader wants to comfort her?

adult! misty quigley x reader

ofc!! need more fics about my lovely <333 (she is me and I am her). besides, she deserves better and I refuse to believe she hasn't found someone yet. might have strayed from the original ask a little bit, hope you don't mind!

you hear the keychain in the door, and turn around excitedly under your covers and smile. it takes a while before you see misty walk through the door and flick the lights on, "today was so long," she complained, slipping off her scrubs and crawling into bed. she snuggles in close to you.

"wow, not even gonna get in your pjs first?" you tease, a cheeky grin on your face.

she sits up straight, "oh, of course, I'll do that now," she replies immediately, heading to her closet to change. you feel bad, tempted to tell her you were kidding but she was already changing.

you snuck off your bed, a small smirk on your face as you heard her humming a tune. misty jumped as she felt your arms wrap around her, as you tucked your face in the crook of her neck. "gloria still being a pain?" you ask, kissing a trail up her neck and to her earlobe.

misty began blushing deeply, "not more than usual," she replied, gasping when she felt you bite down on her neck before sucking it better. "let's take this someplace else," she didn't bother getting her pajamas on before pushing you to the bed, a wide grin on her face.

you giggle, wrapping your arms around her neck before the back of your knees hit the bed. falling over, with her on top, your giggles turn into laughter and she pulls back, "did I do something wrong?" she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose nervously.

"no, babe, nothing," you reply, pulling her close again and claiming her lips with your own. she held herself up with her arms, refusing to put her whole weight on you—no matter how often you told her you were fine with it.

you snuggle under the covers, pulling misty close to your chest and resting your chin against her forehead. her body heat combined with the covers making you feel nice and toasty on a partially chilly night. "I forgot to tell you, something came in the mail today," you mumble against her hair.

misty pulled away, looking up at you with a questioning look. "what?" she asked, sitting up. you moan, begging her to stay in bed as she got up, moving the covers off her.

"it's cold, come back here," you bemoan, reaching out for her hand, but she was already out of the room. you sigh, pulling the covers off and following after her. "it's just a postcard, I promise it'll be there tomorrow," however, when you saw the horrified look on your girlfriend's face, you immediately knew that it wasn't just a postcard.

she holds it up so you can see, "who gave this to you?" she questions. suddenly you feel like a suspect being interrogated by the police—reminding you of how the two of you had met over citizens detective reddit. "where did this come from?"

". . . the mail?" you answer, confused on why she thought this was such a big deal. "it's just someone sending you a—" as the words spilled from your lips, you realise it was over the canadian wilderness and suddenly remember everything misty had told you about the crash. "do you think someone's blackmailing you?" crossing your arms over your chest, you see her face darken.

she shakes her head, "it's probably nothing, just that reporter lurking around trying to get a story," she smiles unconvincingly, and you can tell she doesn't want you to know, "come on, let's go to bed," you nod, wrapping an arm around her.

you could tell she was up all night thinking about that postcard, waiting for you to fall asleep before pulling out a list of suspects. you snuggle into her side, hoping that it was nothing serious—she didn't want to tell you what happened out there, and you weren't going to push; you could only wonder what that postcard could meant.